Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Reloading 30-30 and 303 Sav

In the past I never bothered to reload for the 30-30, but since getting a 99H and a couple of 303's I have started to reload these calibers. However I'm not having much luck, I'm thinking its because I'm not crimping. What are you guru's thoughts on this. I'm using H322 with 170 grain Sierra's

I'm no pro, but I do reload and have reloaded for my .303 with cast bullets. I never used more than a mild crimp and think it might be more fruitful trying different powders. Sierras are excellent bullets and both cases are inherently accurate with long shoulders. I have a copy of Water's "Pet Loads" and think you cannot find any better or more exhaustive source for reloading data. His stuff works.

+1 on the Pet Loads book. It's great for the .303, 22 HP, and other older cartridges. I hadn't realized until recently that it was available in a new cheaper edition. I just got one from Amazon last month.

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Loads-Complete-Ken-Waters/dp/1879356643

Rod

I never had much luck with H-322 in either of those cartridges. My go to powder these days is 3031 (as it always has been). Likewise, I don't crimp either caliber, not even cast bullets. As long as they're used in a Savage and not a tube magazine there is no need to. Others experience may vary, but that's what works for me.

+1
Don't use any cast bullitz, but my 303 and 300 savs perform consistently acurate with IMR3031 and forget the crimp.

Powder is really hard to get up here right now. I do have some Win. 748 and some Varget. Any one using these?

I just bought some 748 and will probably try it in .30-30 someday. I haven't been reloading for a long time, but accuracy wise in .30-30 I've had very good results with IMR 4895 and BL-C(2) with 125 gr. Sierra HP #2020, 150 gr. Hornady RN #3035. In 170 gr. bullets I'm working on loads with the Hornady FP #3060 and Sierra FP #2010, both for .30-30 and .303. I've used IMR 4895, BL-C(2) and Re 15 so far...haven't figured out the best load for me yet. I've lost accuracy when using IMR 3031 and IMR 4198 (125 gr bullet load) for some reason. I highly doubt it's any problem with those powders, just me and my rifles and all the other variables.
Many reloading manuals have data for .30-30 with 748 powder. Hodgdon's website also has load data for 748 in .30-30 and one in .303 Savage, listing a .311" bullet. I've never tried their data before with anything however.
http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

I have loaded the .30-30 for about 20 years, always with Reloder 15. If you can scrounge some up, try it! I have loaded for 7 or 8 rifles in .30-30 and one .30-30 AI, and ALL were accurate.

I just missed a can of Varget in the local paper; I had thought about trying that since powder is so expensive here, but I'd be surprised if it didn't work well.

I really like the Lee Factory Crimp die, but nearly all my .30-30's have been tube-fed, so crimping was definitely de rigeur. I don't know that it helps or hinders accuracy, but I use the FC die on every round of ammo I load, for every cartridge.

I have found Varget and Reloder 15 to be pretty similar in performance. I started using Re15 in my .22-250 when I ran out of Varget.

I've never had a .303 that didn't shoot pretty well so haven't fiddled with crimping. I think crimping may introduce more problems than it solves sometimes.

The Lee factory crimp die is without a doubt the slickest thing to use on the .30-30. Mine's a Marlin so I have no choice.

I worked with Reloder 7 this past summer in a 32 Spl. Velocity was right there at book numbers, accuracy was good.

Dale

I tried 748 a long time ago and got decent results. If that's all I had I would certainly try it. One sure fire way to find out if it gives good accuracy for you.

Actually, 25-30 years ago, in my M54 Winchester .30/30 bolt gun and a M94 Winchester, I tried Frank Marshall's (fellow old-timey Cast Bullet Association member) advice and loaded a bunch of .30/30's with a heavy (210 grain) Lyman #311284 cast bullet over a case full of old surplus H-4831. Accuracy was astounding but velocity was down around 1750-1800fps, as I recall. That was one of his favorite deer loads, and gloated about killing a bunch of them and a bear or two with it. I've been meaning to revisit that load but haven't gotten around to it yet.

(My Pop and I bought a sh*t ton of that old WWII surplus 4831 back in the late 60's, and I still have a couple pounds of it left. It still looks good, smells good, and tastes good, so it should still work like it should.)

Do you think short cut would work the same?

I've gotten astounding accuracy with IMR 4064 and Sierra 170 gr bullets.