Why Was .303 Packed 48 to the Box?

[Peter Laidler]

That's a great Video Vince. That explains it all. Had to see it twice but he forgot to explain how noise - as in Db - isn't a regular linear effect but more sumfink else........

[bigduke6]

No mention of a Bakers dozen ?

[villiers]

...we could move on to the evident advantages of driving on the left (and how only the most advanced societies refused to accept the dictates of the miniscule French dictator).

[Merle]

I always thought it was to load the pan of a Lewis gun, and have one left over for the chamber.

[RBruce]

Maybe it was so they could load up a bunch of their eight round magazines to be ready for the up and over. Wait! They only have one magazine. Oh, and it is a ten rounder. What the......? I'm at least half Scotch-Irish, so this is said in good humor. I only own three .303 rifles. --Cheers

[yulzari]

There are 1,008 farthings to the Guinea. Why would one need to decimalise?

[Richardwv]

Since ammo was seldom used directly from the box, but instead loaded into stripper clips (chargers), mags or whatever, it really makes no difference how many a box contained. Of course if your theory is that they were being loaded into the 5-round stripper clips, I can see where you might throw in a few extra for the ones that soldiers dropped into the mud fumbling in the trenches (just kidding). Since the previously used military round (577/450) was packed in packs of either 5 or 10, I can't see where the Brits were hooked on the number 12. However I've got .303 loaded by a minimum of 8 countries and they all are magically 48 round boxes.....except for the 20-round Winchester white boxes of the 1980s supplied as aid to the Afghans during the Soviet incursion.

[harry mac]

I'm inclined to go for the Lewis gun explanation. We were always told a similar story in the cadets. 47 to load the drum with a spare to use on the gas regulator, or whatever drill the Lewis pamphlet said required the use of a round as a tool.

[303tom]

This is why they packed .303, 48 to the box !....................

Lewis gun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[browningautorifle]

The Lewis gun utilised two drum magazines, one holding 47 rounds, the other 97..."Quote from text"

Unfortunately that's already been suggested. I roar at that explanation, after being in the army my whole life I know they don't do things that way. For all they care ammo can be issued in a bucket with a lid.