I have used one since I was 12, am 70 now and have a mint unaltered No1 Mark 3 still today. Had many, many of them from all original versions to a Commercial BSA LEE SPEED with Express sights, to cut down rifle like yours. I had a minty beautiful blue all orig No1 Mark 4 and a beat up No1 cut down with a nasty dark bore and oil impregnated sock, that looked like it was pulled down a dirt road on a rope for a few miles. 100 yards I fired that minty No 4 with the excellent ladder issue sights and outstanding bore then the "junker" worst condition SMLE I've ever seen. The group difference was not what I predicted, both shot outstanding, maybe only a half inch difference or less between the two. I recall seeing a Canadian game officer shoot a big bull bison on you tube with an issue No4, and a picture of an Indian lady who defended her home from a polar bear that tried to get in, her rifle an all original NO1 MARK3 .303 and a dead polar bear was in her yard. Messed with the wrong lady huh? In Africa it's been said more big game including the dangerous species has likely been killed and wounded by the .303 British than any other cartridge. Bell the famous Ivory hunter (poacher really) began his career using a pair of surplus. 303 SMLE rifles, guns and ammo were cheap and prolific. The Lee Lee Enfield is still a good hunting outfit. I have carried one in the field for many years, my brother and his son have used there guns on wild boar with great success.
Same here. Bought mine around 00-01 for 130$ and the pawn owner threw in a box of ammo lol. She’s a Lithgow 1928 Mk III that still puts a deer in the freezer every fall. Damn sure getting more expensive to feed these days tho . I guess I need to learn to reload.
@@crazytomato5516 Shooting the old firearms makes you appreciate the men and women who defended themselves and their country and old firearms are just fun and built better!!!
G.R stands for Georgius Rex , or king george the fifth due to the 1912 dating , was made by London small arms company limited or lSA CO L. The III means it's a no1 mark 3 pattern rifle.
Thank you for the blast from the past. This is the gun my dad bought from surplus during the early fifties and taught me proper gun safety and how to hunt deer with. My dad “hillbillysed” and made a beautiful walnut stock for in shop class. Awesome video! Thanks!
When I was in the Brit arm cadets i used to fire the Lee Enfield .303 at 200 and 500 yds at the Bisley ranges, standard brit army ammo. I was very upset if i scored less than 30 out of 35. we used Parker Hale match sights. I love your videos. Many thanks. We shot lying prone using only a standard rifle sling for support. Standard competition practice.
Adam....the reason those rifles are sporterized, is because when the rifles were decommissioned from military service it was way cheaper to buy one of those for deer hunting than a new rifle. My dad told me those rifles sold for basically pennies on the dollar when they were released on the civilian market. The only bad thing about those rifles is that some of the older ammo was hot. The older ammo tended to stretch the chamber out thus increasing headspace. The remedy for that was the British government had several lengths of bolt heads that were installed on the rifles once the chambers started stretching out. They’re not the most accurate rifle, but for a service rifle back in the day, they were good for what they were needed for. Watch a guy here on TH-cam called British muzzleloaders. He has a couple good videos on the British enfield rifle. My rifle was made by savage for the lend-lease program during ww2.
If I remember right, Bloke on the Range said that these rifles were designed to have a slight amount of up pressure on the barrel from the front of the full wooden stock. He advised against “sporterizing” these rifles because you may negatively affect the accuracy of the point of impact. That being stated, he said if you do modify the stock, you might get lucky and not have an issue. Bottom line, if it works for you - that’s all that counts. I picked up a near mint post war No4 mkII before the recent price madness in the gun market.
Really enjoying this series of clunker stick video's. Thousands and thousands of those SMLE .303's were cut down and sporterized here in Australia at the end of WW2 and used on everything from croc, pig and buffalo. I have a mate who still uses his on sambar deer over the hounds here in Victoria. They are an iconic piece of military history alright. I've owned a No1 Mark 3 similar to yours Adam along with a No2 Mark 2 as well. They're long gone. However like yours, with a ten round mag and sporterized, they make a great, fast action gun especially on the pigs. Thanks for sharing!
If I remember right the 303 started out as a black power round in about 1890. And for a while the brits charged them with cordite then smokeless powder. The round is about the same as the 30-06 or 308 round in effectiveness. And was used by militaries around the world. It's still used today by hunters and sportsmen. When I was a kid, you could buy these for around seventy dollars. It was the poor man's Cadillac of that time. A fine bolt action rifle at a good price. Lots of people used them for deer hunting in my area. I use the M1903 A3 Springfield because 30-06 rounds are easier to find and afford here in the U.S.
Not used to hearing "303 British". I'm a Canadian/Australian and here in the colonies, we just call it "three-oh-three". Great round. They've been used against everything from polar bears to lions to German SS. Historical piece of ammunition.
.303 Savage was developed around the same time by Savage Arms in the U.S., mostly for their lever-action rifles. It isn't nearly as popular as the .303 British any more, but the distinction is still spoken a lot. 😊
In Australia they used to shoot the “Queens Shoot “with them, with a nine inch bull at 900 yards with a aperature sight in the prone position. Ten rounds,(a magazine full) in ten minutes. with a good barrel they can easily shoot MOA at that distance . Ten bulls were very rare, but nine bulls and a hit in the 1 yard otter ring was commonplace every weekend 👍🇦🇺🐊
Love the old SMLE rifles. Have one my Dad gave me 35 years ago. And after a year of trying to find one, I just bought a Uberti Courteney Stalking rifle in 303 British. Beautiful rifle in a beloved caliber from a bygone era.
I have found surplus .303 ammo at gun shows for as little as a quarter a pop. The old British colonies still use it for machine guns, and it comes up occasionally. I have a sport model .303 that my grandfather gave to my dad, and then he have it to me. It shoots straighter'n the road to hell, and I can't even see the target sometimes, but it almost always hits. Although I don't recommend using fmj for hunting big game, head-shots at 209 yards are easily made with my rifle, and there is no wasted meat. Besides-- I never found a recipe for antler stew that tasted worth a damn...
Yep, I received one as a Christmas gift back when I was 11 years old (circa 1983). It was packed in a crate covered Cossmoline. My younger brother received one as well. I remember my moms expression toward my dad like “How much did this cost?!”, and my dad saying “Don’t worry mom, Santa knows a good investment when he sees one”.
@@mrhamburger6936 Along with McRorys SS Kresges. That's when employees knew things. Now it's Let me see if I can somebody who knows. Times have changed.
Friend of mine got a young buck last year with a 303. Date stamp was 1941. Gotta love that brass plate at the back that is to protect the stock not your shoulder. 😁
Almost 110 years old, if that old Bing Bang could talk!!! Anyway you look at it, it’s a cool old piece of history, and it still works. I wish I could send you some boolots, but sending ammunition across the Canadian border to the USA is deeply frowned upon by the powers that be. Coincidentally I found two boxes of OLD 303 FMJ in a cabinet drawer at work today (yep I sell Bing Bangs) that are probably 75 years old, manufactured by the Dominion Arms corporation (Canadian WW2 ammunition company I think). Anyhow keep on flinging dem boolots, and congratulations again on 300K Subs. God Bless ❤️ from 🇨🇦
A lot of red deer have been taken over the last 100 years in NZ with an SMLE in 303. Not a whole lot wrong with either that caliber or rifle. There are probably a number of dead Germans that could attest their effectiveness also.
Reputed to have killed (and wounded) more big game animals in Africa than any other firearm, due to an unfortunate tendency for the projectile to start tumbling end over end 50 to 60 m down range.
