Was visiting a friends house this evening and he brought out a box of SilverTips with 303 Savage on the endcap.Similiar to a 30-30 Win. except the case capacity is slightly larger and it uses what appears to be a .312 dia. bullet. Any background on this cartridge? None in any of my various reloading manuals. Thanks for your help.

The case is bigger and the action is stronger than 30-30s, so naturally, modern load books take 30-30 loads and derate them to make 303 Savage loads.

Myself, I tried using 30-30 brass, 25 gr IMR4895, and 150 gr spritz bullets seated backwards. I could not keep them on the paper at 25 feet.

And I wonder why I have never got a 1" group

Clark - I bet it was those "spritzer" bullets! Anymore help??

Info. from Cartridges of the World, 5th ed.
Is not a .303 but a .30 cal. using .308 dia. bullets.
150 gr. bullet,35.6 gr. 4895 (max),2360 fps.

The .303 savage uses standard .308 bullets. It was chambered mostly in the M99 rifle. Of the three savage chamberings, the 300 savage is all that is popular still. Brass is exspensive and tough to find,winchester was the last company to manufacturer brass and the last production ended in 1997,so new brass is drying up fast and the only alternative in brass,is to roll your own from .220 swift brass. A common loading in the .303 was a 190 grain bullet and at moderate speeds,it penetrated real well. I've got a .303 in a M99 that is real accurate and with the rotary magazine,I even load it with ballistic tips.

Thanks fellas for the info.That cleared up a lot of questions.Those M99's are great guns.Much sought after in these parts.

If anyone is looking for new .303 Savage brass try: www.customreloads.com

Slight correction RMK; 22HP, .250-3000, .303 & .300S that makes 4 chamberings. Love them Savs

Slight correction for sxr6, you forget the .270 Savage.

The .303 savage, as mentioned, is a .30 cal., using .308" bullets. However, the base of the case is a little larger than the .30/30 Win., so you can't use .30/30 brass safely. You have to get .303 Savage brass for it to be safe and get accuracy. The .303 Savage factory load was always considered to be a better killer than the .30/30, probably because it used 190 grain bullets.

I must disagree to some degree with one not being able to make .303 Savage from 30-30 brass. It can be done. The first step is to run the 30-30 brass through a .303 Savage full length sizing die to relocate the shoulder back to it's proper position. Trim to proper length.
That done, find some tape that is about 1/8 inch wide. Wrap just enough tape around the base of the cartridge, just in front of the rim to make up the difference in width. (Approximately .22") Load and fire as usual. The tape centers the case in the chamber and they fireform more concentrically with the chamber, rather than having a big bulge on one side. Load as usual and they work just fine.
Data for the 30-30 Winchester is correct. If you come across any 190 gr. bullets, a 1937 loading manual shows 30.0 gr. of IMR-3031 as the starting load for 1840 FPS. I would personally consider that the maximum load, considering specific changes in primers and the current faster burning rate of IMR powders.
Now I know someone will surely ask if using tape works. It has for me. After fireforming, with a full load BTW, I just remove the tape. The next full load finishes the job. I tried this out because my supply of .303 Savage brass is getting low.
Paul B.

South 40 The 270 sav never made it to factory status. It was the 300 sav necked to take 277 cal bullets. Sav was seriously considering making it a factory round just before the 7.62 nato round was announced. Winchester quickly called the civilian version the 308 and the 270 sav was forgotten.