Thoughts?

Buy a few thousand rounds now & whenever you come across it.

My understanding is that 'PPU' (Prvi Partisan) 303 is not difficult to source in the US, but the price may not be palatable - but thats happening to pretty much all ammo these days.

Both 308 and 303 look to be around $1.30 a round

 

Here in UK, new .303 British-shooting rifle owners buy PPU, shoot it and then reload it........it's that same price here as in USA, the days of $0.25 a bang .303 are long gone............. When I was a young'un, our local gun store sold it for five bucks/C.

 

New .303 British is relatively easy to find in NZ,hard to imagine it is not still readily available in the USA.Just buy (or order) a reasonable quantity of the Privi ammunition and you are good to go.

 

Google search reveals plenty of suppliers in the US

1st hit : 303 British Ammo at Ammo.com: Cheap .303 Ammo in Bulk

And a summary page of 'dozens' of suppliers


303 British Ammo | In Stock 303 British Ammunition - AmmoBuy

 

You can mail order the ammo in quantity to get the best price per round. I don't think you will ever be able to go into your average gun shop and buy a box off the shelf. As far as reloading, buying the components will cost as much as loaded factory ammo. Don't bother.

 

As far as reloading, buying the components will cost as much as loaded factory ammo. Don't bother.

That is true, as far as it goes, but the advantage of home-loading is not the price saving but the accuracy gains that you can get by 'tuning' your load and bullets to suit YOUR rifle.

If you want 'factory' mass production standards of accuracy then buy 'factory loads', if you want to be sub 1 MOA then do your own manufacture.

Having said that, I have found that I cannot load 174g FMJ to 2440fps that gives better accuracy than the PPU 'factory'.
My problem is consistency of the 'nut behind the butt'.
Buying quality (made to mil spec) gives far better performance than rounds made to SAAMI specifications.

The main ones to 'give a miss' to are Winchester and S&B.
Winchester's history (over more than 100 years) of producing 303 has been appaling.
In WW1 the Brits cancelled the supply contract as they were 118,000,000 rounds in arrears and, 50%+ of what they had supplied, was unusable, & was sentenced "for practice at home only".
In WW2, their ammunition was not allowed for use in aircraft due to stoppages because of inconsistent quality (case sizing) and was relegated to ground use only - with some batches being so bad it was marked 'practice / range use only'.

 

I don't think the 303 is at all dead here in the US. At least in California, there seems to be a least a few boxes of factory ammo on shelves in the shops I drop into. Problem is, factory loaded is expensive. I do handload, and have been since 1992, so I am fortunate enough to have a good supply of components on hand to satisfy my shooting needs. But even the components are getting pricey, so I think the days of shooting on the cheap are long gone.

When I hunt out of state (Nevada, Arizona, Utah), I make it a point to hit the local gun shops and have gotten lucky a few times. I'll find the odd box of 303 for a somewhat reasonable price. Heck, I was in Oshkosh Wisconsin last January and walked into a Fleet Farm. They had four 50-count bags of Winchester 303 brass. I bought all four and mailed them home.

 

NO. You don't mention where you are in the US, but .303 Br is readily available most places and always online.
There are thousands, likely 10s of thousands of .303 chambered rifles in the US, I would bet that as long as "ammo" is available, so will .303 be available!

 

There are thousands, likely 10s of thousands of .303 chambered rifles in the US, I would bet that as long as "ammo" is available, so will .303 be available!

Suspect the number is in the hundreds of thousands.

 

I have a similar experience. I very rarely see 303 on the shelves at gun stores. Never at my LGS (and it would be expensive if I asked them to order), and rarely at big box. This being said, with some reasonable diligence you can find it online at retailers and private sales on boards like this. Be opportunistic!

As far as reloading, I agree it is still less expensive than factory, but when you add it up the savings are really an excuse to have some quality alone time, rather than an economic incentive!

 

Up until a few short years ago Rem-UMC 174grn fmj .303n was always stocked at my local "Bass" and was cheap enough that handloading yielded only a small saving in cost. It performed quite well in a variety of LE's that I used at the range and was pretty well calibrated to sights at short ranges like 400m. Then the supply dried up (hoarding?) and when it finally reappeared the price had nearly doubled. Concurrently many reloading components virtually disappeared including my favorite .303 bullets, favorite powders, etc. Working on a batch right now and, due to bullet cost, it'll be well over a Loonie per round, all in. Nevertheless, anyone seriously interested in shooting a LE should get into reloads- .303 is not complicated and even novice handloaders will see group sizes shrink by large amounts relative to any commercial ammo.

