.30-03 Springfield
.30-03 Springfield | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
jacketed soft point round | ||||||||
Type | Rifle | |||||||
Place of origin | United States | |||||||
Service history | ||||||||
Used by | United States | |||||||
Production history | ||||||||
Produced | 1903–1911 | |||||||
Specifications | ||||||||
Parent case | .30-01 or Thick-rim[1] | |||||||
Case type | Rimless, bottleneck | |||||||
Bullet diameter | .308 in (7.8 mm) | |||||||
Neck diameter | .340 in (8.6 mm) | |||||||
Shoulder diameter | .441 in (11.2 mm) | |||||||
Base diameter | .470 in (11.9 mm) | |||||||
Rim diameter | .473 in (12.0 mm) | |||||||
Rim thickness | .045 in (1.1 mm) | |||||||
Case length | 2.54 in (65 mm) | |||||||
Overall length | 3.34 in (85 mm) | |||||||
Rifling twist | 1-10 | |||||||
Primer type | Large rifle | |||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||
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The .30-03 Springfield (7.62×65mm) was a short-lived
Initial development
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/30-01_30-03_30-06_Cartridges.jpg/220px-30-01_30-03_30-06_Cartridges.jpg)
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2021) |
The .30-03 was developed to replace the .30-40 Krag cartridge used in the Krag–Jørgensen rifle, which was the first bolt action rifle adopted by the US military, and the first that used smokeless powder. The Krag–Jørgensen rifle had some serious limitations compared to the new Mauser rifles being used by European armies; it was loaded one round at a time, rather than using a stripper clip, and the Krag–Jørgensen's single locking lug on the bolt made the action much weaker than the strong, two lug Mauser bolt, limiting the power of the round. A new rifle was designed, using the Mauser as a guide, and a new cartridge was designed for it.
Initially the .30-01 cartridge was developed in 1901; also referred to as the .30 ball Model of 1901 - the ".30-01" or "Thick-rim",[3] the .30-01 used a bullet covered by an alloy made from copper and nickel and was the immediate predecessor of the .30-03. It was short-lived however, quickly being replaced by the .30-03 cartridge.
The new cartridge was more powerful, using a 45-grain (2.9 g) charge of smokeless powder, 5 grains (0.3 g) more than the .30-40. The bullet was the same, a .30 caliber, 220 grain (14 g) round-nosed jacketed bullet, at a higher velocity of 2,300 feet per second (700 m/s), compared to the 2,000 feet per second (610 m/s) of the .30-40 Krag. The new rifle was also the first in a trend of shorter infantry rifles; the 24 in (610 mm) barrel was halfway between the standard infantry rifle and the carbine used by the cavalry, and thus there was no carbine variant of the 1903 rifle. The .30-03 cartridge was also a rimless design, which allowed better feeding through the box magazine than the old .30-40 Krag case.[4] The Model 1895 Winchester lever-action rifle was offered in .30-03 from 1905, but sold poorly in comparison to the .30-06 chambering offered in 1908.[5] Vickers Company in England produced Maxim M1904 machine guns in .30-03 for the US Army from 1908. Later M1904 machine guns were produced by Colt in .30-06 and the .30-03 guns were re-chambered for the .30-06.
In 1903, the Army converted its M1900
Problems
The .30-03 cartridge suffered from the start. It caused severe erosion of the bore of the rifle, due to the high pressures and temperatures needed to push the heavy bullet to the desired velocity. The heavy bullet was also an issue; the 220 grain (14 g) bullet was aerodynamically inefficient and had a very curved trajectory (see
Since the new .30-06 was shorter than the .30-03, it could fire in 1903 rifle but resulted in poor accuracy. The 1903 rifles were all recalled, fitted with the Model of 1905 sights and bayonets, and rechambered for the new .30-06 cartridge. This last procedure was done by unscrewing the barrels, milling off the end of each chamber, re-threading the barrels, rechambering them, and screwing them back on the same
See also
References
- ^ "An Introduction to Collecting .30-06 Cartridges - International Ammunition Association".
- ^ ISBN 0-89689-297-2pp.130,164
- ^ "AN INTRODUCTION TO COLLECTING .30-06 CARTRIDGES". International Ammunition Association, Inc. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ^ Sharpe, Philip B. (1953). Complete Guide to Handloading (3rd ed.). New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 374.
- National Rifle Association of America: 59–61, 91–92&94.
- ^ Paul Wahl and Don Toppel, The Gatling Gun, Arco Publishing, 1971, p. 155.
- Pictures and information on the development of the .30-06 from the .30-03 at the Cartridge Collectors Exchange.