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The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P.C.I.P. TDCC datasheet 303 British
/ref> and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed tapered bottleneck centerfire
rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...
cartridge. The .303-inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
which follows the traditional black powder convention. It was first manufactured in Britain as a stop-gap
black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee–Metford rifle. From 1891 the cartridge used
smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powder Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to black powder. Because of their similar use, both the original black powder formula ...
which had been the intention from the outset, but the decision on which smokeless powder to adopt had been delayed. It was the standard British and
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
military cartridge for rifles and machine guns from 1889 until it was replaced by the 7.62×51mm NATO in the 1950s.


Cartridge specifications

The .303 British has a 3.64 mL (56 gr H2O) cartridge case capacity. The pronounced tapering exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in
bolt-action Bolt action is a type of manual Action (firearms), firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt (firearms), turn-bolt via a cocking handle, bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (a ...
rifles and machine guns alike, under challenging conditions. Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈ 17 degrees. The common
rifling Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...
twist rate for this cartridge is , 5 grooves, Ø lands = , Ø grooves = , land width = and the primer type is Berdan or Boxer (in large rifle size). According to official rulings of the (CIP), the .303 British can handle up to Pmax piezo pressure. In CIP-regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum CIP pressure to certify for sale to consumers. This means that .303 British chambered arms in CIP-regulated countries are, , proof tested at PE piezo pressure. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) maximum average pressure (MAP) for this cartridge is piezo pressure (45,000
CUP A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...
). The measurement is the nominal size of the bore measured between the lands which follows the older black powder nomenclature. Measured between the grooves, the nominal size of the bore is . Bores for many .303
military surplus Military surplus is goods, usually materiel, that are sold or otherwise disposed of when held in excess or are no longer needed by the military. Entrepreneurs often buy these goods and resell them at surplus stores. Usually the goods sold by th ...
rifles are often found ranging from around . Recommended bullet diameter for standard .303 British cartridges is .


Military use


History and development

During a service life of over 70 years with the British Commonwealth armed forces, the .303-inch (7.7 mm) cartridge in its ball pattern progressed through ten marks, eventually extending to about 26 variations.Temple, B. A., ''Identification Manual of the .303 British Service Cartridge - No: 1 - BALL AMMUNITION'', Don Finlay (Printer 1986), p. 1. The
bolt thrust Bolt thrust or breech pressure is a term used in internal ballistics and firearms (whether small arms or artillery) that describes the amount of rearward force exerted by the propellant gases on the Bolt (firearms), bolt or Breechblock, breech of a ...
of the .303 British is relatively low compared to many other service rounds used in the early 20th century.


Propellant

The original .303 British service cartridge employed black powder as a propellant, and was adopted for the Lee–Metford rifle, which had
rifling Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...
designed to lessen fouling from this propellant, which replaced the Martini-Henry rifle in 1888. Some Martini-Henrys were rebarrelled to use the new .303 as the "Martini–Metford". The Lee–Metford was used as a trial platform by the British Committee on Explosives to experiment with many different smokeless powders then coming to market, including Ballistite, Cordite, and ''Rifleite''.Chisholm, Hugh, ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (11th ed.), New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Co., Vol. 23, (1911) p. 327Sanford, Percy Gerald, ''Nitro-explosives: a Practical treatise Concerning the Properties, Manufacture, and Analysis of Nitrated Substances'', London: Crosby Lockwood & Son (1896) pp. 166-173, 179Walke, Willoughby (Lt.), ''Lectures on Explosives: A Course of Lectures Prepared Especially as a Manual and Guide in the Laboratory of the U.S. Artillery School'', J. Wiley & Sons (1897) pp. 336-343 Ballistite was a stick-type smokeless powder composed of soluble
nitrocellulose Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...
and nitroglycerine. Cordite was a stick-type or 'chopped' smokeless gunpowder composed of nitroglycerine, gun-cotton, and mineral jelly, while ''Rifleite'' was a true nitrocellulose powder, composed of soluble and insoluble nitrocellulose, phenyl amidazobense, and volatiles similar to French smokeless powders. Unlike Cordite, ''Rifleite'' was a flake powder, and contained no nitroglycerine. Excessive wear of the shallow Metford rifling with all smokeless powders then available caused ordnance authorities to institute a new type of barrel rifling designed by the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, to increase barrel life; the redesigned rifle introduced in 1895 as the Lee–Enfield. After extensive testing, the Committee on Explosives selected Cordite for use in the Mark II .303 British service cartridge.


