303 savage hunting load developement

[Northern Canuck]

Has anyone had much experience with loading 180-190 gr bullets in the 303 savage? I am presently working on a 160 gr Hornady FTP pushed with 33.5, 34, 34.5 grains of Leverlution. I would like to get my hands on .308 190 gr Barnes Originals (30-30) for a hunting load.
I am pulling my Grandfather's old model 1899 out of the safe for the whitetail season this fall.

[1899b]

Have always stuck with 170 grain flat points and 30 grains of IMR3031.
Could never find 180 or 190 grain billets at the time...

[303carbine]

Originally Posted by Northern Canuck

Has anyone had much experience with loading 180-190 gr bullets in the 303 savage? I am presently working on a 160 gr Hornady FTP pushed with 33.5, 34, 34.5 grains of Leverlution. I would like to get my hands on .308 190 gr Barnes Originals (30-30) for a hunting load.
I am pulling my Grandfather's old model 1899 out of the safe for the whitetail season this fall.

Slug your bore to see what diameter you have, some of the older 303 Savages were actually .311 diameter, later versions were .308 diameter.
If you have one that has a .311 bore, you can shoot bullets designed for the 303 British, they have .311 and .312 diameter bullets.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by 303carbine

Slug your bore to see what diameter you have, some of the older 303 Savages were actually .311 diameter, later versions were .308 diameter.
If you have one that has a .311 bore, you can shoot bullets designed for the 303 British, they have .311 and .312 diameter bullets.

The 303 Savage was never made with any bore other than .308. Some ammo makers loaded slightly over sized cast bullets bullets to get a good bore seal with the soft lead bullets but no jacketed bullet over .308 should be used in one.

The 303 Savage has slightly better ballistics than the 30-30 but primarily because you can use pointed bullets in the Savage rotary magazine. For best performance stick to 130-150 grain SP Interlock or other thin skinned cup and core bullets. The relatively low velocity of this cartridge, about 2400 FPS with a 150 grain but only about 2000 with a 170, is not well suited to Mono bullets unless you can find a spire point specifically designed for lower velocities. There are lots of loads for it using a wide variety of powders, check Lyman, old Speer and Sierra books, old Hornady too. Basically 30-30 loads are a very good starting point.

You can buy 303 Savage Brass from Privi and a few other specialty makers but it can be really hard to find. Rusty Wood and Tradex were the last two places I got some. If you have to you can form 303 brass from 30-30, 32 Special and 38-55 brass. The web area of the 303 brass is larger so you may lose a few fire forming with light loads of Trail Boss. The Savage 99 is a fairly strong action but it is still a lever. Locking one up from loading too heavy is a REALLY bad idea. Back off as soon as any signs of pressure appear.

[Pioneer2]

The early ones were .311 that were sent for army trials according to Ken Waters . He never saw one but the commercial ones may have all been .308 after the military gun was rejected.Should all be 1-10" twist for the 190gr offering.He has this same thread with lots of answer in CGN's.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Pioneer2

The early ones were .311 that were sent for army trials according to Ken Waters . He never saw one but the commercial ones may have all been .308 after the military gun was rejected.Should all be 1-10" twist for the 190gr offering.He has this same thread with lots of answer in CGN's.

Well, the reason Ken Waters has never seen one is because they were never made. In 1892, a prototype of what was known as the Savage No. 1 with a 29-inch barrel and full-length stock was submitted to the Ordnance Trials for the military market. When the bolt action Krag was adopted over the other submissions, Savage modified the rifle for civilian use and produced the model 1895. The model 1892 was never produced or sold. Thus, the original version of the Savage 99 was designated the Model 1895 and were actually made for Savage by Marlin. The only cartridge it came in was the 303 Savage. If you find a true 1895 in any other cartridge it is a later conversion, many of which were done by Savage as they offered a $5 upgrade of the 1895 to 1899 specifications. When the 1899 model came out there was a greatly expanded range of cartridges made available.

[Pioneer2]

went to the Montreal Home Guard ,full wood with bayonet.