# .303 rifles



## mick mate (Sep 17, 2006)

hi guys, im after some info about aparticular .303 from 1945. if you have any infromation please post it. pics would be good to. cheers :sniper:


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Make? Model? Military? Factory or sporterized?


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## Invector (Jan 13, 2006)

I'm guessing your talking about the .303 British gun. Theres alot of info out on google about it. Though its a big gun, its slow with not much impact or speed compaired to the .300's. I can tell you though that the .303 is the gun the Spitfire of WWII shot.


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## scauphunter73 (Sep 23, 2004)

My father-in-law has one. I guess they're popular in Canada as this was their military round for WWII. He claims it's balistically similar to a 30.06. That would make sense considering the WWII thing. Drops big whitetails plenty good!


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

Not quite an equal to a 30-06, will drive a 150 gr bullet about 2700 fps making it somewhere between a 30-40 Krag and a 30-06.

Bore diameters and chamber head spacing vary greatly on the military rifles.


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

Not quite an equal to a 30-06, will drive a 150 gr bullet about 2700 fps making it somewhere between a 30-40 Krag and a 30-06.

Bore diameters and chamber head spacing vary greatly on the military rifles.


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## mick mate (Sep 17, 2006)

sorry its taken so long to reply. this particular rifle is marked Fabrica De Armas 1945 La Coruna on the top of the reciever. so i figure its spanishon the right side it has two small pictures etched into it; one looks like a flaming bomb of sorts, the other like a person. on the right side of the stock it has a diamond shaped marked burned into it.

cheers for the help so far guys

ps im new to this site and had to say that your doing a great job :beer:


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## mick mate (Sep 17, 2006)

one other query i have is: will this old rifle stand upto the punishment modern ammunition will give?
:sniper:


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## Invector (Jan 13, 2006)

With the limited ammo out there for a .303 there should be no reason to worry about ammo. However, if the gun is not in good shooting shape you might have bit problems with it. Example: I receaved a winchester 12g pump (1890 i think). The last time the gun was cleaned had to be before I was born. With that a rag with oil was placed in the barrel. The place where the rag was I found was deteriorated. Needless to say if I would want to shoot it again I would have to take it to someone who restors guns. The bad parts of the gun would probably not hold up to any type of shooting. I also got a marlin 16g pump. This gun also was miss treated and has some runs, but not on any of the working parts or inside the barrel. This gun I feel could be shot again. Though I still have some looking to do on it but the barrel, chamber, housing, elivater, and hammer (it has a hammer for a fireing pin) are in good shape. Its small things like these that can make or break a gun when fireing.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Mick mate, factory ammo loaded for calibers such as the 303 British, 30-40 Krag, 45-70, etc are loaded to far less pressure than newer more modern rounds for the exact reason you're stating. There are a lot of older guns out there that are still in service as sporting weapons and manufacturers load ammo to work in the weakest guns. Newer calibers such as the WSM's or Ultra-mags, etc are loaded to much higher pressures because all the guns chambered for that caliber are essentially "new". That's the long story for your rifle should be fine with factory ammo given that's it's in good condition.


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## davy (Sep 19, 2006)

I hunt with a 303 made in 1918 and sportered by Parker Hale , I purchaced new in 1974 for under $200.00 Canadian . The model was called the safari . I have downed moose and white tales with it . How ever the areas I hunt the shooting is very seldom more than 100 yards . I used a 3006 remington semi one season and went back to my 303 the next . Have no trouble getting ammo 150 and 180 grain .

Davy North West Ontario


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## mick mate (Sep 17, 2006)

Thanks for the help guys.
The rifle itself is, as far as i can tell, in good nick the rifling is still in order and there is no oxidizing at all.
the bolt itself matches the rifle but the numbers dont.
the ammunition that i have is: 8mm Mauser 175gr Pointed soft point boat tail rounds, and are fairly easy to get ahold of.
:beer:


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Cricke mate, you have Crockadile Dundee's rifle!! Sorry I just couldn't resist. Although, they are likely very similar, if not the same.


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## mick mate (Sep 17, 2006)

Very funny :lol: he actually used his fathers .303 well..most of the time. he used when he wasnt playing knifey/spoony with the kids at the creek ^^ 
seriously tho is the ammo i have suitable for the type of rifle i want to use it with? :withstupid:


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Ought not be a problem.


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## mick mate (Sep 17, 2006)

im goin huntin next month then  :sniper:


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## Habitat Hugger (Jan 19, 2005)

Just noticed this post about the .303 British so copied what I put on another thread by one of your fellow Australians.
Having grown up in Canada and having very little money, I think every kid owned at least one or two surplus SMLE .303 British rifles. In the early 50's you could buy them out of Eaton's or Sears mail order catalogue for $5.00 on up. Ammo was mainly surplus and very cheap as well. 
On the whole they shot pretty well, with some being more accurate than others. The early ones were made for use in WW1 and the real early ones had only 2 ridge rifling. I can't rmrmber differences between all the Mark 1 - 4's but they all shot well. Of course in those days you almost never swaw a scope on them. 
Keep in mind that they use .311 bullets rather than .308's like the other 30 calibers if you handload, but a pretty good selection of bullets are available. 
As a rough tough rifle, they are almost bulletproof (pun intended!) 
We had a lot of fun with them back then - wish I had one or two to play around with now!
The condition and manufacturing of those SMLE's are pretty variable. As I said above, there are really ancient ones, and some made fairly recently, even after WW2 I believe. Some are finely crafted, and others were stamped out pretty crudely for wartime expediency. 
But they kill almost as well as the 100 year old 06, with muzzle velocities and energy less, but still lethal.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

The ammunition you have, if you can get it jammed into the rifle will blow it to pieces. Your 303 is .311 inch diameter while 8mm is .323 diameter. I doubt if you can get it in the rifle, and if you can it must have a different barrel. A bullet .012 larger will not chamber, and if your throat was worn enough to let you do it, it would turn your rifle into a grenade. You better mic your bore at the muzzle.


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## Habitat Hugger (Jan 19, 2005)

Glad you picked that up, Plainsman!  Yes, the 8mm Mauser is totally different and although probably wouldn't chamber, if they did you would have a pipe bomb! 
Also the 8mm Mauser is a rimless cartride and the .303 British is a rimmed cartridge! 
Don't confuse them!! 
Also the .303 British is different from the .303 Savage as well!


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