Not the exact model, but the Lee Enfield 303. No4, mk2 was the first military grade rifle & ammo i used. A lot of bang for ur buck & the range was out there. (like my swollen shoulder after a days shooting). Great post. Thanks. Edit: the hatch in the backs for ur pull through/cleaning gear. The Muhajadeen actually preferred these to modern assault rifles. As they could take out, Russian's hundreds of yards before the Russian, AKs could get in effective range. I heard too that in, WW1, German's thought it was MGs that where engaging them as the British could load so fast. Mainly because the, Enfield bolt never impeded the sights when being drawn. Which meant ur eye never left the target. Unlike the German, Gewehr 98.
This calls for a follow-up video with the sights adjusted...and lately I'm finding that most rifle boolots are $2 each...maybe not 22-250 but the rest are pricy but mostly available
@@jakefromstatefarm1405 take a look at the Lee hand press. I started out with that and own a couple and prefer using them despite having a Dillon 1050. I work 60-70 hours a week, I know how valuable time is. Reloading is more important today than it ever has been, it's outlined under the second amendment where it says well regulated. Knowing how to make your ammunition is vitally important as knowing how to use your firearm.
When I first bought mine 20 years ago, you could buy a 20 box of Remington green and yellow corelockt for 19-20 bucks, nowadays, everything thats not 308 or 5.56 is 40 bucks a box, at least.
That is a 1912 S.M.L.E. it was produced by London Small Arms. The GR is for king George...Gorgia Regia. It has been sporterized. Seeing that the foreend and top wood of the handguard has been removed, it probably will not shoot consistantly at any given range. They were designed to have 5lbs of upward pressure on the last part of the barrel to help with shooting with a bayonet attached. Same as the mosin, it would have the bayonet on it for it to shoot to zero at shorter ranges. 400 or more would be without. That being said, shes looks like she has potential for serious accuracy. Theres a bunch about it i could tell from any/all of the various markings. Post some pics of the markings you see anywhere on it. There are a bunch of enfield guys out there way more knowledgable than i am and someone will explain what everything means. Check out books by Ian Skinnerton, he is the foremost authority on enfields. Have fun with her.
I just got one this past week, mine’s the “sporterized” version that the purists despise as well. I shot it a few times, and absolutely love the look and feel of it. So much history.
@@HarrisonCountyStudio $275 CAD. I’m in Canada, so the sporterized ones are cheap and easy to find. The intact ones with the full wood stock are a bit harder and can run over $5000.
Well, the Jungle Carbine version looks sporterized like who tee who’s enfield but with a shorter barrel. Guess the purists hate those too ? There’s parts out there to restore it to the original look. My enfield has been sporterized, but I may restore it to original, just takes time to hunt down the parts and someone to assemble it to specifications.
I have my old man's 303 converted to 303-25 and found it was nowhere near as accurate as I was lead to believe. Still a great bit of Aussie history. I think yours was made by Lithgow Small Arms here in Oz as well going on what you said the markings are. 👍
@@RobsAquaponics I have the same rifle, a No 1 Mk 3* 1943 action, mine has been shortened to a 20" barrel and with 100gn reloads will put them in to 3/4" @ 100m.
My dad bought mine for my brother for deer season back in 75. Less than a hundred bucks for a Jungle Carbine. His wife wouldn’t let him have a gun so after a few years of dad taking care of it, it came to me! Love it. It’s killed it’s share of deer.
It's a good, early SMLE. Would be nice to get a hold of it and bring back to full military. That's the fun part. I'm a collector of Enfields. There's nothing else that makes me smile like one of those.
That .303 Caliber is Very well known thru out the world just like the 30-06 they are Known for it's awesome range and stopping power matched up with artillery from 25 meters out to over 1200 meters killing power.
My marlin 336sc has a ramp for rear sight.......I was almost ringing a 10" steel plate at 200 yards with rear sight all the way up. It's amazing how close I was getting with iron sights. I'm sure you'll do way better with sights adjusted for distance
I have one that my farther bought in the 70's for about $50.00, still wax paper wrapped and filled with grease. The elevated rear site does help a lot. They are a lot of fun.
I have a sporterized 93 mauser in 7x57mm. It commonly called a Spanish Mauser. Ive had folks get upset that its a "butchered" mauser. It looks good and shoots well. It aint theirs and I like it.
When I was a young man my cousin had one of those that had been shortened, and fitted with a scope. It would scope bite you if you weren’t careful but it was crazy accurate.
Nice show, nothing wrong with a 303, I used them a lot when I was younger and still like them, the last one was a Canadian #4 and was very accurate, wish I had one today
I have a sporterized No4 Mk 1 from 1943 built in the UK and used against the Krauts, got it from the original owner as issued back in 1984, the bolt is worn beyond belief, the and it was issued too told me he had fired over 300,000 rounds while he was in the service. He was an American who went to the UK and joined up prior to the United States entering world war II. He said that gun saved his life more times than he could count. And from the bolt condition, I would say he was right. It's still fires good, the Bore is bright and shiny, no pitting. Shoots straight as can be but the bolt is worn out and I'm afraid that the action may be also. So I will keep it and shoot it every once in awhile. But it would have to be reworked to be a common use gun
I adjusted the sights on my old 303, it's a tack driver. I want to shoot it now after watching this video but I guess I better hang onto what ammo I got a little longer.
Looks like a 1 mk3. Can tell by the rear sight placement. I dropped mine in an ATI sniper stock and scope. Made in 1917 and accurate, reliable and all original. Love mine. Bulk ammo is widely available online. Lots of misurp out there. Thanks for another great video.
I read a comparison in Guns & Ammo many years ago between the Lee Enfield, the Mauser & the Springfield. They said the Germans built the Mauser for hunting, the Americans built the Springfield for target shooting and the Brits built the Lee Enfield for killing their enemies.
Other than a air rifle and a 22. The 303 was my first rifle to train on as a teenager in the 90's here in Little New Zealand,. SMLE model 1 mk3 great Bing bang with smooth bolt and reliable action. Never an issue, and ammo in those days was cheap,. Bucket of ex mil serp for $30. Couple of hundred rounds I guess. Would drop a deer hiding behind a tree. I can also remember using it to go through a wooden power pole to collect a possom the kept pulling his head in from the 22. Dame near cut it in half after passing through the pole. These ex mil serp were solid, FMJ. Not the soft nose that you showed in the video. Thanks for the memories Who Tee Who. And Hello from Little New Zealand
Mine was made in 1949 and has been sporterized. Dad bought it in about 1960 for (I think) $40. We were not rich and Dad liked to hunt. Removing all that wood in the front made it easier to carry up and down hills and dales. It would put down a deer no trouble. I rarely use it because I can't see with open sites that well anymore and really like my Jim Dandy Vortex scope on my Savage Model 12 with the Boyds stock and the groovy 10 round mag.
I’ve heard the old sporterized argument plenty enough but that’s the way old timers got thier deer rifles they would buy an old surplus rifle cut off what they didn’t need and put it to work. Ain’t no point in passing them up when you come across them if they are in good shape put them back to work.
I got a sporterized one, dated 1917. Has several crown stamps all over it. I was told every time it came back from an active duty the military gunsmith would go through it and give it a stamp of approval. So if that theory is correct, my gun went thru some serious gun fights. I wish my gun could talk...or not.
