303 Brit load questions ....

[86er]

I have decided on taking my 303 Brit rifle to S. Africa this year. It shoots okay with 150 gr Sierra (.311) and it likes the factory Winchester 180 gr better. I am going to load for medium ungulates out to 150 yds. While I was going to go for the Woodleigh 215's, I am not sure the price justifies the results. My second choice is a 180 gr. I only see two bullets that are .312 and are specifically listed as for the 303 Brit, they are the 180 gr Woodleigh WeldCore and the 174 gr Hornday RNSP. Most other bullets are .311 and say 7.7 Jap or 303 Brit, if they specify at all. What are the pros/cons of going with the .312 bullet? My accuracy now is around 2.75" groups at 100 yds, sometimes a little better but that is average. Maybe a .312 could snug that up a bit? Stabilize the bullet better? What'ya think? Recommendations?

[2ndovc]

Joe,

The 174 Hornady JRNs are my favorite for all my .303s. Always accurate and knocked the whitetail I
shot right off its feet.

I'll look up my powder / charge info. Can't remember off the top of my head but I'm pretty sure it
was IMR 4895.

jb

[damienph]

Joe,

The 174 Hornady JRNs are my favorite for all my .303s. Always accurate and knocked the whitetail I
shot right off its feet.

I'll look up my powder / charge info. Can't remember off the top of my head but I'm pretty sure it
was IMR 4895.

jb

Besides the 174 gr RN (#3130 Interlock), the only other .312" soft point that I am aware of (by Hornady) is the #3120 150 gr Soft Point; it is more of a spire point. I haven't used them in any of my Lee Enfields but is the bullet that has been the most accurate, on paper, in my 1909 Argentine Mauser (7.65).

[2ndovc]

Joe,

The 174 Hornady JRNs are my favorite for all my .303s. Always accurate and knocked the whitetail I
shot right off its feet.

I'll look up my powder / charge info. Can't remember off the top of my head but I'm pretty sure it
was IMR 4895.

jb

Besides the 174 gr RN (#3130 Interlock), the only other .312" soft point that I am aware of (by Hornady) is the #3120 150 gr Soft Point; it is more of a spire point. I haven't used them in any of my Lee Enfields but is the bullet that has been the most accurate, on paper, in my 1909 Argentine Mauser (7.65).

Right. The 150 SP also comes in .312. Another accurate bullet.

jb

[J Miller]

The Sierra 180gr bullet is .311" and it performs very well in my 1943 vintage No4 Mk1. It has the two grove barrel with a measured .317" grove diameter.
You have to remember that almost all .303 Brits have a bore diameter of .303". So a .311" bullet will have at the minimum .008" of rifling engraving.
I've had a number of a 303s and found the Hornady 174gr RN to be very accurate at the closer ranges, say 150 yds or so. Probably farther if you can deal with the trajectory. The Sierra is also very accurate there but also on out farther.

I've never used either on game so I can't comment on that.

Joe

[86er]

There are few animals in RSA that I've not poked a hole in at one time or another. Among them though are the Red Hartebeest, Waterbuck and Bushbuck. I've never wanted to shoot a Warthog but I might. So, these are animals up to 375 pounds and that would be on the heavy side. The typical range in bushveldt will be 150 yds or less although I've seen opportunities out to just short of 200 yds. The two-aperature peep sight set on "300" put the 180 gr Winnies about 3.5" high at 100 yds. Note: the 150's at 2450 fps print dead-on at 100 yds. I think with this set-up the 174 gr RNSP loaded to 2400 fps or so should provide a trajectory I can adjust to for shots out to 200 yds. If it proves to be drastically off the sight hold I will also try the "600" aperature. I would not hesitate to use my standard 308 Win load of 165gr NP @2550 fps for these species, so I see no reason to doubt the 174 gr @ 2400 something fps. I will try it first on feral hogs and maybe an exotic species in TX in a similar weight class. Thanks for the posts and PM about this. I guess it can't hurt to try the .312's so I will order and load some pronto and see what I get.

[JReed]

I have had very good results target wise with the 180 Sierra game king over a max book charge of IMR 4320. Haven't chroned it but it shoots to the sights and plays havoc on SAPI plates used in body armor out of my No4 also a 2 groove like Mr Millers.

[LeverBob]

Not sure if you know about Steve Regwell & his site: .303british.com. Have had much communication with him about the .303 & recommend him highly. He's a super guy....

His site has about the most info on the cartirdge & rifle that you can find on the web.

Oh, by the way....his books are to die for if you're a fan of the gun & cartridge like I am. Check him out.

The hornaday 174gr.RN is a real good choice for our game & I imagine for plains game in Afr. too, having never been there.

Blessings on a successful hunt over there & your safe return...

LB

[walks with gun]

I just loaded some hornady .312's at about 2400fps for my old 1916 #1 and can kill pop cans at 75yds off hand. I'll have to try from the bench this weekend but it seems to shoot fine for an old battle rifle.

[Dave James]

My No-4 has always ran better with the heavier slugs, haven't tried the Woodleigh's yet but have used the others out there, One thing I did was install one of the ladder adjustable peeps the Britts put on several , and shot then noted where on the ladder it took to hit with load used at 100/200 meters and so on.

[Ji in Hawaii]

Have you considered the SPEER 303(.311)180gr RNSP BULLET? http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/pro ... ctId/17253
I'm trying these in my 7.7 Arisaka.

[iceman]

I have never owned a 303 brit but I know alot of people who have shot a lot of pretty big moose with them up here in Canada. Alot of our nothern natives use them on polar bear and muskox with no issues. I guess it is like any rifle bullet placement is everything. I'm sure there are lots of African game that have been taken also with it also. I wouldn't feel undergunned with a 303 British in my hand.

[Canuck Bob]

I own a No5 but have little direct experience with hunting the 303 except for some deer hunting decades ago in a nice Parker Hale sporter I owned. However, my family has used the 303 since World War II in the northern Alberta bush. Without exception they used the 215 grain bullets from Dominion/C-I-L which were more common than dirt here once. One Uncle carried one in grizzly country as a fire tower sitter for the Forest Service in a remote setting. It was issued with the heavy bullet ammo and worked for him on a few occasions.

These African bullets are on my shopping list. The 230 grainers are interesting.

http://www.frontierbullets.co.za/gameranger.htm

Edit: My best research indicates they are .311 but I'm not sure.

[LeverBob]

Canuck...would you please elaborate on "the Alberta war in the bush"? Never heard of it & would like to know about it.

Please start a new thread as I wouldn't want to usurp this one...thanks much.

LB

[Canuck Bob]

Canuck...would you please elaborate on "the Alberta war in the bush"? Never heard of it & would like to know about it.

Please start a new thread as I wouldn't want to usurp this one...thanks much.

LB

Poor sentence structure, I meant after WW2. My uncles all got their service rifles at discharge as did many many thousands of returning Canadian soldiers when they returned from Europe. This made the LE 303 amazingly common and then truckloads of sporters were sold cheap for many decades. It was the most common gun imagineable here.

[LeverBob]

It's a personal favorite of mine since Pap gave me my first No.5 in 19 and 62. Won't be without my No.4MK1*.

Best to you CB,

LB