Ruprecht

 

I use 303 for pigs and I am reloading it.

 

I spent twenty-some years cultivating a collection of Lee Enfields that, heartbreakingly, was stolen in 2017. The story is elsewhere on this forum.

In 2021, I wound up getting one of the rifles returned to me, a No. 4 Mk 1/3, but that's it - my single only Enfield, and I have no plans to ever try to re-create my collection, which was primarily minty examples of the No 4 rifles from across manufacturers, including the 1/2, 1/3, Mk 2, and the No. 5.

Anyway, we all now how difficult it is to find factory .303 on American store shelves anymore. And this begs the question, will this ever change, or is the .303 for all intents and purposes an obsolete, niche cartridge in America now, which will never be found on store shelves for any sort of reasonable price? Humorously, I asked a young clerk at a local sporting goods store if they had any .303 British in stock, and then had to spend the next couple minutes explaining to him what .303 British is! Needless to say, he'd never heard of it, much less stocked it.

If that is the case that's the cartridge is simply the pursuit of hand-loaders and those cool with shooting corrosive milsurp stuff, I'm tempted to sell my No. 4 Mk 1/3, as I don't currently and do not plan to ever reload. So, if I will never have the opportunity to buy off-the-shelf ammo, it really makes no sense for me to keep the gun purely as a collectible.

Thoughts?

View attachment 4192883

I spent twenty-some years cultivating a collection of Lee Enfields that, heartbreakingly, was stolen in 2017. The story is elsewhere on this forum.

In 2021, I wound up getting one of the rifles returned to me, a No. 4 Mk 1/3, but that's it - my single only Enfield, and I have no plans to ever try to re-create my collection, which was primarily minty examples of the No 4 rifles from across manufacturers, including the 1/2, 1/3, Mk 2, and the No. 5.

Anyway, we all now how difficult it is to find factory .303 on American store shelves anymore. And this begs the question, will this ever change, or is the .303 for all intents and purposes an obsolete, niche cartridge in America now, which will never be found on store shelves for any sort of reasonable price? Humorously, I asked a young clerk at a local sporting goods store if they had any .303 British in stock, and then had to spend the next couple minutes explaining to him what .303 British is! Needless to say, he'd never heard of it, much less stocked it.

If that is the case that's the cartridge is simply the pursuit of hand-loaders and those cool with shooting corrosive milsurp stuff, I'm tempted to sell my No. 4 Mk 1/3, as I don't currently and do not plan to ever reload. So, if I will never have the opportunity to buy off-the-shelf ammo, it really makes no sense for me to keep the gun purely as a collectible.

Thoughts?

View attachment 4192883

I still find FN surplus now and then, most all of it is non corrosive and shoots nice groups. Some South African is here and there, headstamped A80 7.7 R1M3Z, in 50 round boxes,and I believe is non-corrosive too. I have enough FN-66 ammo to go the rest of my life. The big loaders probably make a batch now and then, but like cartridges like the 25-20, 32-20 and others there just isn't the demand for making these all the time.
VWMAN.

 

I still find FN surplus now and then, most all of it is non corrosive and shoots nice groups.

All ammunition is both errosive and corrosive - its just the 'amount' that varies.
Anyone that sells you 'non-corrosive' ammunition is being very economical with the truth.

 

I spent twenty-some years cultivating a collection of Lee Enfields that, heartbreakingly, was stolen in 2017. The story is elsewhere on this forum.
Thoughts?

Midway USA and many other companies have stock on hand. You just need to put on your big boy pants and order some before the price goes up again. You might think about insurance too.

 

It seems $1.45 or so is the best deal on PPU 174gr. Haven't purchased any for a while. I remember complaining about the $1/round at the beginning of COVID, and being excited I got a deal at $1.05! Talk about a reset.

 

sgammo.com has several options in stock including PPU, Hornady and WW2 era Winchester surplus. Grafs generally has a decent selection of 303 but they went out of stock on the PPU within the last few weeks and a few others are out of stock. They have the more expensive Federal and Hornady in stock, however. Grafs has been $24.19/box (20) on the PPU, which is about $5 less than other places. S&B is usually cheaper still.

 

I have several boxes and some of that will probably be on the shelf when I go to the great gun range in the sky.