December 2023. That rifle is a classic. That rifle - and various 'update' changes - was in service with the British (I am a blatant U. S. citizen from birth; I still can't tell what term to use correctly, except I know "English' is not all inclusive) Army from 1895 or so until 1954 or so. That rifle has been 'sporterized' to the limited extent of removing some of the fore-stock, no doubt to lessen the weight carrying it in the hinterlands. Nor did whoever did it find use for a bayonet. To have someone do that sort of thing now, but for many years those surplus rifles were appreciated only as a cheap way to own a useful hunting rifle. I could go on. What most surplus buyers didn't know is the SMLE fore-stock was made to give a slight pressure on the barrel close to the muzzle which suppressed vibration in the barrel and gave better result. So removing that section made the groups a little larger. Who knew? As you see, that rifle - even hacked up (and the metal all looks unfiddled, only the stock was cut) shoots rather well. The primary purpose of the rifle was to shoot enemies of the realm. (Just like any other 'service' rifle.) And at 200 yards, without any sighting in or such, the rifle seems to have done well. If shot a bit more, zeroed and properly using the built-in sights, all the fired rounds would have been on target. Allow me - at this late date - to offer some advice. 1. Shoot initial groups as carefully as possible in three shot groups. Hold those three shoot exactly the same. Then move sights as needed. Three shots will give a better idea of where the arm is hitting. One shot can be a fluke for good or bad. . 2. Move the sights ONLY after one establishes a group. No two people have the same eyes, so your group and my group will possibly be different places or such. But if it is YOUR rifle, adjust on YOUR shooting. Those who don't believe they can shoot well and have 'a friend who's a good shot' sight in the rifle is wasting ammunition. 3. Shoot another minimum three shot group to verify one is 'on target', that is, where the shooter wants the group to be. Concentrate on getting the shots on the vertical centerline of the target - elevation comes later 4. Elevation. Military rifles are intended to repel enemies of the homeland. So an accurate shot is pretty much anywhere on the torso. Your targets recorded that shots struck higher on the target as one moved to longer distances. So, for a human target, one has a sight setting for more or less the belt line at the closest expected range. So all shots at that range and somewhat farther will impact the torso. Without changing sight settings. When the round starts dropping in impact, (at longer ranges) the shooter aims at the shoulder height and all the round will impact there or lower, down to the belt line. Usually that will be as far as one's eyes can line up the sights. Obviously this will be farther with a scope. As evidenced, the trajectory of the fired bullet is used as part of the process. Shooting game, the height of the desired shooting area will be more on the order of 8 to 10 inches in height and width than the 24 x 15 inches for the average belligerent. So one must adjust one's sight settings accordingly to range. I liked the video over all. I am a fan of the Lee-Enfield rifles and I find the .303 (British) to be a fine round for hunting most game in North America.
I think whoever sporterised that gun didn't do a good job on the barrel. Those 50 yard groups are not good . Thanks for bringing us along for the ride. BTW what happened to the range at Heavy Metal?
Hey, just found your channel. Nice video. I got a sporterized no4 mk1 given to me by my father. I just love this gun. I installed a scope with an adapter from Australia. I can't believe how precise these guns are. Happened to have a gunsmith beside me when I first tried it, the old guy told me to never sell this gun. Only advice, never shoot these guns if you can't hold the barrel after shooting. They overheat easily
@@WHOTEEWHO thanks for publishing! Btw, you're right, I'm in Canada and our .303 bullets are pretty cheap. So annoying it's so expensive across the border. These are great guns. I believe they had US made Enfield back in the days. Surprised it's so expensive nowadays. Keep on posting, we'll follow you!
Your rifle was manufactured at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory at Lithgow, New South Wales under license to BSA, Birmingham, England in 1912. LSA made over 800,000 Lee Enfields for the Commonwealth forces across both world wars. Great rifles and a great calibre.
Actually, LSA stands for London Small Arms Company. The rifle was made in England. Lithgow rifles should always say “Lithgow” on the butt socket, sometimes inside a shield. LSA’s wartime production was only 364,000. Production ceased by 1925.
Good video. I don’t know much about the 303. Looks like you were shooting good with it. I have my father in law Carcano in 7.62 x 35! I believe is what it is. He said in the late 50s he purchased it for just over $5.00 in a gun store. In North Carolina. It’s made in 1938
First center fire rifle I shot back in 1983 in England in the cadets at boarding school. I loved the fact that you could rack the bolt with the trigger depressed and the bolt wouldn’t cock. You could carry with a round in the chamber and the hammer uncocked. Then pull back on the hammer two clicks and you were ready to go. No need to action the bolt so much quieter.
I have an Enfield in 308 and I love shooting it and I have taken a number of deer with it in years past. Tough rifles! Mine is in all original condition but I don't have any issues with the sporters if that's what you like. To me the important thing is they still work and shoot after so many years. We will have to see how some modern rifles do in 100 years or so.
Use the rim of the cartridge case to pry open the buttplate hinged cover. .303 is the same as .308 and .30-06. Okay - calm down all you hair-splitters and ask yourself this: is a whitetail hit broadside in the brisket going to laugh a .303/.312 off, vs. drop in its tracks from the .308 bullets? Not a chance - they are functionally equivalent, within a couple hundred feet/second or less muzzle velocity (compare a .30-06 180 grain with a .303 174 grain, for example). The .30-06 case holds 12 more grains of powder, but the '06:.303 case capacity difference (which is the same as between .30-06 and .308) shrinks when the rounds are loaded and the bullet is seated in the neck. The difference between .308 and .303 is that the .303 is normally loaded to a 7,000 psi (CIP) lower pressure - but it doesn't have to be. Excellent hunting round, and used to be very popular back when surplus Enfields were almost free; I know I bought my #5 Carbine for less than a hundred dollars back then - and its zero doesn't wander a micron. Superb woods rifle with 150 grain hollow points - short, handy, great balance, no need to "sporterize," and the smoothest and fastest bolt action on the planet. As for plinking and just fun, get a chamber adapter for .32 ACP and your cost per round will drop to 30 cents.
Love my MK4. Have had it since 1979. Still lots of life left in the barrel and action. Sportorized with a cut down barrel, nylon stocks and iron flipup peep sight. Not a match shooter by any means but several deer were no match for this setup. Just wish ammo was more readily available.
Using the serial numbers that MK3 may be able to help tell it's story. At least where the original issue was maybe. In the late 70's ,maybe early 80's I remember seeing crates of these army surplus rifles selling for $40/pc up here in Canada. Ammo was tinned but worked out to about $2/box. Rifles were wrapped in greased burlap. As a kid knowing these rifles may have been used in WW2 and seen real combat was fascinating to us.
Mine is reconditioned by the Royal Armory and replete with the spike bayonet, scabbard, sling and snap-on canvas receiver cover. My only modification is a 3x9x50 peeper, so gnat nads beware. Just handling it gives a guy respect for the millions who carried these with the full English Oak, 24/7 in the dark days of history. It would be cool to know where ours have been and the stories of those they were issued to in more difficult times.
It was good seeing your dog and your gun! That's a nice old piece of history! I don't know nothing about it, but I think maybe Hickok45 or Gunblue 490 may have a video on it if someone wants to know more about the history!🇺🇸✝🇺🇸
I still have one now for over 30+years now. In my twenty-stupids, I got annoyed at a Bluejay at around 40ish yards from my deer stand. It exploded like a cartoon. My uncle and friends that were on a drive behind me were excited until they saw it was a bird and not the buck they drove.......It was wrong I know, but man what a cool shot with that rifle.