Projectile

The initial .303 Mark I and Mk II service cartridges used a , round-nosed, copper-nickel full metal jacketed bullet with a
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
core. After tests determined that the service bullet had too thin a jacket when used with cordite, the Mk II bullet was introduced, with a flat base and thicker copper-nickel jacket.Ommundsen, Harcourt, and Robinson, Ernest H., ''Rifles and Ammunition Shooting'', New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co. (1915), pp. 117–119


Mark II – Mark VI

The Mk II round-nosed bullet was found to be unsatisfactory when used in combat, particularly when compared to the "dum-dum" expanding bullet rounds issued in limited numbers in 1897 during the Chitral and Tirah expeditions of 1897–98 on the North West Frontier of India. This led to the 1898 introduction of the ''Cartridge S.A. ball .303 inch Cordite Mark III'', basically the original 215-grain (13.9 g) bullet with the jacketing cut back to expose the lead in the nose. The Mk III load, however, was almost immediately withdrawn as a result of production issues leading to the introduction of the similar Mk IV hollow-point loading in February of the next year, which was put into mass production in Britain, Canada and New Zealand. Following the pivotal Battle of Omdurman of the Mahdist War, Major Mathias of the Royal Army Medical Corps observed a young man who had been struck twice by Mark IV bullets: The design of the Mk IV hollow-point bullet shifted bullet weight rearwards, improving stability and accuracy over the regular round-nose bullet. These soft-nosed and hollow-point bullets, while effective against human targets, had a tendency to shed the outer metal jacket upon firing; the latter occasionally stuck in the bore, causing a dangerous obstruction. This was addressed by the introduction of a revised Mk V loading later in October (controversially so, as by August the Hague Convention had already made the military implementation of such expanding bullets illegal) identical to the Mark IV round apart from the addition of 2% antimony to the lead core and an additional 1.3 mm in length. The concern about expanding bullets was brought up at the Hague Convention of 1899 by Swiss and Dutch representatives. The Swiss were concerned about small arms ammunition that "increased suffering", and the Dutch focused on the British Mark III .303 loading in response to their treatment of
Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...
settlers in South Africa. The British and American defence was that they should not focus on specific bullet designs, like hollow-points, but instead on rounds that caused "superfluous injury". The parties in the end agreed to abstain from using expanding bullets. With the use of expanding bullets against signatories of the convention deemed inhumane, the Mk III, Mk IV, and Mk V were withdrawn from active service. The remaining stocks (over 45 million rounds) were used for target practice. The Mark III and other expanding versions of the .303 were not issued during the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
(1899–1902). Boer guerrillas allegedly used expanding hunting ammunition against the British during the war, and New Zealand Commonwealth troops may have brought Mark III rounds with them privately after the Hague Convention without authorization. To replace the Mk III, IV, and V, the ''Mark VI'' round was introduced in 1904, using a round nose bullet similar to the Mk II, but with a thinner jacket designed to produce some expansion, though this proved not to be the case.


