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Honkytonk ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: December 30 2017 Location: Brandon Mb Status: Offline Points: 4613 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posted: May 10 2023 at 10:42am |
Recently had a lively discussion on what was a better hunting round for the areas we hunt around here. Lots of Bush surrounding grain/pasture. If you set up right, 200 yards would be a long shot. Probably 50 in the bush and 100-150 in the fields. Buddies both shoot .308, I shoulder the .303 British. My argument was that there was no difference between our two rounds for the conditions we hunt. The only thing the .308 has is a wider selection of pill weights. Wow! You could have heard a pin drop! Ours does this, ours can do that, etc, etc. I never feel under-gunned hunting whitetail in our location, but to some, newer, stronger, plastic stocks and Hubble telescopes for optics are necessary!
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britrifles ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Atlanta, GA Status: Offline Points: 5590 |
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I'd bet more deer have been taken with the .303 in Canada than any other caliber. No way to prove this of course, but think about how long the .303 has been around...
HT, at the ranges you speak of, I don't see why a scope is even necessary. Perhaps better for low light conditions than irons would be.
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Goosic ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 12 2017 Location: Phoenix Arizona Status: Offline Points: 8167 |
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Down here in Arizona you couldn't find a hunter who didn't use a 303 back in the 60's, 70's, or 80's. We have Black Bear, Elk, Mountain Lion, White Tail/Black Tail/Mule and Coos Deer, Pronghorn Antelope and some pissy Javelina. The majority of our typical northern hunting areas are covered in scrub pine with rocky terrain thrown in as a bonus. The most you can hope for in regards to a clear and unobstructed shot is less than 100 yards, typically and with that, it is very well known and accepted as fact by the hundreds of hunters and ranchers that live in towns like Ashfork, Seligman, Bagdad, Oatman, Wikieup, Yarnell and Skull Valley that if you intend to shoot sumthin', grab that 303 off the wall and get the job done correctly. Go to any of the many shooting ranges here and someone is going to have an Enfield with them. You will most often hear comments like, "Shot my very first deer with one of those." or "My dad and uncle still use theirs whenever they get drawn for deer."
I had a Fish & Game cop ask me why I use an outdated 303 rifle instead of using my 308W or 243W rifle that I keep as backups. My response was, "I don't have to wait for the deer come out from behind a tree or granite boulder." (Not that I have done that but, you get my point.) The truly fun-fact is that most if not all old-skool Enfield wielding hunters and ranchers out here do not use a scope...
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paddyofurniture ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: December 26 2011 Location: NC Status: Offline Points: 4643 |
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My Father-in-law used a No1 MkIII as issued as a farm rifle in CT. Till his death in 2019.
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Always looking for military manuals, Dodge M37 items,books on Berlin Germany, old atlases ( before 1946) , military maps of Scotland. English and Canadian gun parts.
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Honkytonk ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: December 30 2017 Location: Brandon Mb Status: Offline Points: 4613 |
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Britrifles, scopes do help here in the bush and the morning and evenings prior to legal 1/2 hour before/after sunrise/sunset. Personally, my weapon(s) of choice are my scopeless No5 when in the bush and my No1 MkIII with a Parker-Hale aperture rear sight when sitting at the edge of a field. When I can't harvest one with my bare eyes and iron sights, then I'll switch back to my Sporter with a scope, which used to be my prime freezer filler. Probably sooner than I want!😁
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Marco1010 ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: February 04 2020 Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Points: 396 |
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Here in New Zealand the .303 took thousands of Deer every year during the culling times (1950's to 1970's). from Fallow deer , Red deer right up to Wapiti (elk). mostly this was done with army surplus Lee Enfields and old army ammuniton. Cullers sometimes carried side-cutters to snip the tips of the FMJ projectiles off. In the 70's the cullers moved into .270 and commercial ammo.
Nothing down here a .303 can't deal with.
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britrifles ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Atlanta, GA Status: Offline Points: 5590 |
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I imagine the Mk 7 round would be pretty devastating on any game animal.
