The .275 Holland & Holland Magnum is a semi-obsolete rifle

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

 cartridge similar to the 7mm Remington Magnum. It was introduced by the British company Holland & Holland

Holland & Holland

Holland & Holland is a British gun-maker based in London, England. They offer hand-made sporting rifles and shotguns. H&H holds two Royal Warrants.-History:Holland & Holland was founded by Harris Holland in the year 1835....

 in 1912 with a shorter version of the belted case of the .375 H&H Magnum

.375 H&H Magnum

The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum is a powerful rifle round and one of the best-known and most popular medium-bore cartridges in the world. The .375 H&H was only the second cartridge ever to feature a belt, now common among magnum rounds. A popular misconception is that the belt is for headspace,...

 introduced the same year as the .375 Belted Rimless Nitro-Express. The .375 H&H was intended for dangerous African game animals, while the .275 H&H was intended for longer range shooting of African antelope and Red Stag in the highlands of Scotland.

History

Aside from the belted case, the .275 H&H was very similar to the .276 Enfield

.276 Enfield

The .276 Enfield was an experimental military rifle cartridge developed in conjunction with the Pattern 1913 Enfield rifle. Development was discontinued by the onset of World War I.-History:...

 cartridge of the Pattern 1913 Enfield

Pattern 1913 Enfield

The Pattern 1913 Enfield was an experimental rifle developed as a result of combat experience in the Second Boer War by the Royal Small Arms Factory for the British Army from 1912 to 1914 to serve as a replacement for the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield...

 rifle then under development by the British military to replace the Lee-Enfield

Lee-Enfield

The Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century...

. Cordite

Cordite

Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance...

 loadings gave both cartridges a reputation for unpleasant muzzle flash and short barrel life. Western Cartridge Company

Western Cartridge Company

The Western Cartridge Company manufactures small arms and ammunitions. Founded in 1898, it was the forerunner of the Olin Corporation, formed in 1944, of which Western is still a subsidiary, and is based in East Alton, Illinois, USA...

 offered United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 loadings of the .275 H&H Magnum in 1925 with the .300 H&H and the .375 H&H. The .275 H&H was omitted when Winchester Repeating Arms Company

Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...

 started chambering their Winchester Model 70

Winchester Model 70

The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt action sporting rifle. It has an iconic place in American sporting culture and has been held in high regard by shooters since it was introduced in 1936, earning the moniker "The Rifleman's Rifle". The action has some design similarities to Mauser designs and it is...

 rifle for the other two in 1937. The .275 H&H offered little ballistic advantage over the .270 Winchester

.270 Winchester

The .270 Winchester was developed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1923 and unveiled in 1925 as a chambering for their bolt-action Model 54. The cartridge is based upon the .30-06 Springfield...

 with contemporary smokeless powder

Smokeless powder

Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of propellants used in firearms and artillery which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older gunpowder which they replaced...

s. U.S. ammunition production ceased during 1939.

Subsequent developments

Following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, independent gunsmiths in the United States began exploring the ballistic possibilities of military surplus IMR 4831 powder salvaged from Oerlikon 20mm cannon cartridges and marketed by Hodgdon Powder Company

Hodgdon Powder Company

The Hodgdon Powder Company began in 1952 as B.E. Hodgdon, Inc., and has become a major distributor of smokeless powder for the ammunition industry, as well as for individuals who load their own ammunition by hand...

. The long range ballistics of wildcat cartridges resulted in commercial availability of the 7x61mm Sharpe & Hart

7x61mm Sharpe & Hart

The 7x61mm Sharpe & Hart Magnum belted cartridge was developed by Philip B. Sharpe and Richard Hart in the 1950s and based on the .300 H&H Magnum case.In 1953 Sharpe travelled to Scandinavia and the outcome of this trip was that...

 in 1953, and the 7mm Remington Magnum in 1962. The .275 H&H had been a cartridge ahead of its time.

Holland and Holland continue to supply factory loaded .275 ammunition and the cartridge is occasionally chambered in custom made modern "classic" rifles . 275 H&H enthusiasts have noted that the distinctive "H&H taper" of the case offers some advantages over the 7x61 and 7mm Rem mag. Namely , more reliable and smoother feeding in bolt action rifles , and more compact stacking in a box magazine allowing longer overall length of cartridge . With modern powders , the 275 H&H can be handloaded to equal any of the currently available 7mm Magnum chamberings , up to 2.5"(63mm) case length . Correctly headstamp

Headstamp

A headstamp is the markings on the bottom of a cartridge case designed for a firearm. It usually tells who manufactured the case. If it is a civilian case it often also tells the caliber, if it is military, the year of manufacture is often added....

ed empty brass cases are made by Quality Cartridge Co. USA .