Mark VII

In 1898, Atelier de Construction de Puteaux (APX), with their "Balle D" design for the 8×50mmR Lebel cartridge, revolutionised bullet design with the introduction of pointed " spitzer" rounds. In addition to being pointed, the bullet was also much lighter in order to deliver a higher muzzle velocity. It was found that as velocity increased the bullets suddenly became much more deadly. In 1910, the British took the opportunity to replace their Mk VI cartridge with a more modern design. The ''Mark VII'' loading used a pointed bullet with a flat-base. The .303 British Mark VII cartridge was loaded with of Cordite MDT 5-2 (cordite MD pressed into tubes) and had a muzzle velocity of and a maximum range of approximately . The Mk VII was different from earlier .303 bullet designs or spitzer projectiles in general. Although it appears to be a conventional spitzer-shape full metal jacket bullet, this appearance is deceptive: its designers made the front third of the interior of the Mk 7 bullets out of aluminium (from Canada) or '' tenite'' (cellulosic plastic), wood pulp or compressed paper, instead of lead and they were autoclaved to prevent wound infection. This lighter nose shifted the centre of gravity of the bullet towards the rear, making it tail heavy. Although the bullet was stable in flight due to the gyroscopic forces imposed on it by the
rifling Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...
of the barrel, it behaved very differently upon hitting the target. As soon as the bullet hit the target and decelerated, its heavier lead base caused it to pitch violently and deform, thereby inflicting more severe gunshot wounds than a standard single-core spitzer design. The Mk VII bullet was considered to be in compliance of the Hague Convention as its metal jacket completely covered the cores. The convention only prohibited "the use of bullets which can easily expand or change their form inside the human body such as bullets with a hard covering which does not completely cover the core...". It was noted by German Professor K. Stargardt in December 1914 that the Mk VII bullet would routinely "...disintegrate on the lightest contact with a firm body, such as a bone," resulting in an "explosive effect," and leaving artillery-like fragmentation in the body. The ''Mk VIIz'' (and later Mk VIIIz) rounds have versions utilizing Dupont No. 16 single-base
smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powder Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to black powder. Because of their similar use, both the original black powder formula ...
based on nitrocellulose flake shaped
propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or another motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicle ...
s. The nitrocellulose versions—first introduced in World War I—were designated with a "z" postfix indicated after the type (e.g. Mark VIIz, with a bullet weight of ) and in headstamps.


.276 Enfield

.303 British cartridges, along with the Lee–Enfield rifle, were heavily criticized after the Second Boer War. Their heavy round-nosed bullets had low muzzle velocities and suffered compared to the 7×57mm rounds fired from the Mauser Model 1895. The high-velocity 7×57mm had a flatter trajectory and longer range that excelled on the open country of the South African plains. In 1910, work began on a long-range replacement cartridge, which emerged in 1912 as the .276 Enfield. The British also sought to replace the Lee–Enfield rifle with the Pattern 1913 Enfield rifle, based on the Mauser M98 bolt action design. Although the round had better ballistics, troop trials in 1913 revealed problems including excessive recoil, muzzle flash, barrel wear and overheating. Attempts were made to find a cooler-burning propellant, but further trials were halted in 1914 by the onset of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. As a result, the Lee–Enfield rifle was retained, and the .303 British cartridge (with the improved Mark VII loading) was kept in service.


Mark VIIIz

In 1938 the ''Mark VIIIz'' "streamline ammunition" round was approved to obtain greater range from the
Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...
. The streamlined bullet was based on the 7.5×55mm Swiss GP11 projectiles and slightly longer and heavier than the Mk VII bullet at , the primary difference was the addition of a boat tail at the end of the bullet and using of nitrocellulose smokeless powder as propellant in the case of the Mk VIIIz, giving a muzzle velocity of . As a result, the chamber pressure was higher, at , depending upon loading, compared to the of the Mark VII(z) round. The Mark VIIIz streamline ammunition had a maximum range of approximately . Mk VIIIz ammunition was described as being for "All suitably-sighted .303-inch small arms and machine guns" – rifles and Bren guns were proofed at – but caused significant bore erosion in weapons formerly using Mk VII ammunition, ascribed to the channelling effect of the boat-tail projectile. As a result, it was prohibited from general use with rifles and light machine guns except when low flash was important and in emergencies. As a consequence of the official prohibition, ordnance personnel reported that every man who could get his hands on Mk VIIIz ammunition promptly used it in his own rifle.


Tracer, armour-piercing and incendiary

Tracer and armour-piercing cartridges were introduced during 1915, with explosive Pomeroy bullets introduced as the Mark VII.Y in 1916. Several incendiaries were privately developed from 1914 to counter the
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...
threat but none were approved until the Brock design late in 1916 as BIK Mark VII.K Wing Commander Frank Brock RNVR, its inventor, was a member of the Brock fireworks-making family. Anti-zeppelin missions typically used machine guns loaded with a mixture of Brock bullets containing potassium chlorate, Pomeroy bullets containing
dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...
, and Buckingham bullets containing pyrophoric yellow
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...
. A later incendiary was known as the de Wilde, which had the advantage of leaving no visible trail when fired. The de Wilde was later used in some numbers in fighter guns during the 1940
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
. These rounds were extensively developed over the years and saw several Mark numbers. The last tracer round introduced into British service was the G Mark 8 in 1945, the last armour-piercing round was the W Mark 1Z in 1945 and the last incendiary round was the B Mark 7 in 1942. Explosive bullets were not produced in the UK after 1933 due to the relatively small amount of explosive that could be contained in the bullet, limiting their effectiveness, their role being taken by the use of Mark 6 and 7 incendiary bullets. In 1935, the .303 O Mark 1 Observing round was introduced for use in machine guns. The bullet to this round was designed to break up with a puff of smoke on impact. The later Mark 6 and 7 incendiary rounds could also be used in this role. During World War I British factories alone produced 7,000,000,000 rounds of .303 ammunition. Factories in other countries added greatly to this total.