Pre 1916 Enfield No.1 mkIII, has a modern High Velocity barrel. Remember the barrel had 3 contact points with the furniture, you have 2 remaining. I wish you would have shown the other side of the rifle to see if it still had it's volley sights.
My dad loved the 303 M III had a full wood, one like yours and one with a Monty Carlo stock. The last one kicks worse than my 300 win mag. He and I only shot it once.
My 303 was given to me by my brother so the first time I shot it I hit a 5” steel plate free hand at 100 yards using open sights. I am a shakey old man and this rifle is pretty heavy. I was surprised when I heard the plate ting. I have decided to use it hunting deer. I have bought the die set to reload it but I am having a little trouble finding bullets and shell holder for it. I was surprised at how much prices had gone up. When I first got my rifle I thought I would refinish the stock and it would be a nice little piece. But I began to look at it and think about where this rifle might have gone and decided that I wasn’t going to do anything to the stock. All those nicks and scratches were like living history, I began to think maybe I should not just erase that history with the stoke of sandpaper! This nick was where a soldier had to fall on top of it in a foxhole or that scratch was where the soldiers huddled together to keep warm before the counter attack or something. Every nick and scratch had a story to tell if someone was listening. Now I figure also that a nick and scratch might have come from a careless distributor threw them in a pile to be shipped to the US for sale but still that was part of the story as well. Who knows where this rifle went and who used it what were the circumstances!!
It's a really cool caliber, seems like the round is ready to work hard the second it leaves the barrel. We shoot hogs close up stalking in the palmettos with a 150 grain hornandy when available or 180 leller bellots. The 303 seems to visibly dump kinetic up close like I haven't seen with a 39, 06, or 08 up close.
Got an idea for the next video, with the 303 british 150 gr softpiont . shoot plasic 2 gal clear bulk jalapen pepper jars, filled with water , metel cap. , at 60 yds. Talk to a sub shop could get for free. Make sure camera is water proofed. Will be inpressed. Check out lee enfield smle mk III , hickok 45 for insperation.
1: move the forsite in the direction of the error 2: the point of aim is just above ythe top of the forsite (6 0clock hold) 3: Load your own, 210 Gr lead pill, good to at least 250 yards
Luv your dog mate, old grumpy and likes to sleep a lot - sounds like someone i know ME lol, pretty sure 303 was first centrefire i ever shot as a kid in OZ
There were plenty of sporterised versions of these in Australia 30+ years ago. By all accounts some were modified particularly well and didn't suffer from accuracy issues. A good deal of them were modified to replicate Mk 5 carbines and were quite popular but were reputed to kick like a mule with a muzzle flash that resembled the after burner on an F16. The standard Mk 3's were produced in a number of factories and accuracy varied from rifle to rifle. QC was not particularly demanding with regards to their accuracy which meant that plenty of 3+ MOA rifles made it onto the battle field and then many years and many rounds later onto the market. Conversely, some extremely accurate rifles were produced and found their way into private ownership after very little use. My late father owned one such firearm that was produced in India. It was presumably a "parade" rifle due to its condition and had likely never been used in conflict and hadn't seen much time at the range either. It was very accurate. There were something like 15 million or so of these things produced over about a 75 year period. That equates to plenty of really good rifles and plenty of not so good rifles. You take a bit of a chance with these but if you can find a good one you wont be disappointed.
If I remember correctly, in service 4MOA was acceptable. I don't think they measured it that way in the UK at that time but that's what it worked out at.
@@Stigstigster You could well be right. I'm certainly not claiming to be an expert on this subject as my interest in these rifles now seems like it's in a past life. Mind you, when I see videos such as this it certainly reinvigorates my interest! 4 MOA ( or its UK equivalent) seems very realistic from what I remember. I might have been either misguided or exaggerating when I stated 3+. Any advice on getting my wife to let my buy a rifle that I don't need and will only use once before spending countless hours staring at it longingly would be appreciated. I had a huge amount of fun with one of these as a kid. Dad had managed to acquire a bundle of surplus ammo for little more than the cost of new 22 lr. I'm having a mid life crisis.
@@davidbrayshaw3529 Just go buy it. You only live once and they hold their value so rather than wasting money, you are just storing it in the form of a rifle you like the look of! Best of luck with that. As for your "3+ MOA making it onto the battlefield" well you'd be right on that.
I can only imagine the stories that rifle could tell.
This video is a real treat.
likely saw service in ww1
Like what some hillbilly did to it in his garage.
I have used one since I was 12, am 70 now and have a mint unaltered No1 Mark 3 still today. Had many, many of them from all original versions to a Commercial BSA LEE SPEED with Express sights, to cut down rifle like yours. I had a minty beautiful blue all orig No1 Mark 4 and a beat up No1 cut down with a nasty dark bore and oil impregnated sock, that looked like it was pulled down a dirt road on a rope for a few miles. 100 yards I fired that minty No 4 with the excellent ladder issue sights and outstanding bore then the "junker" worst condition SMLE I've ever seen. The group difference was not what I predicted, both shot outstanding, maybe only a half inch difference or less between the two. I recall seeing a Canadian game officer shoot a big bull bison on you tube with an issue No4, and a picture of an Indian lady who defended her home from a polar bear that tried to get in, her rifle an all original NO1 MARK3 .303 and a dead polar bear was in her yard. Messed with the wrong lady huh? In Africa it's been said more big game including the dangerous species has likely been killed and wounded by the .303 British than any other cartridge. Bell the famous Ivory hunter (poacher really) began his career using a pair of surplus. 303 SMLE rifles, guns and ammo were cheap and prolific. The Lee Lee Enfield is still a good hunting outfit. I have carried one in the field for many years, my brother and his son have used there guns on wild boar with great success.
That was my first rifle I had for deer hunting I seen it in a hardware store in Northern Wisconsin and bought it then I was hooked when I was 12
Mine too. Bought one for $35 at a pawn shop around 1978.
Paid 39.99 for mine around 1990. Killed a bunch of deer with it.
Paid $100 for mine in 2001. Killed bunch of deer with it. Peep sight. Love it
Same here. Bought mine around 00-01 for 130$ and the pawn owner threw in a box of ammo lol. She’s a Lithgow 1928 Mk III that still puts a deer in the freezer every fall. Damn sure getting more expensive to feed these days tho . I guess I need to learn to reload.
@@jackburton5483 They sell Lee Loaders in .303 British. Cheap way to get into reloading.
As long as the rife is not collecting dust in a safe all the better in my eyes.
That's rite I agreee
Yep. There is no lack of museum-quality Lee-Enfields out there, of all Marks and Numbers.
I love the close up high quality still photos... very nice touch... reminds me of Gunblast...
I fell the same way my grandpa got a gun off a german in ww2 and my uncle wants to sell it because its nazi, but my grandpa killed one for it
@@crazytomato5516
Shooting the old firearms makes you appreciate the men and women who defended themselves and their country and old firearms are just fun and built better!!!
G.R stands for Georgius Rex , or king george the fifth due to the 1912 dating , was made by London small arms company limited or lSA CO L. The III means it's a no1 mark 3 pattern rifle.
Thank you for the blast from the past. This is the gun my dad bought from surplus during the early fifties and taught me proper gun safety and how to hunt deer with. My dad “hillbillysed” and made a beautiful walnut stock for in shop class. Awesome video! Thanks!
