Originally Posted By: HOGGHEADYou have your teminology twisted up a bit.
Caliber means the diameter of the bullet and has nothing to do with a specific cartridge. Alot of people say caliber when they actually mean cartridge-so they are using the wrong terms.
The cartridge is 303 British.
.303 is a caliber or diameter of bullet. Not a specific cartridge.
So if the barrel is marked 303 British then it means the cartridge is a 303 British. Which also happens to be a .303 caliber.
A better example would be: A 30-06 SpringField and a 308 Winchester are cartridges---NOT calibers. They both happen to be 30 caliber cartridges, but they are not the same shell. Tom.
A 303 British actually shoots a .311 caliber bullet. 303 is NOT the bullet diameter. The inner diameter of the bore, as Europeans measure, is .303. As we measure them, it would be a .311. However, names, and numbers in names do not always reflect the true caliber of the bullet in a given cartridge. For example, a 308 Win actually shoots a .308 bullet, but a 270 Win actually shoots a .277 bullet and is simply called a 270, if that makes sense......