 

People need to realize the amount of manufacturer capacity is not close to what it was 20 years ago. There was also a very large amount of Mil Surp available. The current manufacturing is having difficulty keeping up with current conflicts. My local factory production, Federal Cartridge has committed the next 12 month production of all ammo to Ukraine. No commercial production will be coming out of a very large capacity plant. This is just our current situation now.
John

 

Thanks for the info, we can now blame the Russkies! The DASTARDS!
VWMAN.

 

No one has mentioned the fact that if you reload and keep a good stock of components, and have invested in the hardware over time when such items were less than I/2 the current prices , it is still a money saver compared to todays prices.
Also remember if you reload , you are not dependent on availability of ammo, especially for our milsurps or the political situation that may develop. IMHO if you a serious shooter/ collector you must reload.

 

truck1,

You nailed it! I reload for all my military collectable arms and have since the 1960s. A decade ago, I saw this "ammo shortage" coming. Every year I laid in a stock of components to cover the coming "lean years" as per Scripture.

No, the .303 is not dead in the USA. I have several and shoot them all. PPU loads are ok, but not as accurate as my tailored handloads for each rifle. The current primer shortage is puzzling, but of no concern to me and my fellow collectors.

Be well.

Webley

 

Well, I'm glad my post sparked a lively discussion.

For context, I grew up in a time (80s mainly) when I could walk in the local hardware store and always find a few boxes of Remington or some other big name .303 available, as a lot of old timers used sporterized .303s as budget hunting rifles.

I guess my question was more directed at whether .303 will ever again be readily available on store shelves, and I think the answer is no. It is either order the ammunition online (and incur shipping charges that skew the price-per-round higher than just the retail price would indicate), or acquire components, equipment and knowledge and load your own. I face the exact same issue with another cartridge I used to enjoy, the .44-40 Winchester or 44 WCF. It's an esoteric niche cartridge now that will probably never come back as readily available on store shelves.

A variety of factors at play, but the reality seems to be that the cartridge is not going to be a "go to the store" item any more, but something you have to order online. And that was really the gist of my inquiry. Thanks for the responses.

DeWayne

 

Well, I'm glad my post sparked a lively discussion.

For context, I grew up in a time (80s mainly) when I could walk in the local hardware store and always find a few boxes of Remington or some other big name .303 available, as a lot of old timers used sporterized .303s as budget hunting rifles.

I guess my question was more directed at whether .303 will ever again be readily available on store shelves, and I think the answer is no. It is either order the ammunition online (and incur shipping charges that skew the price-per-round higher than just the retail price would indicate), or acquire components, equipment and knowledge and load your own. I face the exact same issue with another cartridge I used to enjoy, the .44-40 Winchester or 44 WCF. It's an esoteric niche cartridge now that will probably never come back as readily available on store shelves.

A variety of factors at play, but the reality seems to be that the cartridge is not going to be a "go to the store" item any more, but something you have to order online. And that was really the gist of my inquiry. Thanks for the responses.

DeWayne

First, if your moniker "sonvolt" refers to the great band "Son Volt", kudos, you have great taste in music.
With regards to the ammo supply question. On reflection I wonder if it's a generational thing. Senior citizens (like me) we shoot 303 British, 300 Savage,250-3000 Savage,218Bee, and my favourite 348 Winchester. We don't expect to see it on gun store shelves and if we do we buy it all if the price is reasonable (old stock or on sale). (The shelves will however have lots of 7mmPRC ,300 Mangleums and all sorts of Creedmoors.) The situation we are in today has been coming for years and the good ole days are gone. So buy brass (preferably PPU/Privi )new and once fired, and bullets when you find them, reload and enjoy today!

Now off to finish reloading some 30'06 for my Browning 95 using some primers I bought for $0.85/100 awhile back and listen to Jay Farrar's "Feed Kill Chain"🍺🍺

 

Dewayne,
You made an Excellent Post and did cause reflective thinking. I agree, .303 ammo is not a big demand item today. With the MANY calibers all about, what is a small =gun shop to do?

About 10 or 12 years ago one of the big stores had 500-round boxes of nickel .303 British primed cases for cheap. I reaped a harvest of great brass. Primers were about $35 a "brick" and powder about $30 a pound. I invested my tax refund and am shooting cheap today. At the last gun show, powder was $50-$65 a pound and primers $110-160 per brick!

Reloading is a fun, relaxing hobby. I have a great cast bullet that doubles as "Ball Substitute" in my Enfield .303s and .308s.

Be well.

Webley

 

Dewayne,
You made an Excellent Post and did cause reflective thinking. I agree, .303 ammo is not a big demand item today. With the MANY calibers all about, what is a small =gun shop to do?

