I still have 2 different .303's. Shot my first deer (more years ago than I care to talk about), with a .303. Charley summed it up pretty well. I would only add that the .303 is still thought to have one of the strongest military bolt actions ever made. You've already recognized that of course there are better rounds out there, but the .303 is no slouch by any means. Here, the .303 fell out of whatever favor it may have had years ago to the more versatile 30.06, but consider that in alot of the world, the .303 is still one of the most carried rifles. I'm sure that has to do with the fact that the Brits carried it with them wherever they went. Headspace is a very real issue with all .303's and should be checked and corrected before shooting. I've found mine to be very accurate and dependable and able to cleanly harvest most anything I hunt.