| The year was 1888 and Europe was in an uproar. | | | | long strands that look like spaghetti. The powder was |
| Two years previously France came out with the | | | | put in the case before it was formed to its final |
| Lebel rifle and the revolutionary smokeless powder. | | | | shape. In 1910 they went to a more modern spitzer |
| For a couple of years France was one up on | | | | bullet weighing 174 grains with a velocity of 2450 FPS |
| everyone else and that had the powers to be upset. | | | | which extended their range quite a bit. Some of the |
| The advantages of the new propellant weren't lost | | | | bullets had aluminum or fiber filled tips which while |
| on anyone. You could produce ammo with more | | | | stable in flight tended to tumble on impact producing |
| range and less smoke which made it harder for an | | | | a more serious wound. |
| enemy to spot you. Greater range and the ability to | | | | The round has been one of the most widely |
| carry more ammo were also advantages that were | | | | distributed and successful military rounds of the first |
| looked favorably upon by various nations. | | | | half of the 20'Th century. Besides England, Canada, |
| That year 1888 Great Britain introduced the 303 in | | | | Australia and many African countries have used it. It |
| the Lee Medford bolt action rifle. A bit of a head | | | | would be equivalent to the American 30-06 in usage |
| scratcher was that they introduced it with a charge | | | | making it a useful large game hunting round. It has |
| of 70 grains of black powder and a 215 grain full | | | | been chambered in many versions of the Lee Enfield |
| metal jacketed round nose bullet at an advertised | | | | rifle plus the American Enfield. The round saw service |
| velocity of 1850 FPS. By then countries such as | | | | in both world wars not to mention many lesser |
| Germany were introducing smokeless powder in their | | | | skirmishes and was the official rifle of Great Britain |
| military arms. It was found to be ineffective against | | | | until 1957 when it was replaced by the NATO 308 |
| various tribes that Great Britain was at war with, at | | | | round. The Lee Enfield is a very highly regarded |
| the time, so Capt. Bertie Clay at the Dum Dum | | | | military rifle as it has rapid fire capability and was |
| arsenal in India developed a better bullet. It was a | | | | reliable. Some historians consider it superior to the |
| jacketed bullet that had an exposed lead core that | | | | great 98 Mauser for military purposes. That will get a |
| expanded upon contact and that's where the term | | | | lively discussion started. Accuracy was more then |
| Dum Dum bullets came into use. | | | | adequate for military purposes. They are still common |
| In 1892 the powder was changed to Cordite which | | | | and ammo is easy to find so if you have one it is a |
| upped the velocity to about 1950 FPS, a fairly | | | | worthwhile addition to any collection. |
| significant improvement. The Cordite powder is in | | | | |