25/303

Historical Notes:

The various wildcats based on the 303 British case have never achieved any degree of popularity in the U.S. This is not because there is anything wrong with them, but we have had available for many years our own 30-40 Krag (which is very similar to the 303 British) and also the 30-06 with its greater powder capacity and rimless case. However, in many areas of the British Commonwealth, mainly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, the 303 British case forms the basis of a whole series of wildcats including 22, 6mm, 25, 270, and 7mm versions. In fact, some of these cartridges are loaded commercially in Australia. Some of the 303 based wildcats were originated by Ellwood Epps on Ontario, Canada, some by W. Harrison, J. Black and others in Australia. Most of them originated in the post WWII years between about 1946 and 1960. There is more than one version of almost all of these 303 derived wildcats. The 25/303 is based on  the 303 British case necked down to 25 caliber without any other change.

General Comments:

Most rifles chambered for the 25/303 are based on either the British SMLE (Enfield) military rifle action, the P14 Enfield or the Martini single shot action. This is also true of any of the other wildcats based on the rimmed 303 British case. The performance of the 25/303 is similar to the 257 Roberts, and it is suitable for the same range of game and shooting conditions. It is a very good cartridge, as are the others based on this case. However, it does not fulfill any particular need in the U.S. and so it will probably never attain much of a following here.

Source: Cartridges of the World

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