.303 savage ammo

H

hftsmurf

Inactive
have aquired a .303 savage and would like to find ammo or reloading supplies for it, Thanx for the help. Kevin;)
 
Gotta love this description for the Hornady loaded ammo...

"Graf & Sons has teamed up with Hornady to provide quality ammunition in previously hard-to-find military surplus calibers.

Arthur Savage wished! :)

Now that the .303 is back in production, I may just renew my search for it in an 1899 in one of the classic calibers -- .303, .30-30, .32-40, or .38-55.

I had dropped the .303 some years ago because ammo was simply unavailable.
 
"I looked it up and it was made by Savage, so of course it is in .303 Savage..."

---Gun dealer, holding a Rifle No. 4

Jim
 
i have 2 enfield .303s. 1 savage and the other made in canada, sorry but a long day and i can't remember the maker. bass pro and sportsmans still has rounds for them, but about a buck a pop. you can still get surplus ammo at gunshows cheaper, however the powder is corrosive and you have to clean them right away. hope this helps
 
This is one reason for my ongoing campaign to stop people from generically referring to the British military rifle as a "three-oh-three". It's a LEE-ENFIELD, people! :rolleyes:

I'll let you know how my campaign progresses. ;)
 
.303 Savage is easily made from .30-30 or .25-30 brass.

Edit: I meant .25-35 brass (typo), but that wouldn't work either.
 
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Jeez - why don't you people educate rather than deride? I didn't know there was such a thing as a .303 Savage until I saw this thread (however the .303 Savage appellation would have made me investigate before trying to jam in the wrong cartridge. I am, at least, that cautious...)
 
".303 Savage is easily made from .30-30 or .25-30 brass."

Not really.

Head diameter on the .303 Savage is .442.

Head diameter on the .30-30 family of cartridges is .422.

.02 is getting to the point where you don't really want to try it.

A better route is to head swage .30-40 Krag cases.
 
I never used the Graf brand. I bought some Norma and have shot and reloaded the heck out of it. I don't consider my chambers to be exceptionally tight, so Norma brass holds up really well. It is pricey but I bought it before Graf came out with their stuff. I have to agree with Mr. Irwin. If the right brass is available why look for trouble?
 
Not really.

Head diameter on the .303 Savage is .442.

Head diameter on the .30-30 family of cartridges is .422.

.02 is getting to the point where you don't really want to try it.

A better route is to head swage .30-40 Krag cases.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected!

I know they are about the same power but, never having had either one (.30-30 or .303), I always assumed they were of similar general dimensions.

After looking up the pertinent data in my cartridge book, I see that .30-30 is .422, and .303 is .439, a difference of almost .02"
 
This is one reason for my ongoing campaign to stop people from generically referring to the British military rifle as a "three-oh-three". It's a LEE-ENFIELD, people!
Click to expand...

Well, yes, unless it is a No 4 or No 5 which was enough of a departure from the WW I era SMLE No 1 that I don't think even the British called them Lee Enfields.


I am sure it has been done to make .303 Savage out of .30-30 (What is a .25-30? A .25-35 shrunk to fit the screen on the internet, maybe.) even though the .30-30 is a good deal smaller head diameter. There was the gimmick of a wrap of Scotch tape around the head to insure that the expansion would be uniform and MIGHT not separate the case head for a few loadings.
NOT RECOMMENDED WITH FRESH CORRECT BRASS NOW AVAILABLE.
But there used to be a lot of that sort of stuff done.
 
There is a .25-25 but CotW doesn't show a .25-30 Stevens.
A straight .25 like that would be of absolutely no use in a Savage 99, though.
 
Right church, wrong pew.

I was thinking of the .28-30-120 Stevens, a contemporary of the .25-25 and the .25-21.


"A straight .25 like that would be of absolutely no use in a Savage 99, though. "

Sure it would. It would be a wonderful reminder to pick up the right damned ammo on the way to hunting camp. :p
 
Sweet! I just bought a box of ammo for the 1899 Savage .303 that I just inherited. I took it to a local gunsmith who admired it for about 20 minutes, telling me about it. When I get it back, can't wait to take it out and shoot.
 
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