When I was in the Brit arm cadets i used to fire the Lee Enfield .303 at 200 and 500 yds at the Bisley ranges, standard brit army ammo. I was very upset if i scored less than 30 out of 35. we used Parker Hale match sights. I love your videos. Many thanks. We shot lying prone using only a standard rifle sling for support. Standard competition practice.
Lee-Enfield was the fastest military bolt-action rifle in the world, at one time, great rifle!
Adam....the reason those rifles are sporterized, is because when the rifles were decommissioned from military service it was way cheaper to buy one of those for deer hunting than a new rifle. My dad told me those rifles sold for basically pennies on the dollar when they were released on the civilian market. The only bad thing about those rifles is that some of the older ammo was hot. The older ammo tended to stretch the chamber out thus increasing headspace. The remedy for that was the British government had several lengths of bolt heads that were installed on the rifles once the chambers started stretching out. They’re not the most accurate rifle, but for a service rifle back in the day, they were good for what they were needed for. Watch a guy here on TH-cam called British muzzleloaders. He has a couple good videos on the British enfield rifle. My rifle was made by savage for the lend-lease program during ww2.
If I remember right, Bloke on the Range said that these rifles were designed to have a slight amount of up pressure on the barrel from the front of the full wooden stock. He advised against “sporterizing” these rifles because you may negatively affect the accuracy of the point of impact. That being stated, he said if you do modify the stock, you might get lucky and not have an issue. Bottom line, if it works for you - that’s all that counts. I picked up a near mint post war No4 mkII before the recent price madness in the gun market.
Really enjoying this series of clunker stick video's. Thousands and thousands of those SMLE .303's were cut down and sporterized here in Australia at the end of WW2 and used on everything from croc, pig and buffalo. I have a mate who still uses his on sambar deer over the hounds here in Victoria. They are an iconic piece of military history alright. I've owned a No1 Mark 3 similar to yours Adam along with a No2 Mark 2 as well. They're long gone. However like yours, with a ten round mag and sporterized, they make a great, fast action gun especially on the pigs. Thanks for sharing!
If I remember right the 303 started out as a black power round in about 1890. And for a while the brits charged them with cordite then smokeless powder. The round is about the same as the 30-06 or 308 round in effectiveness. And was used by militaries around the world. It's still used today by hunters and sportsmen. When I was a kid, you could buy these for around seventy dollars. It was the poor man's Cadillac of that time. A fine bolt action rifle at a good price. Lots of people used them for deer hunting in my area. I use the M1903 A3 Springfield because 30-06 rounds are easier to find and afford here in the U.S.
Not used to hearing "303 British".
I'm a Canadian/Australian and here in the colonies, we just call it "three-oh-three".
Great round. They've been used against everything from polar bears to lions to German SS. Historical piece of ammunition.
.303 Savage was developed around the same time by Savage Arms in the U.S., mostly for their lever-action rifles. It isn't nearly as popular as the .303 British any more, but the distinction is still spoken a lot. 😊
Or better yet, just "Lee-Enfield". 90% or better chance it's chambered in .303BR.
@@Stevarooni I have 2 of those old .303 Savage rifles. Close to a 30-30 round.
Or just the "three-oh" from cadets at school in the 60's. Can't remember "smelly" being used either that apparently was common in UK.
In Australia they used to shoot the “Queens Shoot “with them, with a nine inch bull at 900 yards with a aperature sight in the prone position. Ten rounds,(a magazine full) in ten minutes. with a good barrel they can easily shoot MOA at that distance . Ten bulls were very rare, but nine bulls and a hit in the 1 yard otter ring was commonplace every weekend 👍🇦🇺🐊
By golly my friend! That sounds like a lot of Bull.... S! :)
The mad minute they call it. And it's ten shots in less than one minute, but I get what you mean.
@@rt66rc86 actually he is right, just didn't write correct explanation. But you could research what he is speaking of and is in fact true.
Same in NZ
Proper function and sighted in at two hundred yards your just getting started. 600 yds easy
Love the old SMLE rifles. Have one my Dad gave me 35 years ago. And after a year of trying to find one, I just bought a Uberti Courteney Stalking rifle in 303 British. Beautiful rifle in a beloved caliber from a bygone era.
I have found surplus .303 ammo at gun shows for as little as a quarter a pop.
The old British colonies still use it for machine guns, and it comes up occasionally.
I have a sport model .303 that my grandfather gave to my dad, and then he have it to me.
It shoots straighter'n the road to hell, and I can't even see the target sometimes, but it almost always hits.
Although I don't recommend using fmj for hunting big game, head-shots at 209 yards are easily made with my rifle, and there is no wasted meat.
Besides-- I never found a recipe for antler stew that tasted worth a damn...
I remember you could buy British 303 rifles for $35 to $45 at Woolworths in the late 1980s Brookfield Wisconsin
yep! I paid $40.00 for mine! Shot awesome too!
Yep, I received one as a Christmas gift back when I was 11 years old (circa 1983). It was packed in a crate covered Cossmoline. My younger brother received one as well. I remember my moms expression toward my dad like “How much did this cost?!”, and my dad saying “Don’t worry mom, Santa knows a good investment when he sees one”.
You now have all the young people wondering What's a Woolworth store? Lol
It became Kmart
@@mrhamburger6936 Along with McRorys SS Kresges. That's when employees knew things. Now it's Let me see if I can somebody who knows. Times have changed.
Friend of mine got a young buck last year with a 303. Date stamp was 1941. Gotta love that brass plate at the back that is to protect the stock not your shoulder. 😁
Almost 110 years old, if that old Bing Bang could talk!!!
Anyway you look at it, it’s a cool old piece of history, and it still works.
I wish I could send you some boolots, but sending ammunition across the Canadian border to the USA is deeply frowned upon by the powers that be.
Coincidentally I found two boxes of OLD 303 FMJ in a cabinet drawer at work today (yep I sell Bing Bangs) that are probably 75 years old, manufactured by the Dominion Arms corporation (Canadian WW2 ammunition company I think).
Anyhow keep on flinging dem boolots, and congratulations again on 300K Subs.
God Bless ❤️ from 🇨🇦
A lot of red deer have been taken over the last 100 years in NZ with an SMLE in 303. Not a whole lot wrong with either that caliber or rifle. There are probably a number of dead Germans that could attest their effectiveness also.
Not to Mention Thar, Chamois, and the odd white fella for the boil up.
Reputed to have killed (and wounded) more big game animals in Africa than any other firearm, due to an unfortunate tendency for the projectile to start tumbling end over end 50 to 60 m down range.
I have a Canadian Long Branch .303 2 lands 2 groves, and is a tumbling SUM BITCH
Not the exact model, but the Lee Enfield 303. No4, mk2 was the first military grade rifle & ammo i used. A lot of bang for ur buck & the range was out there. (like my swollen shoulder after a days shooting). Great post. Thanks.
Edit: the hatch in the backs for ur pull through/cleaning gear.
The Muhajadeen actually preferred these to modern assault rifles. As they could take out, Russian's hundreds of yards before the Russian, AKs could get in effective range.
I heard too that in, WW1, German's thought it was MGs that where engaging them as the British could load so fast. Mainly because the, Enfield bolt never impeded the sights when being drawn. Which meant ur eye never left the target. Unlike the German, Gewehr 98.
If you are interested in the history, etc. go see Forgotten Weapons. Ian does a great job of covering these.
