HOLLAND'S .300

A Century Old – and Still Super

- Terry Wieland

When I set out to write about a 97-year-old cartridge chambered in a 70-yearold rifle, I had to temper my expectations. Between today’s routine claims of half-inch groups from factory rifles, and expectations measured in megatons from anything called a “magnum,” modern shooters tend to regard anything that falls short in either area as quaint or useless.

The .300 Holland & Holland, I would contend, is neither. Nor is the venerable Winchester Model 70 (circa 1952) I used to test it. The cartridge surprised me with its power, and the rifle with its accuracy.

The .300 Holland & Holland was introduced by London’s most famous riflemaker around 1925 – essentially a slimmed-down .375 H&H intended to provide a smallbore, high-velocity cartridge for plains game in Africa and India. It had the .375’s belted case and a tapered body with a long, gently-sloping shoulder. Over the years, it was known by many names, including the “Super-Thirty,” .300 Belted Rimless Magnum, .300 Holland & Holland, and for a long time, simply the .300 Magnum.

Ballistically, it just matched the .280 Ross’ 150-grain bullet at 3,000 feet per second (fps), but had the added advantage of being available with heavier bullets. Originally, the 180-grain bullet had a velocity of 2,700 fps and the 220 grain, 2,350 fps, which put it in a class by itself. At the time, the only comparable American cartridge was the .30 Newton, but rifle production for it ceased in the early 1920s.