303 British - I bought one - First Shots 

l can imagine all the Brits, Aussies and Canadians going nuts watching you mess with that Enfield.

More moose taken in Canada by the 303 than any other gun to my knowledge. Bought my first one at 13 years old in Elwood Epps store. $29.95 with no tax.

Old Canadian here,, the 303 enfield was my first center fire rifle I bought.. NO4 Mrk2, sporter. I had already used it in 22 cal for target practice with Army Cadets,, and then in 303 on military ranges. Then upgraded to FNC1A1. Enjoyed shooting that old rifle for many years,, smooth action and great hunting rifle out to 300 yards. Took my first deer with it..

Crying my eyes out looking at that 1917 era Number 1 Mk3 chopped up like that. Somebody needs to go to jail for that.

Kind of drives me nuts watching you futz around with that rifle, looks like you loaded it with the rims behind each other and got it rim locked.

Enfield MK 3 (Mark 3). You have to load the rounds with each rim of the cartridge in front of the last one, or you will get rimlock. The clips will also help prevent it. Edit- It looks sporterised, as well.

Watching him load it in the beginning, i was like "yep its gonna jam, hes not looking at the rims"

British No. 1 Mk III (pronounced Mark) was also known as the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE). That model was the used by the Commonwealth during WWI. You need to ensure the rim is front of the other when loading to prevent Rimlock as you experienced.

2500 fps and 2500 ft lbs of energy. Its a great round, hardly any recoil, accurate, amazing action, and if the ak47 is the least finicky of semi/full autos and been in dozens of wars and conflicts, the lee enfield .303 is the least finicky of all bolt actions and has been equally in dozens of war and conflicts. Overall, just a fantastic rifle and round.

A lovely rifle ruined, I hate it when I see an old SMLE that’s been “sporterized”.

It is a box mag setup; it drops right out of the bottom just like any other. When my grandfather passed away, I inherited his. I love shooting it more than my 06. It was 100 years old in 2017, and still functions perfectly today. They built em well back then!

The 303 is a rim cartridge and has to be loaded in a specific pattern. Once you load it correctly, it will chamber effortlessly.

Check out the history of the long used 303 british my American friend!!! It was mistaken for a semi auto by Germans in the hands of good men!!! Glad you have that one! I have my Grampas!!!

As an Englishman I pains me to see a national iconic rifle butcherd in such a manner. Sporterizing is the devil's work.

The 1st gun that I ever fired was a Lee Enfield .303. I was thirteen years old at the school shooting range. I remember the recoil of that first shot to this day, and I'm nearly 70 now.

Cool to take a deer with this thing... we Brits took countries with it... 😂👍 Thanks for posting, it’s a great rifle, one of the greatest bolt action battle rifles ever in my view. Enjoy

303 British, A lot of history behind that rifle, very nice!!!

Among the other treasures my recently deceased father had (M-1 Carbine, WW1 era Mauser .25 etc.) was one of these .303s. Somewhere in the house when I find it there is a bandolier of ammo on stripper clips for feeding the magazine that might work better than your results on loading. I remember shooting it some 40 years ago with pleasant memories and look forward to doing so again.

New Zealand here - i have several of these great rifles. Hint - as you load the magazine - which does release by the way - slide the rounds in so the rim is in front of the lower round and you have no jamming.

The British Empire’s battle rifle in two World Wars. Served in every theatre conditions from ice to desert to jungle. 17 million made.

My Dad still talks fondly of his 303 that he used whilst in the British army and actually used on active service in Aden.

A .303 British Enfield was the first high powered rifle I ever saw, when my father purchased a sporterized one in the late 1950s. It was also the first high powered rifle I ever shot. I now own 5 of them

It uses rimmed cartridges and the magazine is detachable. When you load it make sure each rim is ahead of the one below. Then it feeds just fine.

Wow that brings back memories. I first fired a 303 in 1965 on Strensall ranges near York when I was an army cadet. We used to shoot at 300 yards regularly . They were almost obsolete at that time. Ended up with a 7.62 SLR as my weapon when I joined the British army in 69

I used to shoot one of these when I was 13 years old, I was in the Air Cadets in England, I remember they had quite a kick to them. great rifle.

The empire used this cartridge from some where around 1890s until 1970s, so rimlock was not a big problem after the 1st time, the sergant would make sure of that, 20 pushups 1st time 50 next and so on.