Pencils

Spent .303 cartridges were used to make cases of the bullet pencils included in some of the Princess Mary Christmas gift boxes given to troops in World War 1.


Headstamps and colour-coding


Japanese 7.7 mm ammunition

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service adopted Ro-Go Ko-gata seaplane armed with a .303 MG in 1918, and the calibre was common on surplus Entente aircraft acquired by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service after WWI, so its usage continued during the Interbellum, and on naval aircraft even throughout WWII. Japan produced a number of machine guns that were direct copies of the British Lewis (Japanese Type 92 machine gun) and
Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...
s as well as ammunition for them. The 7.7 mm cartridge used by the Japanese versions of the British guns is a direct copy of the .303 British (7.7×56mmR) rimmed cartridge and is distinctly different from the 7.7×58mm Arisaka rimless and 7.7×58mm Type 92 semi-rimmed cartridges used in other Japanese machine guns and rifles. * ''Ball'': . Cupro-nickel jacket with a composite
aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
/
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
core. Black primer. * ''Armour-piercing.'': Brass jacket with a steel core. White primer. * ''Tracer'': . Cupro-nickel jacket with a lead core. Red primer. * ''Incendiary'': . Brass jacket with white phosphorus and lead core. Green primer. * '' H.E.'': Copper jacket with a
PETN Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), also known as PENT, pentyl, PENTA (''ПЕНТА'', primarily in Russian), TEN (tetraeritrit nitrate), corpent, or penthrite (or, rarely and primarily in German, as ''nitropenta''), is an explosive material. ...
and lead core. Purple primer. Note: standard Japanese ball ammunition was very similar to the British Mk 7 cartridge. The two had identical bullet weights and a "tail-heavy" design, as can be seen in the cut-away diagram.


Civilian use

The .303 cartridge has seen much sporting use with surplus military rifles, especially in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and to a lesser extent in the United States and South Africa. In Canada, it was found to be adequate for any game. In Australia, it was common for military rifles to be re-barrelled in .303/25 and .303/22. However the .303 round still retains a considerable following as a game cartridge for all game species, especially Sambar deer in wooded country. A change.org petition asking Lithgow Arms to chamber the LA102 centrefire rifle in .303 as a special edition release has attracted considerable attention both in Australia and worldwide. In South Africa, .303 Lee–Enfield rifles captured by the Boers during the
Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
were adapted for sporting purposes and became popular with many hunters of non-dangerous game, being regarded as adequate for anything from the relatively small impala to the massive eland and
kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...
.


Commercial ammunition

The .303 British is one of the few (along with the .22 Hornet, .30-30 Winchester, and 7.62×54mmR) bottlenecked rimmed centrefire rifle cartridges still in common use today. Most of the bottleneck rimmed cartridges of the late 1880s and 1890s fell into disuse by the end of the First World War. Commercial ammunition for weapons chambered in .303 British is readily available, as the cartridge is still manufactured by major producers such as Remington, Federal,
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, Sellier & Bellot, Denel-PMP, Prvi Partizan and
Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...
. Commercially produced ammunition is widely available in various
full metal jacket bullet A full metal jacket (FMJ) bullet is a small-arms projectile consisting of a soft core (often lead) encased in an outer shell ("jacket") of harder metal, such as gilding metal, cupronickel, or, less commonly, a steel alloy. A bullet jacket usua ...
, soft point, hollow point, flat-based and boat tail designs, both spitzer and round-nosed.


