When was the bullet invented?
In 1826, Henri-Gustave Delvigne, a French infantry officer, invented a breech with abrupt shoulders on which a spherical bullet was rammed down until it caught the rifling grooves.
Is .303 hard to find?
It is not hard to find at all, however it is not a common round so you are not going to walk into most retail stores and find it. You can generally easily order it online or if you go to a large gun shop or large shooting supply store they would potentially have it on the shelf.
How old is my British 303?
There is no date as such, but the proof marks can be used to pin down the date it was put in service. Depending on which 303 you have, Metford or Enfield and depending on which mark you have it could been made anywhere between 1888 and 1957.
Why is a gun called a piece?
The story goes, apparently, that “piece” is a corruption of “peace,” originally a shortened name of the Colt Peacemaker. In any case, judging from what I saw online, his gun was the very popular modern version of the Colt M1873 Single Action Army Revolver, commonly called the Peacemaker.
What is the difference between 1888 and German military cartridges?
The sporting model 1888 cartridge uses a relatively light charge of modern leaf powder with a relatively soft bullet. Since the present model German military cartridge uses more of the same modern powder and a differently shaped bullet of greater diameter, the pressure developed by the new cartridges is dangerous for use in the earlier rifle.
Why are 1888 rifles so dangerous?
1888 rifles can be dangerous because the sharp pointed (Spitzer) bullet ammunition intended for the later models, will chamber. Under no circumstances should this military pointed bullet ammunition ever be used in the model 1888 rifle or in sporters made from the 1888 action.
What happened to the Model 1888 Winchester rifle?
In practice, the Model 1888 proved a sound bolt-action service rifle, perhaps one of the best of the new generation smokeless powder-firing types. The barrel jacket of the original models was soon given up when it was found that they trapped moisture which led to rusted barrels within.
How big is the bullet in a 1888 Mauser?
Furthermore, the bolt in the M. 1888 is bored out from the front to receive a removable bolt face. As a result, the lugs are further back than in genuine Mauser designs. The old bullet diameter of about .318 inch was increased in 1905 to about .323 inch.