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hoadie ![]() Moderator Group ![]() ![]() Joined: March 16 2006 Location: Niagara/Canada Status: Offline Points: 8721 |
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North of Bancroft - south of Algonquin the bush is fairly thick. Trying to use a scope for deer here all you will see is a blur of trees etc. (Deer make a whole new meaning to "fast food".)
Your shot will be twixt 25 to 75 yds. It was the same way when I hunted Wilberforce in Haliburton Highlands. The "hidden flaw" is that we have Elk,Moose & bear here. The bear you KNOW when its comin thru the bush...Moose- more often than not - end up nearly face to face with you before you know it!(Happened to me a few times..& some of my pards as well.) The Elk can be running in the bush..& their deerlike appearance-in the bush at speed - worries me, alot. Theres NO leeway or forgivness if you shoot one..& that has nearly happened a few times here. |
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Loose wimmen tightened here
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Shamu ![]() Admin Group ![]() ![]() Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 16513 |
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A while back I was asked to test & write a review on a laser rangefinder. It was factory-rated for 1,000 yds. Try as I might including traveling all over the place the best range I could find that I could get to test it was 375 yds. Even Antietam National battlefield wasn't a far-ranging as I expected to get because the rolling terrain & scattered wooded areas hid a lot of "Open Land"! The 3 sets of numbers are Range in Yards I was doing 3 tests for repeatability. I quit worrying about "long range shooting" round here after that. ![]() |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Honkytonk ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: December 30 2017 Location: Brandon Mb Status: Offline Points: 4613 |
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And yet so many people around my neck of the woods have purchased custom made "MOA @ 1000 + yard" rifles while our range maximum is 200 yards. I always say "it's your money, spend it as you wish" but I also have noticed a lot of these long range rifles are now up for sale in various gun sites. That being said, I've yet to make a penny in any of my firearm purchases over the years!
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britrifles ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Atlanta, GA Status: Offline Points: 5590 |
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No doubt, 1000 yard range is hard to find here in the SE as well. There is one in Tennessee that is about 2 hours from where I live. There were plans to build a 1000x range only an hour from where I live but too much political pressure and they caved….
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Goosic ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 12 2017 Location: Phoenix Arizona Status: Offline Points: 8167 |
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Long Range shooting is not as fun as one would hope for unless you are a dedicated Brench Rest shooter with a 20+K block of steel with a 4" thick barrel screwed to it. The advantages to shooting from 100 to 300 yards gives the shooter situational awareness in the now. He knows immediately what is around his target and beyond as well as where the bullets are printing whereas Long Range Shooters have to rely on visual cues by spotters, CCTV in some instances with alot of guesstimations and referring to your D.O.P.E. chart. The Lee-Enfield No4Mk1 is excellent for SR work and allows the operator to adjust his skills accordingly IMHO...
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Shamu ![]() Admin Group ![]() ![]() Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 16513 |
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Oh I don't know about that. I have fun with a .303 out to whatever the range will tolerate. Locally (38 miles) the range goes to 300yds. If I want more I have to drive 281 Miles to a private field where I can go to 583 (it was surveyed at 600, but I lased it) or I can go to a range 185 miles away for out to 1,000, but i avoid them because they sold the membership lists to national media a few years back! HUGE stink about it. Peacemaker National Training Center (Peacemaker) 1624 Brannons Ford Rd.
Gerrardstown WV 25420 |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Sapper740 ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: July 15 2021 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 197 |
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British Columbia has the both the greatest concentration and greatest variety of big game animals in North America. Some areas may have more of one species i.e. Alaska and Grizzly bears or Saskatchewan and Whitetail deer but the sheer number of species available to hunt is un-matched. There are only three species I felt it was inappropriate to hunt with the .303 British: Mountain sheep and Mountain goat for the extreme distances and Grizzly bear.
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paddyofurniture ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: December 26 2011 Location: NC Status: Offline Points: 4643 |
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A 300 Weatherby is the gun for grizzly bear.
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Always looking for military manuals, Dodge M37 items,books on Berlin Germany, old atlases ( before 1946) , military maps of Scotland. English and Canadian gun parts.
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Sapper740 ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: July 15 2021 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 197 |
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I've only shot one Griz and that was with a BLR in .358 Win handloaded with 250 gr. Barnes over a powder load that safely exceeded the recommended maximum.
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