THE .303 case has been wildcatted not only in Australia but also by Canadian and New Zealand gunsmiths. An over-riding reason for this may have been that commercial ammunition was either too costly, hard to come by or perhaps even both, but once-fired military brass was readily available at low or perhaps no cost.
The way to utilise that brass was obviously by necking it down to one of the smaller calibres better suited to Australia’s varmints and thin-skinned game — rounds that used light, frangible bullets to obtain flatter trajectories and maximum expansion on impact.
For Aussies and our Commonwealth counterparts this meant adapting the .303 British case, which they proceeded to do, necking it down for the popular .224” bullets so much in favour among varmint shooters before and after World War II. The .303-22 was soon followed by the .303-25 and later by the .303-270 and .303-243.
In Australia, just who was first to carry out this entirely logical wildcatting scheme has largely been forgotten, but several keen experimenters included Jack Black, Bill Marden and Bill Harrison in NSW. Heck Bridgeman and Sid Churches, who made Taipan bullets in SA, were simultaneously at work.
My acquaintance with .303 wildcats began in the early 1950s before commercial sporting rifles began to be imported. During this period conversions on the Lee Enfield and P14 Enfield formed the majority of sporting rifles. My first rifle was a .303-22 SMLE, followed
