Thread: Is the 303 obsolete?

So my mate wants to get setup on a shoestring budget and is looking for a reasonable allrounder, goats, pigs, deer, ect. I

was thinking about where he could save a dollar and 303s can be picked up at a good price.i know of a sporter with a good barrel at under $100. Not flash, but is it good enough?

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The price and availability of .303 ammo may be the biggest issue.

Adding things like scopes and suppressors may also be difficult.
There are second hand remingtons, mossberg etc out there that will offer superior performance and ammo selection.

Nope its as good as ever. A decent one is just as effective as a 308 if you handload or can get decent factory ammo.

Bit of a black or white absolutist question.

What makes a cartridge obsolete? When you cannot buy new rifles chambered in it? In which case yes (not counting the Ruger #1). When ammo companies stop making ammo for it? In which case no. When it's no longer issued by any military/service? In which case pretty much unless you're a Bangladeshi police officer.

Like Tentman says, ballistics of the cartridge are close to that of 308 Win. But the <$200 TradeMe specials that shoot it are a +/- century old and odds are they are pretty well clapped out. If you want something that will hold its own against a modern, scoped, bolt action rifle you will need to up your budget or revise your plan.

A $100 303 sporter will be that cheap for a reason (or reasons).

Might just end up being an effort in frustration if it groups are dinner plate sized at 100m? But I'm sure there will be some out there that still shoot ok. Ideally you would be able to try before you buy...

Far better off with a Mauser 308 in whatever guise F.N, Parker Hale, etc

this...

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...ing/5597804557

wtf is that a doorstop on the front?

Greetings All,
The .303 is not obsolete as ammo is still available and should be for some time yet. Not bad for a cartridge that appeared the century before last. Some of this centuries cartridges are obsolete as ammo is no longer made. The .303 is, however, a poor choice for a beginner hunter. A second hand .308 would leave it for dead.
GPM.

Ask csmiffy. Dude gave me heaps of help and advice when I did my first reloads. I did FLS. Neck sizing was a complete waste of time. Could not get them to chamber. Interesting cartridge. Did 100 rounds for my mate. Sure used 150gr. Read Mike Bennetts book. What some cullers did killing at 800m must have been impressive.

Originally Posted by TeRei

Ask csmiffy. Dude gave me heaps of help and advice when I did my first reloads. I did FLS. Neck sizing was a complete waste of time. Could not get them to chamber. Interesting cartridge. Did 100 rounds for my mate. Sure used 150gr. Read Mike Bennetts book. What some cullers did killing at 800m must have been impressive.

The cullers had no way of measuring 800 yards, so thats where the myths came from.

Originally Posted by Tahr

The cullers had no way of measuring 800 yards, so thats where the myths came from.

My father had an Air Force issue 303 carbine with slide type sights that went up to 1200 yards

He and his mate Kelvin Stuart from Rotorua used to hunt the upper Waipunga valley for reds and Sika in their teens

Off to the left of the road was an unusual hill out in the middle of an otherwise flat valley floor. my father said a few years back they had rolled up jacket on the car bonnet parked on the road and shot three deer off that hill at 600 yards, and spent the rest of the day getting the meat back to the Austin

I ranged the exact spot years later with a rangefinder and it was 310 yards

I never told him

I miss him most days now his 303 lives in my safe full time

Originally Posted by vulcannz

wtf is that a doorstop on the front?

No it’s a handstop on an Omark target rifle
Maybe a bit heavy to cart around as a hunting rifle 🤣

Originally Posted by omark

No it’s a handstop on an Omark target rifle
Maybe a bit heavy to cart around as a hunting rifle 🤣

Tell that to Daniel Boone, those long muskets are a longway off the modern trend the girls carry now.