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Sarge · October 30, 2007, 09:18 PM

'Smelly' is a dandy old bolt gun in about any configuration- and I have had most of them. The old .303 Brit was the first centerfire rifle round I shot extensively as a kid- and at considerable distance. I still have a healthy respect for it to this day. I knew an old man who had been stationed on the Burma Road during WWII, and for grins those boys would go out tiger hunting on their days off. Some of them came back scratched up a mite, and they soon noted that the Tommys were getting better results with their SMLE's than the GI's were with their Garands and Springfields. Ray stated emphatically that on 'Tiger hunt days' there were often one-day trades of a .30-06 for a SMLE. Hey- Ray was there: I wasn't. Conventional wisdom or not, I don't argue with the man whose been, seen and done.

Don't worry about the .303...it'll be squashed shorter, have the shoulder blown out out and be introduced next year as the "7.65 Super Ultra Short Rimmed Euro-Mag!"

Or something like that.

The fact is that "303's" have never been about the cartridge at all- although that cartridge has been proven 'plenty good enough' on seven continents. It's always been about the elegant, yet utilitarian works of the gunmaker's art that chambered it. As Tidewater's collection aptly illustrates, there is plenty to love about them both.

October 30, 2007, 09:18 PM	#17
Sarge Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2002 Location: MO Posts: 5,457	'Smelly' is a dandy old bolt gun in about any configuration- and I have had most of them. The old .303 Brit was the first centerfire rifle round I shot extensively as a kid- and at considerable distance. I still have a healthy respect for it to this day. I knew an old man who had been stationed on the Burma Road during WWII, and for grins those boys would go out tiger hunting on their days off. Some of them came back scratched up a mite, and they soon noted that the Tommys were getting better results with their SMLE's than the GI's were with their Garands and Springfields. Ray stated emphatically that on 'Tiger hunt days' there were often one-day trades of a .30-06 for a SMLE. Hey- Ray was there: I wasn't. Conventional wisdom or not, I don't argue with the man whose been, seen and done. Don't worry about the .303...it'll be squashed shorter, have the shoulder blown out out and be introduced next year as the "7.65 Super Ultra Short Rimmed Euro-Mag!" Or something like that. The fact is that "303's" have never been about the cartridge at all- although that cartridge has been proven 'plenty good enough' on seven continents. It's always been about the elegant, yet utilitarian works of the gunmaker's art that chambered it. As Tidewater's collection aptly illustrates, there is plenty to love about them both. __________________ People were smarter before the Internet, or imbeciles were harder to notice.