A point hardly known elsewhere about the .303 is the history of New Zealand deer culling. From the 1930s introduced deer had become so numerous that the forests were suffering severely. The NZ government send young men with army surplus .303s "out bush" to cull. The blokes were paid by the tail, and culls of over 50 (!) animals a day per culler are recorded. Frank Erceg shot 2255 deer in 6 months as recorded on the wall of the historic ranger's hut in the Landsborough. I have seen the inscription with my own eyes as I have often hunted the Landsborough while living in NZ. Link:
Historic Landsborough Rangers Hut: South Westland. A good book about this time that started it's author's fame in NZ is "A Good Keen Man" by Barry Crump. In 1956, the "top" year of culling, 92.000 deer were killed, almost exclusively with .303s (link: /www.nzdeercullers.org.nz). I can not find total figures as the culls were often registered by region, and done under 3 different departments at different times, but the total must be quite staggering.
BTW, when markets for venison opened in Europe, the culled deer were at first exported. Later live catch operations (the famous "Chopper Boys") established the present NZ deer industry. There are still a lot of feral deer about, and NZ is a deer hunter's paradise. No hunting fees, very little restrictions, it's basically "grab your rifle and go". If you hunt DoC (Department of Conservation) land you need a permit which is usually done for a year free of charge, and it is considered polite (and wise) to let DoC know when you are going in and when you expect to come out again (so they have a chance of finding you if you get lost. Make no mistake - people die in the bush each year!). During the roar blocks are balloted (again, no fee) to avoid overcrowding and accidents. For hunting on private land all the common courtesies apply, you will of course need the owner's permission. All the huntable species are introduced and are considered "pests" by DoC. There are 6 species of deer: red, wapiti / elk (and hybrids of the two), fallow, sika, sambar and whitetail. Moose were introduced to Fjordland, but have not been seen for decades (there is a bounty for anyone who can prove they're still around). There are also himalayan tahr and chamoix in the alps, as well as feral pigs and goats. The .303 is still a popular cartridge, although it has by now been eclipsed by more modern calibers. Interestingly, Kiwis tend on average to hunt with smaller calibers than Europeans or Americans. .243 is considered adequate for all game, and 6.5x55mm or .270 are also popular. Every hunter I spoke to considered a .30-06 overgunned, and the gun shops rarely had any, and if they did, could not sell them.
So, finally returning to the thread's original topic, it's a cultural thing as much as anything. In my humble opinion, though, only a cartridge that can do anything from the rabbit for your survival dinner (leaving enough meat after the shot so you don't starve) to African elephant can be considered the top of the lot, which means we are back to the .375 H&H.
