Thread: Resurgence of interest in the old "Three Oh"?

Greetings All,
With this thread now up to 230 posts it would be safe to say that there is still interest in hunting with a .303 even if largely ceremonial. Most of those posting seem to have a few years on the clock and may need a scope to be confident on taking a shot in what appears to us to be gloomy conditions. Scoping Lee Enfields is a bit tricky so I thought I should share what little I have learnt over the years.
No1 rifles have usually been scoped using the Parker Hale base made for that purpose. One that I had done many years ago had high rings and I had always assumed that this was needed for the bolt to clear the scope. There was a No1 bolt in the cupboard and a couple of No 4 rifles so a check was made.

The No4 bolt is on the left and the No1 on the right. I popped the No4 bolt into its rifle and there was plenty of clearance so I screwed the bolt head of the No1 bolt and here it is in the No4.

The scope is a 2.5 power Lyman and the base is a No1 base that has been modified to fit the No4. It is quite rigid and shoots well and maintains its zero. It looks as though the low rings could be used for some scopes on the No 1. Check and see.
I have never liked the Parker Hale bases for the No4 as they seem to be lacking in rigidity. A rail type base modified to fit the bridge would seem preferable. A barrel mounted scout type scope would be better still.
Others may wish to respond with their scope solutions for the .303.
Regards Grandpamac.