.303 British

E

Eagle59

Well-Known Member
My brother gave me a nice WWII vintage .303 British. It seemss to be in good shape; the barrel shows little or no wear, clean, no rust or pitting, in fact it may have been rebarrelled. The metal looks to have been painted (or repainted as the case may be), which may be the source of my problem. The magazine is a SOB to get in and out. I almost don't have the strength to remove it, which to me doesn't seem right. Is this a common problem with these rifles? I'm thinking of removing the paint and trying to oil it up and maybe polish up the mating surfaces and see if that helps; any suggestions?

Also, ammo is not readily available at any of the stores; in fact I haven't seen any since the new administration. Not a problem really, since I probably won't shoot it much anyway, but are there any suggestions as to where I can get quality ammo, non corrosive, without paying $1.50 a round? Any concerns about it being safe to shoot?

Thanks,
Dennis
 
I laughed for 5 minutes strait after reading that...thanks
"The magazine is a SOB to get in and out. I almost don't have the strength to remove it, which to me doesn't seem right. Is this a common problem with these rifles?"

ITS NOT DESIGNED TO BE REMOVED EASILY...ITS designed to be loaded from the top while still in the rifle with stripper clips you use to push the cartridges in from the top

smle+clips+5-pack+600w.jpg

600-sc-303-n+loaded.jpg


http://www.ima-usa.com/british-enfield- ... -of-5.html

http://www.colbubbie.com/british303smle ... ps482.aspx


WATCH THIS VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esegl2jW ... re=related

as to ammo, 70 cents-90 cents a cartridge for commercial is common, you can hand load once you get the correct tools for about 30-40 cents a shot, so it may take a while to break even , with 1/3-1/2 priced ammo but its not hard to make a great deal of cheap ammo, used reloading presses go cheap, if you shop carefully, Ive purchased several used ones in perfect condition over the years

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/s ... x?a=148320

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/1 ... x?a=511207
 
Dosent rifle metal parts have to be blued not painted?
On my 2 old british .303, the mags are painted and i never take them off anyway.

Can't find surplus 303 anymore in anada, all we can shoot is new production like federal, winchester, remington ammo wich is availlable at every store

Its a nice rifle, just make sure the headspace is right(case splitting).
 
old military rifles tended to be PHOSPHATE coated not blued, as blue is shinny reflects light, phosphate is dull and dark so it wont flash as its moved in the sun

1288250998.jpg
 
Oups, your right. I probably spend too much time looking at after-market add-ons lol. I think i meant parkerized instead of painted?
I really like the light grey phosphate coating on my M14 :D
 
Hmm. Well, back in the late 60's I had a .303 that had been sportorized...paid $17.50 for it, and I did shoot it some but I don't remember how I got it loaded. I just assumed the mag came out and it was hand loaded. Thanks for the links; I'll check them out.
 
you can load it fast with stripper clips or slowly by simply pushing each round down into the magazine from the top making sure the rim of each upper cartridge is to the front of the rim below it., for hunting theres no huge rush to reload in most cases, if your being shot at a fast reloads nice
 
grumpyvette said:
you can load it fast with stripper clips or slowly by simply pushing each round down into the magazine from the top making sure the rim of each upper cartridge is to the front of the rim below it., for hunting theres no huge rush to reload in most cases, if your being shot at a fast reloads nice
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Thanks. My military service was very limited; I served in a British Thermal Unit. :roll:
 
Indycars said:
Eagle59 said:
Thanks. My military service was very limited; I served in a British Thermal Unit. :roll:
Click to expand...
I bet that got you into a lot of Hot Water! :lol:
Click to expand...

I heard he didn't advance very far up the Celsius Scale... :( But then, what do I know!!! :oops:
 
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