Been looking into this old number, introduced by Savage in 1895 as a potential cartridge for the Army. The rim and case head are larger than the .30 WCF, making the latter unsafe -- or at least unwise -- to fire in an 1895 or 1899 so chambered. Graf's offers commercial PPU loads featuring a 150-grain soft point, but it made its reputation with the 190-grain softpoint (some sources say 195 grains) against larger game.
One controversy attached to the .303 Savage is whether the bore specs were .303/.311 or a more conventional .300/.308. Ken Waters reported that his 1899, serial number 43,898, measured .300/.308. Perhaps earlier rifles were fitted with the larger bore barrels.
Lane Pearce provided updated load data in his 2021 article in Shooting Times. Seems the .303 Savage is still at least as useful as the .30-30.
Savage led a very interesting life, was held captive by Aborigines in Australia for a year and after selling his firearm business, invented the radial tire.

https://www.shootingtimes.com/...or-303-savage/390491

In todays marketplace with cases, bullets and powder sometimes very hard to find, I would choose a more modern round unless I was attached to the rifle.

Well the carbine I have access to is a very early one -- 1902 -- and the bore apparently mikes .303/.311.

Don't hold me to this but I think I read somewhere that Savage used .311 bullets in a .308 bore to increase velocity/pressure.

Hip

I remember looking at a model 99 in 303 Savage 30+ years ago, for sale at a gun show.

I had a couple of old 99s in 303, in my grade school youth and shot factory savage 190 gr ammo? Was unaware of bore diameters as explained here??? Both were rough as a cob and had Oct to round barrels and straight grips. never a prresure problem as far as I knew, but I couldn't spell pressure back then and still cant today it appears! I still see quite a few of them in our local pawn shops and gun shows.