I’m just seeing this video even though it’s now 2 years old. My father bought a SMLE No 1 MK III back in the early 1960’s. He used it for deer hunting in the northern mountains of Georgia when I was a kid back then. As I grew up and became interested in deer hunting myself I watched my father take several deer with that old .303 British Rifle using only the iron sights. My father passed about 30 years ago and I inherited his rifle. I still have it and cherish it to this day. Great memories! 🤠

Really enjoy your vids. You made me dig out my old 303. Forgot how much fun they are.

That was the main battle rifle for the British. It served a long time and was really a good weapon.

Good work getting a good ol Lee Enfield. Here in NZ every man and his dog have shot deer with an old 303. I've got a full wood original no4 mk1

My Dad bought one of these at about 14 years old from Woolworths in northern WI sometime in the late 50s or early 60s. They were all army surplus and packed with grease for storage from the war. He brought it home and cleaned it up and it was his first deer rifle. I now use it and love it. It takes down a deer hard and sights are accurate, never needed a scope for hunting in the woods. The clip comes out and filling it completely does make it easier to jam as you saw, but the way around that for mine is to quickly and aggressively use the bolt.

My first Deer rifle, my dad had one when I was small . He bought me one for my 10th Birthday. That was 53 years ago , I still own it and still shoot it just for grins! Great old gun...

I'm sure you wouldn't have any problem taking a deer with that thing.

My Grandfather was a musketry instructor in 1914 teaching the guys going to France how to shoot the Enfield the average soldier could get off 20 to 30 rounds aimed per minute at 100 yards the same rifle was used as a sniper rifle and was still able to take out the enemy at 1000 yards in trained hands

Great old rifle first fired number one mark 3☆ belonging to my dad when I was 13, ha ha it was a big step up from a 22 lr, we have a lot of these down in NZ cut down like this, as they where used by government employed deer cullers up until the late 1960s. Used my dads old mark 3☆ until I was 17 and could afford to buy a savage 99 in 303 British. I don't get out deer hunting with dad anymore as he is 84 years young now, but seeing your clip has brought back many fond memories, many thanks keep I'm coming

Hi, my 1897 303 Brit Martini Enfield has no feeding issues & loves a180gn flat point lead bullet. Enjoy your old rifles my friends. Cheers from Australia.

Can’t wait to see the chrono, clay block, and 1000 yard video on this rifle. Would love to see more surplus rifle videos. The Mosin Nagant 91/30 in 7.62X54R is an awesome round too.

First 3 deer I shot in my youth in Oregon were harvested with a sporterized Enfield in 303 british. Great guns

My first hunting rifle was a .303 Lee Enfield. Love em

These are everywhere in Australia Who Tee. Beautiful rifle that went through two world wars!

My first shooting experience was with a 1916 SMLE when in School Cadets, lots of good shooting. Sorry for non Aussies that's like compulsory ROTC or near enough..

clip release is located top -front of trigger guard i have shot many deer with one of those was my first rifle in 1968

G R E A T review! Thanks. Hope to see more on this rifle!

Love my 303. It took 40 years to get my dad to hand it over to me. I use 180 grn. When you pull the trigger you know. Mine is a 1914 or 16. Never had a jam. Just love it.

MK III = "mark 3". Just one of many modifications made to the basic rifle during its service life. You can also see an " * " beside the MK which denotes a more minor mod to the service rifle. Magazine is, in fact, easily detached and replaced, but in practice it was loaded from the top with stripper clips. As you discovered, it holds 10 rounds. Judging by the way you were operating it, I'd say you got some rims interlocked, because the SMLE is one of the smoother bolts to operate. Care must be taken to ensure that the rim of the topmost cartridge lies in front of the one below it. Rear locking, cock on closing. The headspace was fairly easily adjusted because the bolt head could be changed for a longer or shorter one as needed. Didn't need to replace the whole bolt - just the rotating head. I, too, had ignored the 303 for a long time. When I did get ahold of one, I was very impressed by its elegant simplicity. Its not a complicated gun at all, and it stood the test of time judging by the many many many years that it served as Britain's service rifle. Bullet diameter is 311 - 312 rather than the 308 of US rifles. Powder in the cartridges was cordite. That didn't change until after the Korean War, so any surplus you might find will be corrosive. Clean well after shooting! (unless you stick with modern ammo). Nominal bullet weight was 174 grains, so anything close to that should match up with the sights.

I've owned both a .303 and a .30-40 Krag, and performance on deer is basically identical. It's easier to find ammo for a .303 though. Ammo companies only make .30-40 ammo every few years, and you can bet that won't continue much longer.

