Cartridges I Hate to Love

Part of the impetus for writing this blog, is I really like bullets. While many are alterations on an idea, within the confines there seems to be nearly endless variety in how cartridges are designed, put together and perform.

That said, there are some cartridges that strike me as complete anachronisms, but through constant improvement have somehow maintained relevance, in some cases to present day. But despite the performance those updates have brought with them, there are still features of each defy what I normally would think of beautiful about cartridges in general. So I thought I would present a list, talk about some of the history and see if you agree with me.

Topping out this list is .303 British. First adopted by the British empire in 1888 for the Lee-Metford it kept the peace serving the British empire from the peak of dominance, through it's sunset. If there was ever a cartridge that in so many ways defied both obsolescence and top marks at a beauty contest this is it. It was first adopted as a black powder cartridge, it's rimmed and has an odd body taper, and it uses a bore diameter shared only with 7.62x54R, 7.62x39, 7.65 Argentine and a select few other cartridges. But this rifle has seen service in peace and in war on every continent on planet earth. If there was a need for guns in space, this cartridge certainly would have gone there at some point.

As I said, this cartridge was first adopted in the Lee Metford in 1888 as a black powder cartridge, however it is better known for the role it played after the Brits dropped the Lee Metford only a few years later in favor of the much updated (and improved) Short Magazine Lee Enfield No.1. This firearm, and the later SMLE No.4 served the empire and commonwealth countries from the time of adoption through two world wars, and was finally dropped in the late 1960's by the British, but is still in service in limited capacity in India. An 80 year active service life for any weapons system is incredible, but more incredible is the changes the .303 Brit round made through this time.

The .303 started as a Black Powder Cartridge, the first small-bore service rifle cartridge, which in the Lee-Metford was fed from a 10 round detachable box magazine that could also be charged with stripper clips. The initial loading (called Mark I) featured a 215gr Round Nose soft point bullet. This was quickly replaced by cordite charges, which while they showed barrel erosion issues, was maintained as the front-line service round as the Mark(s) 3,4 and 5. However it was updated to the Mk 6 after the Hague Convention banned the use of expanding bullets. The Mk 6, served the Empire until WW1, where it was phased out in favor of the Mk VII (7) which used a 174gr Boat Tail Spitzer (Full Metal Jacket) bullet moving about 2200-2400FPS. Some experimentation was done and a Mk 8 was also produced that featured a 175gr Boat Tail Spitzer, however it was intended solely for use in the Vickers Machinegun. The difference between the Mk7 and Mk8 is the bullet of the Mk8 is slightly unbalanced, resulting in a greater spread of bullets against area targets. I found this out the hard way (somewhat) when I was given a large quantity of pulled Mk8 bullets, patterns at 100 yards were about 8".

The Mk7 and Mk8 rounds were standardized before WW2, and remained the standard through the end of service.

While I feel I would be somewhat remiss not to mention the .303 British was also adopted by the japanese during WW2 and was used in direct copies of the Lewis and Vickers machineguns. However, the Japanese never made any changes to either the ammunition or the platforms that used them. So they only receive a footnote here.

I first became aquainted with this cartridge about 5 years ago when I purchased a No4mkIII somewhat accidentally at an auction. Once I realized what I had done, the first thing that stuck in my mind was "Oh great, another rifle I will need to reload for".

The .303 almost universally requires full length sizing of cases to ensure proper headspacing off the cartridge rim. The SMLE, while iconic, has it's locking lugs at the rear of the bolt, and features a cock on close mechanism. To someone who spent many previous years shooting Mausers this is backwards and inferior to the strong locking mechanism present in the Mauser. The additional impression, coming from someone used to shooting the sexy gently tapered rimless cases common in Mauser pattern rifles was negative when faced with a rimmed cartridge.

Despite the initial negative impressions of the rifle, and the ammunition it is a phenomenal rifle and cartridge despite being capable of only modest muzzle velocities around 2200-2300FPS with 150-175gr bullets it is a very fun gun to shoot, the brass butt pad is a little rough on the shoulder but as a rifle of the same generation as my great grandfather, it is every bit as accurate as I am. The cock on close mechanism is makes reloading faster and easier than the heavy extraction/cocking method of the Mauser. And the 10 round magazine capacity definitely contributes to the reasons why the SMLE, and it's ugly cartridge were war winners.

If you ever get a chance, I suggest at least putting a few rounds down range one any of the rifles chambered in .303. It's ugly, but it's a great round and it's service history definitely bears that out.