Why the .303?

[Grignard_TN]

     I'm curious about the choice of rifle and caliber chosen for the rifle in TLD. I'm not terribly familiar with the rifle itself but I understand it has a long history in the late British empire. As far as the caliber in general, I don't think I have ever seen a rifle chambered for .303 where I'm from in the US. Is .303 a popular caliber in Canada for hunting deer or other cervids? Was the rifle chosen to emphasize the "Canadianess" of the game ( I'm not Canadian, but I feel TLD has sort of a Canadian "identity" and I think thats pretty cool. It works very well for this game)?

[XaldinVii]

This could be a good Milton Mailbag question for Ralph to answer in his next. I would love to hear what he has to say about it. 

[Admin]

Agreed - you should submit it in the question thread for the next Mailbag: http://www.hinterlandforums.com/forums/forum/96-milton-mailbag/

[deathbydanish]

On 5/9/2019 at 7:27 AM, Grignard_TN said:

     I'm curious about the choice of rifle and caliber chosen for the rifle in TLD. I'm not terribly familiar with the rifle itself but I understand it has a long history in the late British empire. As far as the caliber in general, I don't think I have ever seen a rifle chambered for .303 where I'm from in the US. Is .303 a popular caliber in Canada for hunting deer or other cervids? Was the rifle chosen to emphasize the "Canadianess" of the game ( I'm not Canadian, but I feel TLD has sort of a Canadian "identity" and I think thats pretty cool. It works very well for this game)?

The .303 only really surfaces in the discussion of C&R (Curio and Relic) collection, guys like me are collectors of old rifles and other firearms. Its only the Enfields that I ever see get chambered in .303 and ammo for it is harder than I'd like it to be to find in the US. Since it was a British rifle and Canada was a commonwealth nation, it made sense to have that commonality especially during the major conflicts like World War II.

[UpUpAway95]

I have one, used for hunting for years.  It was an old military surplus purchase.  Certainly not common anymore.

[Flannix]

My uncle Still have the .303 Endfields Given to my grand-father during the second world war.