.303 British vs. 8mm Mauser: Cartridge Clash

History

In 1888, Wilhelm II was named emperor of Germany, and soon after that, relations between Great Britain and Germany began to fracture. Wilhelm’s desire to strengthen the German navy riled the world’s great colonial superpower, and the same year Wilhelm became emperor, both nations would introduce modern repeating cartridges they would use to batter one another off and on for the next six decades. England’s cartridge was the .303 British. For the Germans, it was the 8mm Mauser.

The .303 British was chambered in the Lee-Metford Mk I rifle. Originally, the .303 fired a 215-grain .311-inch full-metal-jacket bullet over a charge of black powder, but by World War I the load was changed to a 174-grain bullet pushed to a velocity of 2,400 fps using Cordite. Eventually surplus Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) rifles made their way into the hands of sportsmen, and the cartridge saw sporting use in colonial game fields the world over.

The 8mm Mauser was originally chambered in the Model 88 Mannlicher and used a 227-grain .318-inch bullet. It was the first smokeless rifle cartridge adopted by a major military power. By 1905 the recipe was revised and the new version—known as the 7.92x57 JS, 8x57 JS or simply 8mm JS—pushed a 150-grain .323-inch bullet close to 3,000 fps from stronger Mauser actions. Interestingly, the 8mm Mauser uses a 0.473-inch diameter rim, same as our .30-06 and .308 rifles.

History buffs have a special place in their hearts for both cartridges, but how practical are these century-old rounds for modern shooters and hunters?

Practicality?

If you handload the .303, expect between 2,400 and 2,700 fps with 150-grain bullets and 2,300 to 2,400 fps with 180-grainers. The 8mm Mauser can push light 150-grain bullets close to 3,000 fps, but the more traditional hunting weight bullets are substantially slower. Speer’s reloading manual suggests roughly 2,500 to 2,700 fps for 170-grain bullets and roughly 2,400 fps for 200-grain bullets.

The 0.012-inch variation in bullet diameter doesn’t amount to much, but the 8mm Mauser is on par with the .30-06 in terms of energy while the .303 Brit lags behind the .308 Win.

However, for deer-size game, the .303 does fine and shoots flatter than the 8mm. Hornady’s 150-grain InterLock at 2,685 drops just 9.3 inches at 300 yards when zeroed at 200, which is a considerably flatter trajectory curve than Federal’s 170-grain 8mm Power-Shok, which drops 14.3 inches at 300 yards when zeroed at 200. Despite a lighter bullet, the .303’s energy is more than 300 ft.-lbs. higher than the 8mm’s 170-grain load at 300 yards.

Component bullets are available for both cartridges from companies like Hornady, Sierra and Speer, and Nosler offers .323 bullets.

Factory loads in .303 are available from Hornady, Remington and Speer. Options for the 8mm can be had from Nosler, Norma, Federal, Winchester, and Buffalo Bore. Note, though, that more than a couple of these loads are limited production and not always available.

Surplus?

Aside from the Winchester 54, there have been few factory 8mm Mauser rifles offered in the U.S., but there are plenty of surplus 8mm Mauser 98-style rifles available.
Likewise, there are Enfield .303s available with prices ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Because the .303 case is rimmed, it functions in double rifles and single-shots, too. Uberti recently introduced its 1885 Courteney Stalking Rifle, a single-shot, but for the most part, if you’re looking for a .303 or 8mm you’re going to find most of your rifle options on the surplus market.

Neither of these is a true long-range round, but both have their places in the field. In reality, the question is whether you prefer the German or British round and the rifles chambered for each.

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