Hunting moose and deer. Got my bull tag this year. Which do you think is the better Caliber for hunting big game. I think I have already made up my mind which rifle I'm gonna use but whats your take.
happykal
Lots of moose have been killed with the old .303, but a .308 give you more choices.
That said, within 50 yards I don't think it makes a hill of beans difference.
That said, within 50 yards I don't think it makes a hill of beans difference.
The 303 british will kill most game. I do not reload rifle ammo so the 308 is more available and more versatile. The ammo is also less expensive to just shoot with. Also 308s are more accurate on average than 303. Is the 303 british lethal ask 2 world wars of soldiers. Oh they cannot answer they are dead.
I can testify to that. My ol'man shot many moose with his .303 lee enfield, he bought a winchester 88 .308, used it for 2 years. Took a bull one year and a calf the following. But he put the .308 back in the cabnet and used his .303 for the last few seasons he went for moose.
I had already decided on which rifle for my moose. I have a BLR 81 .308 and a .303 mark4 no.1. I'm leaning on the BLR. Smaller gun, reliable caliber. Just feels right to with that 81 straight stock. I'm going to have to get a new scope on 'er though. I had an incident last year during a moose hunt where I went to adjust the power from 3-9 and turned all the guts in the scope. Bushnell wouldn't fix it, it was an old trophy anyway. I'm looking at a elite 4200 series for short action rifles. I think it'll be a sweet set up
The .303 would probably do just fine, but then again I don't know why I'd choose it over the .308. Why choose less power over more power? Neither of the 2 cartridges kicks hard at all, so I'd use the more powerful .308 Winchester. The .303's a fun cartridge, but I'd take the .308.
I'm not a hunter at all, so my opinion is of very little value in this thread. However, in shooting my .303 Enfield, it certainly feels like a very "soft" round compared to my other WWII rifles from other countries. If I had an option for a more powerful round, I guess I would prefer that. On the flip side, didn't I hear somewhere that you don't always want a more powerful round when hunting? Like, you sometimes want the bullet to creat a killing cavity as opposed to being so powerful it just blows cleanly through the entire animal? Again, I'm not a hunter, so I may have this all wrong. Just rambling. 
Again I'm all but useless, as I'm sure someone else will arrive with a more experienced answer but I know my .223 in my M&P 15 is a joke as far as recoil is concerned, especially compared to my 30-06. However, the only 30-06 I have is shot with my M1 Garand, which really absorbs recoil well. Neither one of those kicks like my Russian 7.62x54r stuff. I would say the .308 would kick significanlt harder than a .223 even though I've never shot a .308. As for a 30-06, it will probably depend on what you're shooting it out of. Like I said, my M1 is a joy to shoot 30-06 out of compared to some of my others, including an 8mm.
Knowing many folks from BC and Yukon the 303 rules.The 308 is fine for moose but the 303 wins keeping the big fuzzy off your moose
Just clean it up and inspect it thoroughly. I've only had one problem with any of the milsurp rifles I own, and it was a broken tip of a firing pin on a WWII Japanese Arisaka. Wasn't danegrous, just wasn't very fun to shoot. lol
My first hunting rifle was a No 5 Jungle Carbine. My brother-in-law bought it for me 45 years ago when I was 16. Still have it. I collect Enfields so my choice would be 303.
Unless I had a 303 handed to me...or even if I did, I would choose the .308. I might test the 303, but I am pretty familiar with the characteristics of various .308 loads and behaviors.
There's a confidence-level difference between Recreational shooting and Hunting-shooting. For me, I could enjoy shooting the 303 for fun....but my confidence-level would increase greatly when hunting with one of my .308's
There's a confidence-level difference between Recreational shooting and Hunting-shooting. For me, I could enjoy shooting the 303 for fun....but my confidence-level would increase greatly when hunting with one of my .308's
On paper, the .303 British and the .308 Winchester are so nearly identical there's really no difference between the capabilities of the two cartridges. I'd probably go 308 for more choices in factory ammo.
Given the same gun weight/barrel length/bullet weight I'd say the .308 has a "snappier" recoil compared with more of a "push" from the .303. As the .308/7.62 is a more developed round then that is probably the better bet and easier to get the best out of than the .303, especially trying to get to know the Lee Enfield which is a life's work in itself!
If you will pardon the diversion I have a tale to tell.
I grew up in Nashville TN because my Dad was a professor of nuclear and theoretical physics at Vanderbilt University. As a child he was always inviting students, visiting dignitaries, and fellow professors home to dinner. The children were always included in the events all the way up to bed time. It was a wonderful time and we met people from all over the world (including professors from Russia during the Cold War).
The one gentleman I remember quite clearly was a newly hired professor to the math department who came over from merry old England. During dinner, my father asked him of his life and his education. It turns out that his first trip abroad was to France in his sixteenth year and that was to an event called The Battle of Dunkirk. No, he did not carry an Enfield, but a large shoulder fired WW1 recoilless anti-tank weapon that he described as more heavy than useful. He said the Sergeant Major chose him and several other scrawny fellows from the ranks to act as rear guard because the little guys knew how to get their asses whooped and get back on their feet again. He said the big guys were just learning. He didn't tell us much more about his life in the military, at least not while the children were present.
This is what he told us about the Enfield in 303 British. After the war, he applied for work with the government to help him pay his way through college. The government of Great Britain gave him a job as an animal control specialist in the African Colonies, Kenya or Nigeria, I can't remember. So every summer he would go to Africa for three or four months to control the local fauna. This entertained everyone at the table. I remember my Dad asking him what was the largest animal he ever had to control. He responded that on several occasions he had to deal with enraged elephants that were passionately squashing the local citizenry. My dad asked him what rifle he was using to dispatch the wild elephants, expecting to hear of some such round as a 375 H&H or 416 Rigby. Instead he responded that he was issued an ancient #1MK3 Enfield in 303 British.
My Dad looked at him aghast and asked him if you could actually kill an elephant with a 303 British.
"Yes", the gentleman responded in a very calm british way, "If you get close enough".
True story.
I grew up in Nashville TN because my Dad was a professor of nuclear and theoretical physics at Vanderbilt University. As a child he was always inviting students, visiting dignitaries, and fellow professors home to dinner. The children were always included in the events all the way up to bed time. It was a wonderful time and we met people from all over the world (including professors from Russia during the Cold War).
The one gentleman I remember quite clearly was a newly hired professor to the math department who came over from merry old England. During dinner, my father asked him of his life and his education. It turns out that his first trip abroad was to France in his sixteenth year and that was to an event called The Battle of Dunkirk. No, he did not carry an Enfield, but a large shoulder fired WW1 recoilless anti-tank weapon that he described as more heavy than useful. He said the Sergeant Major chose him and several other scrawny fellows from the ranks to act as rear guard because the little guys knew how to get their asses whooped and get back on their feet again. He said the big guys were just learning. He didn't tell us much more about his life in the military, at least not while the children were present.
This is what he told us about the Enfield in 303 British. After the war, he applied for work with the government to help him pay his way through college. The government of Great Britain gave him a job as an animal control specialist in the African Colonies, Kenya or Nigeria, I can't remember. So every summer he would go to Africa for three or four months to control the local fauna. This entertained everyone at the table. I remember my Dad asking him what was the largest animal he ever had to control. He responded that on several occasions he had to deal with enraged elephants that were passionately squashing the local citizenry. My dad asked him what rifle he was using to dispatch the wild elephants, expecting to hear of some such round as a 375 H&H or 416 Rigby. Instead he responded that he was issued an ancient #1MK3 Enfield in 303 British.
My Dad looked at him aghast and asked him if you could actually kill an elephant with a 303 British.
"Yes", the gentleman responded in a very calm british way, "If you get close enough".
True story.
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