November 22, 2009, 09:26 PM | #1 |
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.303 British Ammo
Anybody know what's going on with .303 British surplus ammo? Is there nobody exporting it anymore or has it simply dried up? I have a Lee Enfield sporter with about 300 rounds but I'm afraid to shoot it up if there's nothing coming in other than $1.00 per round Soft Points. Any info would be great, thanks.
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November 22, 2009, 10:13 PM | #2 |
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good luck finding it. And what you do find, it will prolly be VERY corrosive... best bet, reload your own. I do. Saves a ton of $
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November 23, 2009, 12:13 AM | #3 |
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I have had decent luck finding privi partizan at one of my local gun shops who keep a stock in it , I even find a few boxes of Remington at Bass Pro from time to time when I ask them why it is not on order and has an empty home on the shelf. There is always mail order though if you find yourself in a .303 deadzone. Both sources though local to me at a cost of about .78 cents per shot
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November 23, 2009, 02:26 AM | #4 |
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Until about six or eight weeks ago, the Gunbroker ammo seller in Stillwater, OK listed two cases of POF for about .40 per round.
The lowest-quality, unpredictable .303 for a high price...before shipping . It was listed for several months. After that time I never saw it again on "Gunbroker", "Ammo" nor any more bulk POF. most sellers' (so-called "0 bid") prices for most .303 on Gunbroker are mostly an insult. They assume that we all "just fell off the back of the turnip wagon". The same seller in Stillwater has displayed many cases/crates of x54R with Cyrillic lettering in his storage area. |
November 23, 2009, 09:28 AM | #5 |
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Link provide only as a helping hand to ammo seekers. YMMV.
http://www.buymilsurp.com/ammunition...n-c-13_15.html Looks like prices and quantities are not what they used to be.
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November 23, 2009, 08:33 PM | #6 |
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Thanks for the info guys. Looks like surplus .303 British has pretty much gone the way of the dodo except for some rare cases. Oh well, looks like I won't be shooting my Lee Enfield very often.
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November 24, 2009, 12:18 AM | #7 |
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The only .303 surplus that seems to turn up anymore comes in greenish colored 32-round boxes (probably the POF stuff that Ignition Overdrive mentioned). Don't waste you money as it terribly corrosive, inaccurate, and hangfires like a Brown Bess. Your best bet for high-volume .303 shooting at this point would probably be to buy a couple hundred rounds of Prvi Partizan, save the brass, and get some neck sizing dies (brass doesn't last very long when full-length sized and shot out of a Lee-Enfield).
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November 24, 2009, 12:26 AM | #8 |
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November 24, 2009, 10:51 AM | #9 | |
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November 24, 2009, 11:01 AM | #10 |
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as already menioned, prvi makes good .303 ammo and the brass is good quality for reloading. when the last of the Kynoch surplus dried up, i started useing the prvi. good stuff and the price isn't bad either.
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November 24, 2009, 11:27 AM | #11 |
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I managed to save all my 303 brass from years of shooting until I started reloading. And since I am a part-time RSO, I get to poach any 303 brass left at the benches when I'm working.
Now, I load my own.
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November 26, 2009, 11:52 PM | #12 |
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Before I started reloading I bought something like 780 rounds of the POF crap from Sportsmans Guide. The price was reasonable, It must have been under $200. Yes, it hangfires like crazy and is incredibly inaccurate. And it is corrosive. I hold onto it for contingency and only shoot it in a 1948 GRI Enfield with a pitted throat. It is my end of the world ammo.
It's really junk. If it were boxer primed, I'd pull every bullet, pop all the primers and reload the brass. But its not so every once in a while I shoot it to hear a big bang, but I don't worry about hitting the paper. |
November 29, 2009, 11:01 PM | #13 |
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why is everyone shocked that the supply of surplus 303 is finally just about GONE? why has no one been able to realize that because the factories stopped making it for the uk military and its colonial slaves, that the supply is finite and in the very end will consist of nothing but the worst trash that never would have made the cut for use in 1942?
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November 29, 2009, 11:10 PM | #14 |
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November 29, 2009, 11:32 PM | #15 |
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I understand it is still produced in India and is still quite common on the sub continent.
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December 1, 2009, 08:32 PM | #16 |
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could 30-40 krag brass work?
I seem to recall a 303 is damn near identical in dimensions to 30-40 krag, so much so that the krag will chamber in a 303, is is it the other way around? |
December 2, 2009, 07:19 AM | #17 | ||
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December 4, 2009, 11:24 AM | #18 |
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Unfortunately, .30-40 Krag brass ain't that cheap, either...
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December 4, 2009, 11:28 AM | #19 |
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nope...
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December 4, 2009, 05:22 PM | #20 |
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Well I guess it is time to get the good ol' loading press out. The problem there is what a mil. .303 chamber does to the brass anyway. Unless you neck size or something.
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December 14, 2009, 10:14 AM | #21 |
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Surplus .303 is rare now ... like rockinghorse dung - the stuff that is still around is poor in both accuracy and condition/performance. There is still plenty of commercial .303 British being made with Highland being among the cheapest. If you really care about accuracy and performance for both target and hunting just roll you own ... I do.
Tiki.
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December 15, 2009, 08:07 PM | #22 |
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A bit OT here, but the same situation is going to exist sooner or later with 7.62x54R and 7.62x25. Guns for these calibres are dirt cheap right now and everyone is buying them up like crazy, mostly because of the availability of large amounts of cheap surplus ammo.
When that dries up, you have the same situation as you do with .303 Brit. Milsurp guns are fun to shoot, but I would never choose any weapon for which I couldn't assure a reasonably available supply of ammo for a SHTF situation. |
December 15, 2009, 08:19 PM | #23 |
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like Tiki, i just make my own. its SO MUCH cheaper and better accuracy
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December 16, 2009, 12:41 PM | #24 |
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There are sources out there. Unfortunately, for us non reloaders (hopefully not me for much longer) .303 Brit runs about $1 per round!!
Here is one site that should help. http://www.ammoengine.com/find/ammo/.303_British The first choice on that list, Sellier and Bellot 180 gr FMJ from cheaper than dirt is a good deal. I have shot a bunch of that exact round, and its the best performing FMJ Enfield ammo that I have found. Enjoy!!
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December 17, 2009, 10:41 AM | #25 |
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"....30-40 Krag brass ain't that cheap, either..." Only loaded 'seasonally' by Remington and Winchester too. Too long as well. 92 thou longer than the .303 case. And the rim is 5 thou bigger.
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