Hunting use

The .303 British cartridge is suitable for all medium-sized game and is an excellent choice for whitetail deer and black bear hunting. In Canada it was a popular moose and deer cartridge when military surplus rifles were available and cheap; it is still used. The .303 British can offer very good penetrating ability due to a fast twist rate that enables it to fire long, heavy bullets with a high sectional density. Canadian Rangers use it for survival and
polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
protection. In 2015, the Canadian Rangers began the process to evaluate rifles chambered for .308 Winchester. The Canadian Department of National Defence has since replaced the previously issued Lee–Enfield No. 4 rifles with the Colt Canada C19 chambered as evaluated in 7.62×51mm NATO/ .308 Winchester.


Rounds developed from .303


Pre-WWI sporting rounds

During the 1890s, Scottish gunsmith Daniel Fraser developed a rimless version of the cartridge known as ".303 Fraser Velox" or ".303 Fraser Rimless", loaded with a bullet of his own oblique ratchet design to enhance expansion which was patented in 1897 The bullet was also used in a proprietary loading of .303 British marketed as ".303 Fraser Flanged". Proprietary loadings of .303 British include the ".303 Marksman" by Eley Brothers from before 1908. and ".303 Swift" from before 1911. In 1899, the British service round was lengthened and necked-out to create the .375 Flanged Nitro Express hunting cartridge for single-shot and double rifles. Around 1905, it was necked down back to create .375/303 Westley Richards Accelerated Express.


Post-1917 military experiments

In 1917, design work started on a more powerful military cartridge of the same calibre and overall length. In 1918 it was planned that the new round, also retaining the old rim diameter, would be used in rechambered P14 rifles with AP rounds to defeat German targets on the battlefield of WWI as well as in the RAF in modified Lewis gun. The cartridge was "produced in quantity" but not adopted formally. The case was 62mm long with the bullet (a Ball Mark VII or Mark VIIW) set deep within to keep overall length down. The ordinary round was designated "Cartridge S.A. ball .303 inch Rimless" despite the fact that it retained headspacing on its rim and was semi-rimmed. It is better known today under names like ".303 Lewis Semi-Rimmed".


Post-1945 Australian wildcats

After WWII, Australians found themselves with quite a few .303" service rifles but at the same time new legal restrictions on military ammunition, which led to development of many wildcat rounds, the best-known of which are .303/25 and .303/22.


Post-1945 South African developments

In parallel to Australia, the same wildcatting was happening in other countries of the Commonwealth, and in 1969 Pretoria Metal Pressings started factory production of a .303 necked down to 6 mm (.243") under the name of 6 mm Musgrave.


.303 Epps

Canadian Ellwood Epps, founder of Epps Sporting Goods, created an improved version of the .303 British. It has better ballistic performance than the standard .303 British cartridge. This is accomplished by increasing the shoulder angle from 16 to 35 degrees, and reducing the case taper from to . These changes increase the case's internal volume by approximately 9%. The increased shoulder angle and reduced case taper eliminate the drooping shoulders of the original .303 British case, which, combined with reaming the chamber to .303 Epps, improves case life.


Firearms chambered in .303 British

* 1885 Courteney Stalking Rifle * Bren light machine gun * Browning Model 1919 machine gun aircraft version * BSA Autorifle * Canadian Ross Rifle Mk I through III * Caldwell machine gun * Charlton Automatic Rifle * Darne machine gun * Farquharson rifle * Globco Mohawk 555 * Hotchkiss .303 Mk I & I* * Huot automatic rifle * Jungle carbine * Lee–Enfield rifle * Lee–Metford rifle * Lewis gun * McCrudden light machine rifle * Martini–Enfield rifle * P14 rifle * Parker Hale Sporter Rifle * Ruger No. 1 * Thorneycroft carbine * Vickers-Berthier light machine gun *
Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...
* Vickers K machine gun * Winchester Model 1895


See also

*
7 mm caliber This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated a ...
(overview of cartridges) * 7.65×53mm Mauser * 8×59mm Rb Breda * British military rifles * List of rifle cartridges * List of rimmed cartridges * Table of handgun and rifle cartridges * .303 Magnum * .303 Savage


Notes


References


External links

* * * * * *
7,7 x 56 R Tipo 89 Giapponese

C.I.P. TDCC datasheet .303 British
(PDF)
SAAMI Drawing 303 British
(PDF)
.303 Rimless




{{DEFAULTSORT:303 British .303 British firearms British firearm cartridges Military cartridges Pistol and rifle cartridges Rimmed cartridges Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1889