.303 cartridges

John Ousterhout

There is no such thing as a "Springfield .303 cartridge". While Springfield did make rifles that fired British .303 cartridges, the cartridge should not be called a "Springfield .303 cartridge". The cartridge was almost universally called "Brit 303", "British 303", "Enfield 303", or just "303". I would expect it to have been most likely fired from an Enfield, either a No. 1 (the famous "Short Magazine Lee Enfield" or SMLE, pronounced "Smelly"), or a No. 4 (WWII-era issue to British commonwealth forces except Australia, who continued to manufacture their own SMLE's). The extractor marks on the cartridge might offer a clear indication of the firearm that fired it, and the headstamp would identify who made it and when.