Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Something Special About The Ol' .303...

The oldtimers knew it and today I reminded myself that there just seems to be something magical about the way the old .303 Savage with the old 190 gr bullet hammers game. Today I carried my 1929 vintage 99G, loaded with original yellow box Winchester "Super Speed" 190 gr Silvertips that are probably older than I am. I've shot a few deer with it over the years but it has mostly lived in the safe for the last decade or so. With the season winding down, I felt the urge to take it to the woods today and shot a smallish doe with it this afternoon at about 100 yards. She took off like a scalded assed ape and I soon her her crash. When I got to the point of impact, it looked like a crime scene there was so much blood. A blind man could have followed it. No great revelation that it "worked", but it reminded me that that heavy round nosed Silvertip just seems to knock the hell out of deer. Whether it is truly superior to the .30/30 or not, I can't say because I have never shot a deer with the .30/30. I have helped trail other hunter's deer shot with .30/30s and don't recall as obvious a blood trail. Dead is dead but for a color blind hunter like me, a clear and obvious trail of shiny red leakage is much appreciated....

Nice story and congrats. I hope to have my paws on a 303 soon myself!

Matt

Heard the old timers say many, many times that the 303 with the 190s penetrated and killed better than the 30-30 with 170's.

Those men are all gone now.

True or not, just repeating what the men that used the guns said.

Cool insights. Glad you had so much fun hunting, that's worth gold right there.

good story and congrats. nice to here the 303 is still in action.

Swag, anybody that likes the 99 has to have a 303.
good luck finding your rifle.

plab

303s are just cool! took a large doe with my 1901 B a few years ago, mass. blood trail, only went 30yrds. 190 grain silvertip also!

Congrats on the successful hunt! I just found a .303 myself, A little late for this years deer season but it'll be ready for next year.

I've been keeping an eye out for 190 grain ST bullets to load up but for right now I've loaded 150 and 170 grain RN bullets to see how that goes.

I've always had it in mind that if I ever draw an Arkansas elk permit that a model 99 in .303 would be the rifle of choice.

Congrats! Took a small buck with a 303 and 150gr Hornady flat nose a few years ago, dropped in it's tracks.

Mine gets 'em two at a time!

dam I wish I wish I lived down south..
nice Greg

plab

Hey:

You can't just post a picture like that without a story. Just bad form...

Nice deer, but tell me about the rifle and the load. Looks like could be an H?

Working with the 303 is on my list this year too. It's an EG. I don't have any of the 190 Gr Silver tips, but I do have a number of the 150 gr Silvertips meant for 30-30 that I plan to hand-load.

Jimmy:

Have you shot that gun or killed any deer with it yet.

Fill us in...

Jim

I bought up some of the 150 grain Silvertips the last few years at gun shows and they have been very accurate for me in a .30-30 and also not too bad in my .303 either.

It's a mixmaster. My father bought it, restocked it, jeweled the bolt, and gave it to me.The barrel is later than the receiver. The buttplate is either a Marlin or Winchester. The load was factory Hornady 150s.


It isn;t a collector by any stretch, but special to me.

It's a handsome gun and deadly too by the looks of things.

A very good friend of mine who is about 65 right now (when I told him about my Savage 99 "Problem") said his Dad and Uncles Used to pull the 190 grainers outta 303 ammo and reload their thurty thurty's with em. Worked better for bigger game he was told.

Do these folks hale from Minneesota per chance??

Just getting around to it. A busy year with wife's health problems in the spring, trying to get the youngest his hunters safety this past summer and actually getting him his first buck in the fall. It all worked out, but no time for the 303. We try again in 2015.

Brad:

What load do you like in the 303 with the 150 silver tip? PM me if you want to share privately.