.303 British For Deer?

[Coyote_Man]

The first gun that I had gone deer hunting with is a .303 British and I guess I really do not know much about the gun? Is it a fast bullet and does it have enough power to take down a Colorado Elk this fall? Would you reccommend any cartridges for it at all? Thank you guys for helping me out about huntin.
Coyote_Man

 

[dieharder]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-06-03 AT 02:16AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Feb-06-03 AT 02:15?AM (MST)

Coyote Man
A little history... It was Britain's service rifle for more than 70 years, it was adopted in 1888. The 303 has probably killed more game in Africa than any other cartridge. Case capacity and case shape are very similar to that of the 30-40 Krag. The 303 Brit takes a bullet of .311 diameter, which is just slightly bigger than run of the mill .30 cal bullets i.e .308 and so forth.... Maximum working pressure is 45000 cup. & hot hand-loads should be avoided. You should be able to find curremt factory ammo by Remington for the Brit at your local Walmart in 150gr & 180gr loads.

Average muzzle velocity for the 180gr round is about 2400fps and 2500fps for the 150gr.

The 150 works great on deer & the 180 is what you'll want to use on elk. Do not take any extreme long range shots. Kepp them within 200yrds or so and it will work just fine for ya......

Hope this helps......

 

[Cochise]

Also, check out www.chuckhawks.com. Lots of info on cartridges and firearms.

I've handloaded a hundred 180-grain round nosers for testing and hunting. Using RL-15 and Win. primers. Should make a good black timber load. I have a No. 1 Mk III and Mk. 4 Enfields. Iron sights and 10-round clips. The No. 1 has a sporterized stock and typical 25" or 26" barrel. The Mk. 4 is an odd-looking piece put together by Century Arms Int'l. It looks just like a full-length stocked Mk. 4, but has a 16.5" barrel. Guys at the range don't like shooting next to me on account of its "bark." Oh well.

 

[gutpile8]

The .303 Brit. is stout enough for elk but, in Colorado you

may be in for some long shooting ! I would suggest a300 or 7mm

mag. Good luck !!!

gutpile8