Funny sizes?
There are clearly a number of El Reg readers out there who know a great deal about firearms so I wonder if one of them could answer a question that has always puzzled me: why are gun calibres (almost) always such odd sizes?
For example, in this article we're dealing with .303"; why that "odd" 3/1000 of an inch? Wouldn't .3 be just as good - and surely easier to make? I can just about go for .45, but .44? Or .22? Why are standard NATO round 7.62mm or 5.56mm? Wouldn't 7.5mm or evn 8mm and 5.5mm or 6mm be easier to manufacture.
Please - no flamey answers, it's a genuine question.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
