6mm musgrave and .303

[pietskiet]

i am a student in dire need of a hunting rifle so i think i should get a .303 and later on when i get a .375 rebarel the .303 to a 6mm musgrave. Wat do jou guys think? Wat is jour opion on the 303 and 6mm an do jou have any experiance with them? I think the 303 should be a exelent bushveld caliber and the 6mm should be a ok 300m springbuk,blesbuk... rifel

[BoerBok]

Hoesit pietskiet.

I have/had/shot both of these and both are nice rifles. Again, it depends what you want to do, but in short: IMHO, the.303 is legendary in itself and with the right bullets, can almost do what any self-respecting .308 can do.

However... the .303 & the 6mm Musgrave both use the same type of action called (fcukknowswot??). This translates to: yes, you probably can try to shoot good 300m shots with the 6mm M, but you cannot reload the 6mm M to shoot good 300m shots expecting much case life. The 6mm M/.303 used an action that locks up different from most other actions and this allows the action a minute amount of movement during firing. Eventually, specifically with hot loads, head seperation becomes a problem. I have not experienced this myself, but have read/heard several incidents relating to both the .303 and 6mm M.

Secondly, comparing the inherent accuracy of the .303/6mm M action and a 'normal' action will favor the 'normal', simply because the actions differ in how they lock up. Other actions lock up more securely while the .303/6mm M lock up with a bit of leeway; these guns/actions were designed for wars, not sharpshooting or head shots at 300m.

I am in the same boat; I am licensing a 6mm M at the moment, but next on the list is a .375 H&H to cover what I need to do: plains with the 6mm M up to 200m and bushveld/long plains with the .375 (200gr heads for plains). Used sensibly, you can do what you need to do with both, but 300m shots with the 6mm M might be pushing it.

So, unless yo decide to do something similar or build the 6mm M on a sturdier action, rather look at a good .30-06/.308 for now and re-barrel to .25-06/.243 later together with the .375.

It's my opinion after some research, so take it whence it came from!

Cheers!

[PIET75]

The 6mm M/.303 used an action that locks up different from most other actions and this allows the action a minute amount of movement during firing

Does this also apply to the action used in the .303 P14?

[BigT]

No thats a mauser type action.

[BoerBok]

Piet, I was tempted to say yes in your previous post, but could not find enough info in a rush to decide there.

In any case, any of the .303 actions that you need to tilt/unlock/unclip the bolt face from the action to remove it, is the type that I'm referring to.

They are good and some of them are accurate, but they are not exactly sniper rifles.

[SSP]

Piet, I was tempted to say yes in your previous post, but could not find enough info in a rush to decide there.

In any case, any of the .303 actions that you need to tilt/unlock/unclip the bolt face from the action to remove it, is the type that I'm referring to.

They are good and some of them are accurate, but they are not exactly sniper rifles.

The L42, based on the Enfield .303 action was in service as a sniper rifle in the british army until the '80s.

[PIET75]

The P14's bolt does not have the "rotating" lug on the bolt face. Instead you must retract a springloaded "stop" at the rear of the receiver to remove the bolt.

[BoerBok]

"I kno' wot I'm referrin' to, I just don' know all them fancy-dang naimes, Caleb!!"

Right, apparently I am referring to the Lee action, which had rear locking lugs and cocked on closing. In essence, if you can/have to rotate the bolt face to remove the bolt, that's them that makes the cases go pop if you start pushing hot loads once too many.

They are good and some of them are accurate, but they are not exactly sniper rifles.

The L42, based on the Enfield .303 action was in service as a sniper rifle in the british army until the '80s.

Yes well... I said I stand to be corrected!! Then again, a slingshot can be used as a sniper if you know the ammo, trajectory and can get close enough!!! :laugh:

[pietskiet]

the enfield action is underrated. with a good barrel it is capable of sub MOA. MOA is necessary for hunting in the 1st place but it still is nice.

[pietskiet]

i mean unnecessary