Love the oldies but goodies looking forward to zeroing that 303 as always thanks for another great video 👍👍👍
Mine is zeroid at 200m and it can easily take out a kudu bull at 500m with 150g bullet
This calls for a follow-up video with the sights adjusted...and lately I'm finding that most rifle boolots are $2 each...maybe not 22-250 but the rest are pricy but mostly available
Yup, that has been my experience with 300 win mag
You guys are making me sad. More affordable ammo can be had. Learn to reload!
@@SALTYCOMBATDIVER-ExInstructor don't want to reload. I don't have the time or the space. But more power to ya
@@jakefromstatefarm1405 take a look at the Lee hand press. I started out with that and own a couple and prefer using them despite having a Dillon 1050. I work 60-70 hours a week, I know how valuable time is. Reloading is more important today than it ever has been, it's outlined under the second amendment where it says well regulated. Knowing how to make your ammunition is vitally important as knowing how to use your firearm.
When I first bought mine 20 years ago, you could buy a 20 box of Remington green and yellow corelockt for 19-20 bucks, nowadays, everything thats not 308 or 5.56 is 40 bucks a box, at least.
Black powder sight in now a 303, certainly coming up with the goods now
Well you always had the goods but you know what i mean lol
That is a 1912 S.M.L.E. it was produced by London Small Arms. The GR is for king George...Gorgia Regia. It has been sporterized. Seeing that the foreend and top wood of the handguard has been removed, it probably will not shoot consistantly at any given range. They were designed to have 5lbs of upward pressure on the last part of the barrel to help with shooting with a bayonet attached. Same as the mosin, it would have the bayonet on it for it to shoot to zero at shorter ranges. 400 or more would be without. That being said, shes looks like she has potential for serious accuracy. Theres a bunch about it i could tell from any/all of the various markings. Post some pics of the markings you see anywhere on it. There are a bunch of enfield guys out there way more knowledgable than i am and someone will explain what everything means. Check out books by Ian Skinnerton, he is the foremost authority on enfields. Have fun with her.
I just got one this past week, mine’s the “sporterized” version that the purists despise as well. I shot it a few times, and absolutely love the look and feel of it. So much history.
What was the price if you don’t mind me asking ?
@@HarrisonCountyStudio $275 CAD. I’m in Canada, so the sporterized ones are cheap and easy to find. The intact ones with the full wood stock are a bit harder and can run over $5000.
If you’re interested they do sell kits to remilitarize them
Well, the Jungle Carbine version looks sporterized like who tee who’s enfield but with a shorter barrel. Guess the purists hate those too ? There’s parts out there to restore it to the original look. My enfield has been sporterized, but I may restore it to original, just takes time to hunt down the parts and someone to assemble it to specifications.
@@chrismasters4951 the jungle carbine is stiil awesome but that cut down foreguard pains me
I have my old man's 303 converted to 303-25 and found it was nowhere near as accurate as I was lead to believe. Still a great bit of Aussie history.
I think yours was made by Lithgow Small Arms here in Oz as well going on what you said the markings are. 👍
LSA is London Small Arms :)
@@WarezWally Well there you go.
Cheers mate.
Is yours an ELWOOD EPPS conversion?
@@boarzwid1002 It's a Lithgow small arms converted by Sportco back in the 60's I think. 👍
@@RobsAquaponics I have the same rifle, a No 1 Mk 3* 1943 action, mine has been shortened to a 20" barrel and with 100gn reloads will put them in to 3/4" @ 100m.
I bet that old boy still gets excited then he sees a rabbit.
I love the 303. One of my favorites
Love my enfield. Got it from my Dad who got it from his Dad, he was in France during WW1. Awesome rifle!
My dad bought mine for my brother for deer season back in 75. Less than a hundred bucks for a Jungle Carbine. His wife wouldn’t let him have a gun so after a few years of dad taking care of it, it came to me! Love it. It’s killed it’s share of deer.
Joe Sita spot on Joe haha cheers Yogi 🇦🇺🤙🤙
I have a Number 4 mark 2 that I bought about 20 years ago still in the armory wrapper. I also have 3 or 4 other enfields. They are wonderful guns.
It's a good, early SMLE. Would be nice to get a hold of it and bring back to full military. That's the fun part.
I'm a collector of Enfields. There's nothing else that makes me smile like one of those.
Makes it worth a little more if the cleaning kit is in buttstock. Depending on overall condition. Good shooters.
how's the rifle bore ( rifling) something is damaged because of cordite
I love the Enfield, especially the ones made by Long Branch. When I was a kid in Arizona, .303 was sold everywhere, but now they're unicorn rounds.
That .303 Caliber is Very well known thru out the world just like the 30-06 they are Known for it's awesome range and stopping power matched up with artillery from 25 meters out to over 1200 meters killing power.
My marlin 336sc has a ramp for rear sight.......I was almost ringing a 10" steel plate at 200 yards with rear sight all the way up. It's amazing how close I was getting with iron sights. I'm sure you'll do way better with sights adjusted for distance
They usually came home with the army. And they have had so many rounds through them that the bore is wore out!
Favorite First Rifle.,merci.
That rifle has seen better days.
I have one that my farther bought in the 70's for about $50.00, still wax paper wrapped and filled with grease. The elevated rear site does help a lot. They are a lot of fun.
Great video, like always! Nice old 303 Whootee! Thanks for sharing it with us.
I have a sporterized 93 mauser in 7x57mm. It commonly called a Spanish Mauser. Ive had folks get upset that its a "butchered" mauser. It looks good and shoots well. It aint theirs and I like it.
I’m old grumpy and want to lay around too. Lmao.
Definitely me too
303 is actually one of the best game stoppers there is !!...hits very hard ushally in and out !!
When I was a young man my cousin had one of those that had been shortened, and fitted with a scope. It would scope bite you if you weren’t careful but it was crazy accurate.
Killed my first buck with a 303, was a decent 8 point. Love to have that rifle back.
Nice show, nothing wrong with a 303, I used them a lot when I was younger and still like them, the last one was a Canadian #4 and was very accurate, wish I had one today
I have a sporterized No4 Mk 1 from 1943 built in the UK and used against the Krauts, got it from the original owner as issued back in 1984, the bolt is worn beyond belief, the and it was issued too told me he had fired over 300,000 rounds while he was in the service. He was an American who went to the UK and joined up prior to the United States entering world war II. He said that gun saved his life more times than he could count. And from the bolt condition, I would say he was right. It's still fires good, the Bore is bright and shiny, no pitting. Shoots straight as can be but the bolt is worn out and I'm afraid that the action may be also. So I will keep it and shoot it every once in awhile. But it would have to be reworked to be a common use gun
I adjusted the sights on my old 303, it's a tack driver. I want to shoot it now after watching this video but I guess I better hang onto what ammo I got a little longer.
Looks like a 1 mk3. Can tell by the rear sight placement. I dropped mine in an ATI sniper stock and scope. Made in 1917 and accurate, reliable and all original. Love mine.
Bulk ammo is widely available online. Lots of misurp out there.
Thanks for another great video.
I read a comparison in Guns & Ammo many years ago between the Lee Enfield, the Mauser & the Springfield.
They said the Germans built the Mauser for hunting, the Americans built the Springfield for target shooting and the Brits built the Lee Enfield for killing their enemies.
God, a 303 I want one, but I'm just gonna settle on my Mosin. Seems like everywhere I look for either a K98 or this I can not find.