I remember shooting these when I was 13 down at my local range here in the UK. The guy said bury it in your shoulder. I did and it left it my entire right shoulder black. Lots of pop.

I had one as a young fella. My neighbor borrowed it and never returned it. He and his brother told my dad they had no idea where it was. Got my ass whooped big time. Neighbor's moved and took it with them. Lesson learned. Never let your gun out of your sight!

I have 3! Love them too! I have taken deer with the 303 Brit. It's called a SMLE. Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifle. SMLE nuts like me call them SMELLY. Bolt cocks on closing rather than opening . 10 round mag that can be detached, but usually not, is fed with stripper clips from the top. Care must be used in loading to ensure that the rimmed cases don't overlap behind the prior cartridge so it runs smoothly. Google up "Mad Minute". Thank me later. If I'm not mistaken, it's the longest serving modern rifle in military history. They are awesome firearms with an awesome history.

Rim lock-check Magazine shutoff-check “Number 1 Mark 3”

Yeah that’s awesome , there are still a few around . My whole family used to own a few and my great uncles used them in WW2 in Normandy . They stop deer real well . 👍

Never seen that loading technique anywhere. Fascinating! Bloody gorgeous. Obviously a seasoned professional!

I have one from 1916, with full original wood stocks . ..... dont know how many Deer..... but sure took a lotta German and Japanese in two world wars

Short magazine Lee Enfield, number 1 mark 3. 10 round detachable box magazine, loaded with 2 5 round stripper clips. There was a grenade launcher attachment, but you aee missing the nose cap that it attached to.

I loaded and shot the Lee Enfield 303 at age 16 - most weekends. Usually at 300 yards with the sights you have there. Such an easy rifle to get a grouping with.

10 rounds back in 1914 was like having a 100 drum magazine for your AR nowadays. The standard was around 5 rounds, some rifles had less some had a little more but the Lee Enfield had 10.

I've had one and used one in Africa, hard hitting round

If it’s 100 years old and still works I like it!

That bought back memories... I was a 14yr old sea cadet in UK back in 1982. We had these for parade (with bayonets) and for shooting on the range. I can still hear the quartermaster saying "slickest action on planet earth". We had no idea what he was talking about 😀

Nice, I learned to shoot with one of those, still in use in the 80's with the Royal Navy.

It's an SMLE which stands for "Short Magazine Lee Enfield" and it's been sporterized for hunting. One of the BEST rifles in ww1 and ww2. If not one of the best rifles ever

Th3 magazine comes out you can get a spare mag . It served the British Empire from the late 19th century until well into the late 1950's

My dad had one, what was cool was the flip up front sight with the slide to adjust how many yards away your target was.

Love it... I cant wait to use mine next deer season! Mine looks almost identical.

Love the action on mine very smooth

“I’d want more than 5 rounds” That’s why we developed the ‘mad minute’.

Bought one when I was a cop in South Africa . Brand new, Still in the original wax paper with 300 rounds of ammo still loaded with cordite sticks . Pulled some heads . Each round had the exact same amount of sticks. I paid R7 which today is .47 cents in the US money.Had great fun with it.

Hey Adam just watching this old video and it brings back some memories. 303 british was the first rifle I ever fired. When i was 12. It was a long-branch version that I later owned . I hunted everything in the big game woods of Canada with it that I could. It never let me down . I have owned 5 different makes and years of the old Enfield and I never had à bad one. I don't own one anymore but wished ì had kept my last one as it was by far the best one had.

The original cartridges had a small bevel on the rear of the shell rim so that they would ride up over the rim of the one below. Modern cartridge makers don’t put this on. I had to make a jig to chamfer the new cartridges before I reloaded them . There are RU-vid videos that explain this feature. Thanks for your videos. Oh, bought my first 303 in 1965, still have it and do target shoots with it , at appropriate events 😎😎😎

Yes, it's a bastardised SMLE battle rifle cut down into a sporting gun

I have been shooting a 1917 Lee Enfield 303 British ever since I was kid . I still have it , Its my dads old gun . It has been drilled and tapped for a scope . 100 yards is not nothing for them . I have one that I bought after I was grown and used the scope mount for a Mossberg 500 to put a scope on it . Believe me or not , I do not care . But it is sighted in at 2000 yards . And you could not hold all the deer it has taken in the last 35 years in the back of a pickup truck . One of the things I love about it , Is you normally do not have to go looking for your deer , They normally drop dead in there track . My first deer was taken with my dads old 303 . It is what I grew up on , Back then almost every deer hunter around here hunted with some kind of old army rifle . Many people used the German 8mm , But I prefer the 303 British . They were built to go through hell and keep working . The reason yours is not feeding correct is because the ears at the top of the magazine are out of place . And yes , The magazines do come out . And you can normally fix them pretty easy .