About 10 or 12 years ago one of the big stores had 500-round boxes of nickel .303 British primed cases for cheap. I reaped a harvest of great brass. Primers were about $35 a "brick" and powder about $30 a pound. I invested my tax refund and am shooting cheap today. At the last gun show, powder was $50-$65 a pound and primers $110-160 per brick!

Reloading is a fun, relaxing hobby. I have a great cast bullet that doubles as "Ball Substitute" in my Enfield .303s and .308s.

Be well.

Webley

I find it very relaxing, almost zen like. It is a step away from the busy of "normal" life. Just me the handle some soft jazz and breathing.

I would reload more if I could, my issue is I don't shoot them up fast enough. I really enjoy reloading.

 

The timing of this is hilarious. Just as I mentioned the .44-40 round being so hard to get, a couple hours later I get this notification from Midway:

No, thank you, I will not be hitting "Add to Cart" at $3 a round! My god. My beautiful Colt SAA will just have to sit in the safe, probably for the rest of its life at this rate.

DeWayne

 

The timing of this is hilarious. Just as I mentioned the .44-40 round being so hard to get, a couple hours later I get this notification from Midway:

No, thank you, I will not be hitting "Add to Cart" at $3 a round! My god. My beautiful Colt SAA will just have to sit in the safe, probably for the rest of its life at this rate.

DeWayne

You know this makes a good argument for hand loading. You mean "sit in the safe" the rest of YOUR life.

 

WOW!
I reckon that means 44-40 virgin brass isn’t around $35 per 100 anymore??

Are we certain that isn’t a misprint? I surely hope so.

 

No, it's still listed as such on their website. That's considered a "full power" .44-40 round, as opposed to the once plentiful but weak tea "cowboy action" ammo of a few years ago. Perhaps that's why it's priced like premium hunting ammo, but that's pretty hard to justify as anything but gouging in my estimation.

Winchester Super X 44-40 WCF Ammo 200 Grain Jacketed Soft Point Box of

Super-X ammunition is hard-hitting and reliable. From deer to upland birds to target shooting and self-defense, there is a Super-X product for almost...

www.midwayusa.com

 

Looking for a good excuse….

Ummmm, with the war in the Ukraine and now the flare up in Gaza, 44-40 is in huge demand at this time.

I’m reminded of the time I heard something to the effect of “If we can’t ban all the guns, we’ll just make all the ammunition scarce and unaffordable!”
Doesn’t sound as funny today as it did back then.

Reminds me also that I’m low on 45 Colt brass—-and primers. 😬

 

Doesn’t sound as funny today as it did back then

I’ll be honest, it never sounded funny even back then. We knew it would come to that. Hell, look at California, don’t you need a background check for ammo now?

 

I got the same modwayusa alert today. Did the math and hit “delete”. Crazy!!

 

I spent twenty-some years cultivating a collection of Lee Enfields that, heartbreakingly, was stolen in 2017. The story is elsewhere on this forum.

In 2021, I wound up getting one of the rifles returned to me, a No. 4 Mk 1/3, but that's it - my single only Enfield, and I have no plans to ever try to re-create my collection, which was primarily minty examples of the No 4 rifles from across manufacturers, including the 1/2, 1/3, Mk 2, and the No. 5.

Anyway, we all now how difficult it is to find factory .303 on American store shelves anymore. And this begs the question, will this ever change, or is the .303 for all intents and purposes an obsolete, niche cartridge in America now, which will never be found on store shelves for any sort of reasonable price? Humorously, I asked a young clerk at a local sporting goods store if they had any .303 British in stock, and then had to spend the next couple minutes explaining to him what .303 British is! Needless to say, he'd never heard of it, much less stocked it.

If that is the case that's the cartridge is simply the pursuit of hand-loaders and those cool with shooting corrosive milsurp stuff, I'm tempted to sell my No. 4 Mk 1/3, as I don't currently and do not plan to ever reload. So, if I will never have the opportunity to buy off-the-shelf ammo, it really makes no sense for me to keep the gun purely as a collectible.

Thoughts?

View attachment 4192883

It's very possible that our ammunition plants are sending much of their production to Ukraine and don't have the capacity to bother with calibers like .303, 30-40 Krag, 300 Savage, 32-20, 25-20, and other similar cartridges. I'm waiting for someone to make a batch of 32-20 brass so I can form some even rarer cartridges out of it, like 7.5 Nagant pistol and .310 Cadet. Guess we'll all have to be patient. VWMAN.