Other than a air rifle and a 22. The 303 was my first rifle to train on as a teenager in the 90's here in Little New Zealand,. SMLE model 1 mk3 great Bing bang with smooth bolt and reliable action. Never an issue, and ammo in those days was cheap,. Bucket of ex mil serp for $30. Couple of hundred rounds I guess. Would drop a deer hiding behind a tree. I can also remember using it to go through a wooden power pole to collect a possom the kept pulling his head in from the 22. Dame near cut it in half after passing through the pole. These ex mil serp were solid, FMJ. Not the soft nose that you showed in the video. Thanks for the memories Who Tee Who. And Hello from Little New Zealand
Mine was made in 1949 and has been sporterized. Dad bought it in about 1960 for (I think) $40. We were not rich and Dad liked to hunt. Removing all that wood in the front made it easier to carry up and down hills and dales. It would put down a deer no trouble. I rarely use it because I can't see with open sites that well anymore and really like my Jim Dandy Vortex scope on my Savage Model 12 with the Boyds stock and the groovy 10 round mag.
I’ve heard the old sporterized argument plenty enough but that’s the way old timers got thier deer rifles they would buy an old surplus rifle cut off what they didn’t need and put it to work. Ain’t no point in passing them up when you come across them if they are in good shape put them back to work.
I like the sneak peek at the other targets showing you took one great day at the range and then just filmed intros/outros and did editing later
You don't need safety glasses when you are grandfathered in .
I got a sporterized one, dated 1917. Has several crown stamps all over it. I was told every time it came back from an active duty the military gunsmith would go through it and give it a stamp of approval. So if that theory is correct, my gun went thru some serious gun fights. I wish my gun could talk...or not.
December 2023.
That rifle is a classic. That rifle - and various 'update' changes - was in service with the British (I am a blatant U. S. citizen from birth; I still can't tell what term to use correctly, except I know "English' is not all inclusive) Army from 1895 or so until 1954 or so.
That rifle has been 'sporterized' to the limited extent of removing some of the fore-stock, no doubt to lessen the weight carrying it in the hinterlands. Nor did whoever did it find use for a bayonet.
To have someone do that sort of thing now, but for many years those surplus rifles were appreciated only as a cheap way to own a useful hunting rifle. I could go on.
What most surplus buyers didn't know is the SMLE fore-stock was made to give a slight pressure on the barrel close to the muzzle which suppressed vibration in the barrel and gave better result. So removing that section made the groups a little larger. Who knew?
As you see, that rifle - even hacked up (and the metal all looks unfiddled, only the stock was cut) shoots rather well.
The primary purpose of the rifle was to shoot enemies of the realm. (Just like any other 'service' rifle.) And at 200 yards, without any sighting in or such, the rifle seems to have done well. If shot a bit more, zeroed and properly using the built-in sights, all the fired rounds would have been on target.
Allow me - at this late date - to offer some advice.
1. Shoot initial groups as carefully as possible in three shot groups. Hold those three shoot exactly the same. Then move sights as needed. Three shots will give a better idea of where the arm is hitting. One shot can be a fluke for good or bad. .
2. Move the sights ONLY after one establishes a group. No two people have the same eyes, so your group and my group will possibly be different places or such. But if it is YOUR rifle, adjust on YOUR shooting. Those who don't believe they can shoot well and have 'a friend who's a good shot' sight in the rifle is wasting ammunition.
3. Shoot another minimum three shot group to verify one is 'on target', that is, where the shooter wants the group to be. Concentrate on getting the shots on the vertical centerline of the target - elevation comes later
4. Elevation. Military rifles are intended to repel enemies of the homeland. So an accurate shot is pretty much anywhere on the torso. Your targets recorded that shots struck higher on the target as one moved to longer distances. So, for a human target, one has a sight setting for more or less the belt line at the closest expected range. So all shots at that range and somewhat farther will impact the torso. Without changing sight settings. When the round starts dropping in impact, (at longer ranges) the shooter aims at the shoulder height and all the round will impact there or lower, down to the belt line. Usually that will be as far as one's eyes can line up the sights. Obviously this will be farther with a scope.
As evidenced, the trajectory of the fired bullet is used as part of the process.
Shooting game, the height of the desired shooting area will be more on the order of 8 to 10 inches in height and width than the 24 x 15 inches for the average belligerent. So one must adjust one's sight settings accordingly to range.
I liked the video over all. I am a fan of the Lee-Enfield rifles and I find the .303 (British) to be a fine round for hunting most game in North America.
I think whoever sporterised that gun didn't do a good job on the barrel. Those 50 yard groups are not good . Thanks for bringing us along for the ride. BTW what happened to the range at Heavy Metal?
Nah awesome 303 videos mate love em. Keep them coming 👍🏾
Hey, just found your channel. Nice video. I got a sporterized no4 mk1 given to me by my father. I just love this gun. I installed a scope with an adapter from Australia. I can't believe how precise these guns are. Happened to have a gunsmith beside me when I first tried it, the old guy told me to never sell this gun. Only advice, never shoot these guns if you can't hold the barrel after shooting. They overheat easily
Thanks for watching
@@WHOTEEWHO thanks for publishing! Btw, you're right, I'm in Canada and our .303 bullets are pretty cheap. So annoying it's so expensive across the border. These are great guns. I believe they had US made Enfield back in the days. Surprised it's so expensive nowadays. Keep on posting, we'll follow you!
A Great Video on the 303 British. I think I will have a spot of tea now.
Your rifle was manufactured at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory at Lithgow, New South Wales under license to BSA, Birmingham, England in 1912. LSA made over 800,000 Lee Enfields for the Commonwealth forces across both world wars. Great rifles and a great calibre.
Actually, LSA stands for London Small Arms Company. The rifle was made in England. Lithgow rifles should always say “Lithgow” on the butt socket, sometimes inside a shield. LSA’s wartime production was only 364,000. Production ceased by 1925.
Awesome shooting sir and they make a mount for those that require no drill and tapping , had 1 on mine for years and it's rock solid
Good video. I don’t know much about the 303. Looks like you were shooting good with it. I have my father in law Carcano in 7.62 x 35! I believe is what it is. He said in the late 50s he purchased it for just over $5.00 in a gun store. In North Carolina. It’s made in 1938
First center fire rifle I shot back in 1983 in England in the cadets at boarding school. I loved the fact that you could rack the bolt with the trigger depressed and the bolt wouldn’t cock. You could carry with a round in the chamber and the hammer uncocked. Then pull back on the hammer two clicks and you were ready to go. No need to action the bolt so much quieter.
I have an Enfield in 308 and I love shooting it and I have taken a number of deer with it in years past. Tough rifles! Mine is in all original condition but I don't have any issues with the sporters if that's what you like. To me the important thing is they still work and shoot after so many years. We will have to see how some modern rifles do in 100 years or so.
Use the rim of the cartridge case to pry open the buttplate hinged cover.
.303 is the same as .308 and .30-06.
Okay - calm down all you hair-splitters and ask yourself this: is a whitetail hit broadside in the brisket going to laugh a .303/.312 off, vs. drop in its tracks from the .308 bullets? Not a chance - they are functionally equivalent, within a couple hundred feet/second or less muzzle velocity (compare a .30-06 180 grain with a .303 174 grain, for example). The .30-06 case holds 12 more grains of powder, but the '06:.303 case capacity difference (which is the same as between .30-06 and .308) shrinks when the rounds are loaded and the bullet is seated in the neck. The difference between .308 and .303 is that the .303 is normally loaded to a 7,000 psi (CIP) lower pressure - but it doesn't have to be.
