Designed by Peter Paul von Mauser about 1890, the 7.65×53mm uses 0.312-inch bullets. It was adopted by many countries as a primary Military battle-rifle chambering. Anyone who has ever handled one of these cartridges, and is familiar with the 308 Winchester, cannot help but be struck with the similarity. The 7.65 has a slightly longer case, a shorter neck, and slightly longer overall length, so usable capacity is greater. With a working pressure only slightly lower, it has superior performance potential. While the 7.65×53 will not match performance of the 30-06, it is not too far behind. Obviously, with the right bullet, it is capable for any application where the 30-06 is appropriate. 7.65×53mm is one of those great cartridges that has been neglected and almost forgotten. This seems odd when one considers the genius behind its design, the excellent performance it offers, and the excellent rifles in which it was originally chambered. It seems unlikely Mauser chose to use a bullet of precisely the same diameter used in the 303 British by mere accident. More likely, this was a nod to the British round and Mauser’s way of showing he could do the British one better by using a modern case design lacking the useless rim, in a more compact round that would easily surpass 303 British performance. A bit less cynical would be the view that military leaders in many countries were clamoring to adopt a Mauser battle rifle and all of them were intimately familiar with the 303 British Lee Enfield and what it could do. It was entirely logical for such officials to ask for a chambering with similar ballistics. It was even more logical for Mauser to offer such an option.