Who makes .303 Savage brass these days, and where would you find it?

Does anyone here load for the .303 Savage?

A client is thinking of having one built, but I know almost nothing about the round.

THanks!

Huntingtons http://www.huntingtons.com/ has new .303 Savage brass in stock. I have a Ruger No.1 in .303 Savage and it's a hoot!

Jamison made a run of it not too long ago. Graf's had it in stock as did Buffalo Arms, but I don't know what their current stock is. I have a vintage 1904 Savage 1899-C chambered in 303 Savage that I shoot and load for. Ballistics are kinda, sorta close to a 30-30 or 32 Special. Original loading was a 190gr bullet @ 2100 fps.

Can't the brass also be formed from a 30/30 case???

it was just a Savage version of the 30/30, with a 190 grain bullet instead of the 160 of the 30/30 at the time..

I have seen a bunch of them for sale in Rural Oregon about 10 years ago, for pretty cheap prices.. ( Like $200.00)...

But to quote Roger Bartsche.. that shipped sailed a long time ago...

On the Savage Forum over at 24hr there was/is a thread on making 303 brass. Parent case was the 307 Winchester, and even with it the formed brass was short (but still fully functional). IIRC the problem with using 30-30 brass was the rim diameter.

I just read an ad in shotgun news huntington ad that say's " new - norma 303 savage" as in they just started carring them part # 27730n 20 pack

I had one for years in a takedown 99. I finally sold it and the dies and brass to a guy that wanted it more than I last year. I think Buffalo Arms carries it.

I've made .303 Sav. brass from 30-30. The problem is not so much the rim, but the diameter of the casing just forward of the rim. The 30-30 case in smaller at that point so when resized and trimmed into .303 brass, there is a large swelling as the case is fireformed in the Savage chamber.
The diameter of the .303 Sav. case is .4420" just ahead of the rim. The 30-30 is .4210" and the .32 Win. Spl. is .4219".
The problem is to fireform the brass so that the swelling is more even around the enrire case. What I did was get some striping tape from one of the auto houses and put some wrapped around the case just ahead of the rim with enough clearance for the extractor. This held the case more or less dead center in the chamber, the case being charged with a load just strong enough in pressure to properly fill out the chamber. After that, normal reloading methods worked just fine. Sometimes the tape was a bit difficult to remove after the fireform, but it was not a big deal other than esthetics.
Anyway, that's how I fed the two .303 savage rifles I once owned. Now, when I want .303 Sav. performace, I load a 190 gr. cast bullet in a 30-30 to .303 velocity and go hunting.
Paul B.

Thanks Paul. I knew that forming 303 from 30-30 was a PITA, just couldn't remember what caused the the pain. I'm glad that there's finally some new 303 brass out there. Shooting the old Savage lever guns is a lot of fun.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that you can form .303's from .220 swift brass. I think the case head diameters are about the same, you just have to hope theres enough rim for your extractor to grab.

Tim

Norma makes brass and the price just dropped after I bought a bunch . I was told to use 30-30 data as a start and that's what I've done so far. 170gr @ 2100fps in Grandpa's original 1899 should be good enough for whitetails.

I got a 1907 made Savage 99 and and box of 303S ammo for $76 at a gun show

When I found out how much the old ammo was worth, I never shot it.

I just put 30-30 ammo in it and pulled the lever shut.
I can't hit beans with it.
I may rebarrel to 25-35 and drill and tap for scope.

Ackley says 30-30 ammo in a 303S is not a good idea, but many do it.

Savage originally advertised the 303Sav as a cartridge for tiger and grizzly hunting.




Anyway, the books say to make 303S brass from 220 Swift, but readying here on AR a few years back, some say that 30-40 Craig brass works better. Some material must be removed from the rim.