.303 Savage bullet diameter?

Bill Costik

Anyone know what diameter the Savage .303 bullet is? I have an opportunity to pick up a 99, and I want to know how hard it will be to get factory ammo or bullets to handload. Also looking for level of power, is it around .308 or .30-30? Thanks guys.

FrancF

The Dia. for the 303 Sav. is .308 the same as the 30-30. Bullet types for the 30-30 should be blunt type. IE flat Nose, round nose, etc for any tube fed rifle.


NRA Life Endowment Member

aglore

303 Savage factory ammo hasn't been made in decades. Brass might even be a scarce commodity. It is on the 30-30 power lever.

AlleninAlaska
Delta Firearms & Supplies
http://www.galleryofguns.com

aglore@gci.net

heavyiron

Hi Bill,

Here are two graphs illustrating the velocity and energy for the 300 Savage compared to the 308 Winchester measured over a range of 500 yards.

Legend:

300 Savage = Blue
308 Winchester = Red





Regards,

Heavyiron[8D]


"If I don't see you nomore on this world, I'll meet you on the next one, and don't be late!" - Jimi Hendrix

aglore

Heavyiron, this is about the 303 Savage not the 300 Savage. The 300 Savage is still a viable cartridge and still having factory ammo made for it. The 303 is not.

AlleninAlaska
Delta Firearms & Supplies
http://www.galleryofguns.com

aglore@gci.net

heavyiron

Well excuse me - I read 303 but substituted 300 Savage in my mind or what is left of my mind. I appreciate the correction because it makes a difference.

Then here is some ballistic info for you about the 303 Savage with 150 grain SP bullet.

36 grains IMR 4064 Velocity = 2400 fps; Energy = 1919 ft/lb

Here is a link to three handloads for the 303 Savage.

http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=303 Savage&Weight=All&type=rifle&Order=Powder&Source=

Here is some info you better be aware of when considering bullet size for the 303 Savage. This is quoted from Cartridges of the World, Frank Barnes, 10th edition:

"Dogma holds that the 303 Savage is not a true 303 but instead uses standard 0.308-inch bullets. However, current SAAMI specifications call for a bullet of 0.311-inch. Measurements of bullets on three lots of each of two makes of World War II era facotry loads yields mixed results. Some were 0.308-inch+, others 0.310-inch+."

Best of luck.

Regards,

Heavyiron[8D]


"If I don't see you nomore on this world, I'll meet you on the next one, and don't be late!" - Jimi Hendrix

dakotashooter2

The cheapest 303 ammo I have seen is around $65 a box. Ammo is pretty much a collectors item now. Occasionaly you can find new brass for around a buck a piece. The M99 has a rotary mag, it is not tube fed, so you can use any bullet you want though OAL may be an issue with spire point bullets and you may have to stay with the lighter ones. You can also make functionable brass from 30-30 cases but the web will not expand so they will look a bit odd. How much can you get the gun for? Most are going for $400 to $650 around here depending on the configuration. For handloading it is recommended to reduce 30-30 data by 10% and work up.

Bill Costik

The gun is on here actually, right now its at 250$ with no bids, but it still may go up, who knows? Ammo sounds liek it might be a problem getting so I think I will pass on it, even though I would love a 99.

Iconoclast

Bill, I just sold 39 pieces of circa 1964 fired brass - which have been reloaded at least once before! - for the ridiculous (in my eyes) amount of roughly $0.50 each!! The bad thing about the .303 Savage is that it cannot be formed from something else without a ton of extra steps. JMHO, but not worth it for the equivalent of the .30 WCF, even though the M99 Savage is a better and more graceful design than the M94 Winchester in virtually every way. Unfortunately, the better mousetraps don't always win in the market place.

"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain)