Q: I’ve heard of the .30 Newton, which is listed in Cartridges of the World. It was designed for Fred Adolph and called the Adolph Express, which dates back to 1913.
Later, Charles Newton chambered it in his own rifles and Western Cartridge Co loaded the ammo. This was a rimless, beltless magnum-type cartridge similar to the .30-06 but larger in diameter.
But what on earth was the .30 Belted Newton, which I read about in an article by Robert Chatfield-Taylor?
Ted Mason
A: Well, stone the crows! We are going back in history. The .30 Belted Newton was a wildcat whumped up by Robert Chatfield-Taylor.
Originally it was formed from .300 or .375 H&H Magnum brass, shortened and necked down to shoot .308 calibre bullets, and fire-formed to blow it out to the fat Newton configuration.
But that was a lot of work, so when the .338 Winchester Magnum was introduced, Chatfield-Taylor found that all he had to do was run it through a re-sizing die to make.30 Belted Newton cases.
Later it was called the .30-338, and later still it became better known as the .308 Norma Magnum (pictured).
Like I’ve often said: there’s nothing new under the sun where wildcat cartridges are concerned.
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