This was the first large caliber bang bang I had the privilege to get behind...I was 7 years old and will never forget it...you got yourself an amazing machine...😃👍👍👍

LOL when you load rim cartridge's you have to load one cartridge rim in front of the lower . Down here in NZ we have the highest number of .303 per head of population in the world . Ive used one laying waste to large numbers of pest goats and the fast bolt and large magazine capacity were just the berries.

I think everyone in Eastern Canada has at least one, I own 2 .

The Lee-Enfield .303 was the first rifle I ever fired as it was the standard issue for the South African Defence Force until about 1971/2. It was issued with a detachable bayonet, with which we actually practiced at "straw bags". The packing of the magazine was tricky due to the top cartridges rim being able to snag on the next one below it. I remember the brass butt plate and a compartment within the butt for a cleaning kit. It was an accurate shooter, but that brass plate really hurt your shoulder, especially towards the end of the day on the shooting range. ! During my conscription to the SADF it was replaced by the 7,62 FN and at the time, the .303 in your care was offered to you for about $1.00. As a result there are many customized .303s in circulation within SA.

I knew it as the Lee Enfield 303. I fired it as a Cadet in the late 1960s (that and - indoors - the very similar but single shot Lee Enfield 22), but they were being withdrawn from service then. Those rounds don't look right, nor does the furniture. That rifle's been buggered about. We used 303 Ball, usually loaded using a clip, but sometimes we might load the mag by hand. With practice you could be faster than using the clip - and of course skill at arms was competitive. Bolt-action was very reliable. Every time you fire a semi-automatic you have to re-establish your aim anyway, but a trained rifleman reloaded the 303, aimed and was on the trigger again in that pause. The issue of the SLR only improved effective rate of fire because of magazine size. I can't recall ever having rim lock or any other kind of stoppage with the 303, but again... training counts. The 303 with iron sights was standard issue for British and colonial armed forces in both World Wars and beyond, together with a pretty long bayonet (see the film "1917"). It was good enough for a sniper rifle if the telescopic sight was fitted, but not so good for CQB or parachuting - too bloody long and heavy. There was a lot of resistance to changing it, partly because of the weight of extra ammunition needed for semi-automatic weapons. I've used bolt-action Garands of similar vintage. Those were quite prone to stoppages and much more fiddly to strip, clean and reassemble. I'm afraid I thought that the Garand was badly designed by comparison, but that was just from my limited experience of them.

The record for loading and hitting a target was for a 12” target at 300yds in 1 minute, by a British Army Sergeant (whose name currently escapes me. Btw - they used to be loaded with stripper clips).

And the first magazine that came with the rifle had feeding issues we found 1 labeled mk vii and it feeds 100% reliable now a family kinda knows this history behind them and made that suggestion

Yep Rod, your absolutely correct!! I've a 1942 Australian made, by Lithgow, .303 (MK4,which stands for mark 4) and it's easy to load from top down, if you understand how a rimmed cartridge loads. Also magazine detataches in a split second and another second to install fully loaded magazine. 10 rounds! Also this mark/MK3in the video has be modified somewhat. I've never had an issue cycling the rifle, maybe because I sorta know what I'm doing.

I have been hunting with a mk4 for 30 years and taken many deer with it. Love this round.

303 British Enfield! What a great rifle. I bought one when I was 14 for $35 bucks. My very first deer rifle. The fastest bolt action ever..

I wonder if it's one of those Lee Enfields that were 'cut down' a bit for use in places like Burma and Malaysia in the 1950s. Some of the wood being removed to make it lighter and the barrel shortened to accommodate the cramped, tangled conditions of jungle warfare? The magazine - Lee Enfields that had fixed box magazines could also be 'speed loaded' with clips. You got a full clip (5 rounds) placed it over the box magazine and simply pressed them down with your thumb. As a rule we were taught not to load the full 10 rounds, to load maybe 8 or 9. The rationale was that loading the magazine fully put maximum pressure on the magazine spring and wore it out faster through metal fatigue. Eventually it would stop pushing the rounds up reliably. You also asked about grenades - Lee Enfields were able to fire a kind of rifle grenade called an ENERGA. It looked like a little mortar bomb. They were supposed to be an anti-tank weapon. They slotted onto the top of the muzzle.