Excellent hunting round, and used to be very popular back when surplus Enfields were almost free; I know I bought my #5 Carbine for less than a hundred dollars back then - and its zero doesn't wander a micron. Superb woods rifle with 150 grain hollow points - short, handy, great balance, no need to "sporterize," and the smoothest and fastest bolt action on the planet.
As for plinking and just fun, get a chamber adapter for .32 ACP and your cost per round will drop to 30 cents.
Love my MK4. Have had it since 1979. Still lots of life left in the barrel and action. Sportorized with a cut down barrel, nylon stocks and iron flipup peep sight. Not a match shooter by any means but several deer were no match for this setup. Just wish ammo was more readily available.
Using the serial numbers that MK3 may be able to help tell it's story. At least where the original issue was maybe. In the late 70's ,maybe early 80's I remember seeing crates of these army surplus rifles selling for $40/pc up here in Canada. Ammo was tinned but worked out to about $2/box. Rifles were wrapped in greased burlap. As a kid knowing these rifles may have been used in WW2 and seen real combat was fascinating to us.
And WWI
Mine is reconditioned by the Royal Armory and replete with the spike bayonet, scabbard, sling and snap-on canvas receiver cover. My only modification is a 3x9x50 peeper, so gnat nads beware. Just handling it gives a guy respect for the millions who carried these with the full English Oak, 24/7 in the dark days of history. It would be cool to know where ours have been and the stories of those they were issued to in more difficult times.
It was good seeing your dog and your gun! That's a nice old piece of history! I don't know nothing about it, but I think maybe Hickok45 or Gunblue 490 may have a video on it if someone wants to know more about the history!🇺🇸✝🇺🇸
Why the change in shooting spot? Did I miss something?
I still have one now for over 30+years now. In my twenty-stupids, I got annoyed at a Bluejay at around 40ish yards from my deer stand. It exploded like a cartoon. My uncle and friends that were on a drive behind me were excited until they saw it was a bird and not the buck they drove.......It was wrong I know, but man what a cool shot with that rifle.
Pre 1916 Enfield No.1 mkIII, has a modern High Velocity barrel. Remember the barrel had 3 contact points with the furniture, you have 2 remaining. I wish you would have shown the other side of the rifle to see if it still had it's volley sights.
I like the shortened wood framed rifles, makes it lighter, and easier to carry on a long hunting hike.
That would be easy to put back to military configuration. Check out sarco and numrich for a replacement foreend and nose cap.
Awesome rifle Adam! Pretty sweet round! Do you reload any ammo?
I do not reload, nope
Now that was a fun video! That 303 British is a pretty cool rifle!
My dad loved the 303 M III had a full wood, one like yours and one with a Monty Carlo stock. The last one kicks worse than my 300 win mag. He and I only shot it once.
Was built in the cordite days, sir ... barrel erosion might be a factor
My 303 was given to me by my brother so the first time I shot it I hit a 5” steel plate free hand at 100 yards using open sights. I am a shakey old man and this rifle is pretty heavy. I was surprised when I heard the plate ting. I have decided to use it hunting deer. I have bought the die set to reload it but I am having a little trouble finding bullets and shell holder for it. I was surprised at how much prices had gone up. When I first got my rifle I thought I would refinish the stock and it would be a nice little piece. But I began to look at it and think about where this rifle might have gone and decided that I wasn’t going to do anything to the stock. All those nicks and scratches were like living history, I began to think maybe I should not just erase that history with the stoke of sandpaper! This nick was where a soldier had to fall on top of it in a foxhole or that scratch was where the soldiers huddled together to keep warm before the counter attack or something. Every nick and scratch had a story to tell if someone was listening. Now I figure also that a nick and scratch might have come from a careless distributor threw them in a pile to be shipped to the US for sale but still that was part of the story as well. Who knows where this rifle went and who used it what were the circumstances!!
It's a really cool caliber, seems like the round is ready to work hard the second it leaves the barrel. We shoot hogs close up stalking in the palmettos with a 150 grain hornandy when available or 180 leller bellots. The 303 seems to visibly dump kinetic up close like I haven't seen with a 39, 06, or 08 up close.
Lol it's funny people get so mad over a rifle that isn't theirs. Another great video WTW!
Got an idea for the next video, with the 303 british 150 gr softpiont . shoot plasic 2 gal clear bulk jalapen pepper jars, filled with water , metel cap.
, at 60 yds. Talk to a sub shop could get for free. Make sure camera is water proofed. Will be inpressed. Check out lee enfield smle mk III , hickok 45 for insperation.
Can some one help me under stand y he's at a public range ? What did I miss
Town moved to him.
never saw him reach out past 100 at the heavy metal range
Shooting the Enfield is a dark art!
British Army Cadets still used the .303 for outdoor Marksman Badge (1970's). Cadets qualified on the indoor range with .22 and then moved up.
Great video. I have a 303 British. I have not shot it yet. I can't wait.
1: move the forsite in the direction of the error
2: the point of aim is just above ythe top of the forsite (6 0clock hold)
3: Load your own, 210 Gr lead pill, good to at least 250 yards
Luv your dog mate, old grumpy and likes to sleep a lot - sounds like someone i know ME lol, pretty sure 303 was first centrefire i ever shot as a kid in OZ
Someday you may hunt out west, where 200 yds is a reasonably close shot/
I miss my 303 so bad! Helluva rifle and came with the cleaning rod still in the butt! I loved that thing!
There were plenty of sporterised versions of these in Australia 30+ years ago. By all accounts some were modified particularly well and didn't suffer from accuracy issues. A good deal of them were modified to replicate Mk 5 carbines and were quite popular but were reputed to kick like a mule with a muzzle flash that resembled the after burner on an F16.
The standard Mk 3's were produced in a number of factories and accuracy varied from rifle to rifle. QC was not particularly demanding with regards to their accuracy which meant that plenty of 3+ MOA rifles made it onto the battle field and then many years and many rounds later onto the market. Conversely, some extremely accurate rifles were produced and found their way into private ownership after very little use.
My late father owned one such firearm that was produced in India. It was presumably a "parade" rifle due to its condition and had likely never been used in conflict and hadn't seen much time at the range either. It was very accurate.
There were something like 15 million or so of these things produced over about a 75 year period. That equates to plenty of really good rifles and plenty of not so good rifles. You take a bit of a chance with these but if you can find a good one you wont be disappointed.
If I remember correctly, in service 4MOA was acceptable. I don't think they measured it that way in the UK at that time but that's what it worked out at.
@@Stigstigster You could well be right. I'm certainly not claiming to be an expert on this subject as my interest in these rifles now seems like it's in a past life. Mind you, when I see videos such as this it certainly reinvigorates my interest! 4 MOA ( or its UK equivalent) seems very realistic from what I remember. I might have been either misguided or exaggerating when I stated 3+.
Any advice on getting my wife to let my buy a rifle that I don't need and will only use once before spending countless hours staring at it longingly would be appreciated.
I had a huge amount of fun with one of these as a kid. Dad had managed to acquire a bundle of surplus ammo for little more than the cost of new 22 lr. I'm having a mid life crisis.
@@davidbrayshaw3529 Just go buy it. You only live once and they hold their value so rather than wasting money, you are just storing it in the form of a rifle you like the look of! Best of luck with that. As for your "3+ MOA making it onto the battlefield" well you'd be right on that.
Man just think, that gun might of served in the Great War ! Great video WTW
Thats a great rifle 100 years on, Built to Last, Man imagine if you had a Scope on it , Regards Trevor.W.Bacelli. Biloela Qld Australia.