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emcon5 · April 28, 2011, 11:53 PM

Realizing this thread is 4 years old, but the reason the .303 never caught on here is the same reason the .30-06 never caught on in the UK. Dad, or granddad, or great-granddad used it in the war, so when he got a hunting rifle, that is what he got, and passed down his preference to his kids.

The surplus ammo is long gone, and commercial ammo is generally more expensive than the common .30 loads. The problem for the handloader is that the selection of .311-.312 bullets is much smaller than the more common .308, and because the cartridge headsapces on the rim, and military rifles generally have pretty generous chambers, case life sucks unless you neck size only. And while my #5 is a fun little rifle to shoot, it is hard on softpoint bullets: the points tend to get deformed. From what I read from other owners, this is pretty common.

April 28, 2011, 11:53 PM	#24
emcon5 Senior Member Join Date: July 10, 1999 Location: High Desert NV Posts: 2,850	Realizing this thread is 4 years old, but the reason the .303 never caught on here is the same reason the .30-06 never caught on in the UK. Dad, or granddad, or great-granddad used it in the war, so when he got a hunting rifle, that is what he got, and passed down his preference to his kids. The surplus ammo is long gone, and commercial ammo is generally more expensive than the common .30 loads. The problem for the handloader is that the selection of .311-.312 bullets is much smaller than the more common .308, and because the cartridge headsapces on the rim, and military rifles generally have pretty generous chambers, case life sucks unless you neck size only. And while my #5 is a fun little rifle to shoot, it is hard on softpoint bullets: the points tend to get deformed. From what I read from other owners, this is pretty common.