I've had one since I was 8. Still my favorite bolt action rifles. An under appreciated cartridge here in the states.

lovely rifle fired 1 lovely action 47 YRS ago bit of a kick back when loaded right

Getting a weapon and shooting it without knowing anything about is silly and stupid.

That's still a badass gun for being made in August of 1914

Came across your vid and watched due to the title. Not sure on the vintage but when we fired the 303 in the early 1970's at the Bisley military range in the UK we first loaded the bullets into a 5 round spring clip and then the clip into the magazine. Long process I know, like double loading the mag. I do remember the rifle having a kick back so we used our folded berets' inside our jackets for cushioning. Ah! those were the days, no ear defenders, no eye protection.

ive spent the past 25 ish years watching my dad drop whitetail with a lee enfield at crazy distances open sight. i learned to shoot on a longbranch no4 mk1 that my dad gave me, stil my favorite rifle

The clip is detachable and easier to load out of the gun. My Dad bought a nicely sporterized one for deer hunting after he came home from WW 2 and I still have it in my collection.

Careful with rimlock...the 303 rounds are rimmed so make sure you load each one slightly in front of the ones underneath

I had 2 of these and loved them 1000 yards open site or as far as my eyes could focus. YES REALY. now my with eyes barely 50.yards.

I just bought myself a 1898 Mosin Nagant. Shoots great

I fired one in the British army cadets when I was 14

Gidday mate, The magazine is removable and it is easier to load it off the rifle. The rifle is a Mark 3 S.M.L.E. (Short Magazine Lee Enfield). My three great uncles used the 303 in the WW1 and my two uncles and father used it in WW2 and my father was in the army until 1956, which is about the time the S.M.L.E. was phased out of service. Enjoy your new rifle.

It is a very good gun. I bought one in the early 70's out of a wooden whiskey barrel for $25.00. Killed a nice 8 point buck with it. The one I have has a mag release inside the trigger guard. Save all of your brass and reload them.

I love your presentation style mate. Just subscribed

An armory in what was then the British colony of India converted a number of Lee Enfields into single-shot 410 shotguns.

Motorcycles are just the other sound of Freedom.

Number 1 mark 3, holds 10 and yes the box mag comes out. You have to make sure the rim on top is ahead of the shell below

I think that rifle originally used Cordite rounds designed to operate gas-operated machine guns and the recoil-operated Vickers belt fed and Browning belt fed aircraft guns. So those rounds had so much kick when used in a normal rifle, it was said that they killed at both ends. The WW1 rifles had a long barrel and fired a 200grain round nosed bullet. The WW2 versions had a shorter barrel, and used a 180 grain projectile. It still kicked like a mule using military ammunition. I once had a chance to use a double-rifle in that calibre and chambered for 303 British ammunition. MUCH less kick--being a heavier firearm. Most home loaders who LOVE these rifles load them to get much less muzzle blast than the military ammo, and some use lighter projectiles. Some even re-barrel them to 25 calibre and neck down the brass to suit--a wonderful wildcat if you ever wear out the barrel-- The 303 round was widely used as both a sporting and military cartridge in black powder, such as the Lee-Metford 303 round. Some ammunition for that rifle was also used until it ran out in the WW1 303 and then it was smokeless. It probably killed more game than just about any other calibre up until the 1980's--and a lot of that using ex-military rounds. One filed off the nose--turning it into a hollow point, because under that nose it WAS hollow--just an aluminium cone under the brass--they were called Dum-Dum rounds after a place in India I am told--. CAUTION. If you are using military ammunition, some of it had mercury primers. DEADLY if it poisons you--I had a fried killed by it--so wash out your barrels and action using hot soapy water and dry thoroughly after use. The later ammunition used sodamide or other safe primers.. If we were shooting in low-light conditions such as in a forest late afternoon, we had a trick. We used to put a large spring-back paper clip over the front sight before each shot. It gave a hooded sight with a big wide V above it made by the clip handles. We would Put the pig's back in bottom of the vee, swing with the pig and squeeze. If the rifle was set for sights level at 100 yards, that gave about the right angle of depression for a close-up shot. A couple of practice shots will tell how much. That heavy two-stage trigger takes a bit of getting used to. Many shooters replace it. Most shooting for game happens in thirty yards or less in coastal Australia. Further out west on the plains, you will get to test yourself over longer ranges. The 303 British is a heavy round which has a trajectory like a garden hose--but it is stable and accurate if you know the range and you know the wind I think you will really enjoy that rifle.