Page "7×57mm Mauser" Paragraph 3

During the Second Boer War in South Africa, British authorities were obliged to re-evaluate rifle and ammunition design and tactics after facing Boer sharpshooters and snipers armed with Model 1895 Mauser rifles firing 7 × 57mm rounds with withering effectiveness, easily outranging the. 303 British cartridge as regards accurate long-range fire.

The. 303 cartridge at that time was still using cordite propellant, in contrast to the Mauser's higher-performance ballistite type smokeless powder.

The British modernized the previous. 303 British cartridge variants to the Mark 7 variant that like the 7 × 57mm used smokeless propellant, and updated their rifle to the Lee Enfield No. 1 Mk III.