Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Leverevolution powder in .303 Savage

Been think'n' bout this for the .303 Savage and finally "pulled the trigger", so to speak, and bought a pound of Hodgon Leverevolution powder. Used the Hodgon data for a 30-30 and 170 grain Sierra FP but loaded the Speer 170 FP instead. Went to the range, shot and "chronoed" (if that is a verb) 3 loadings, 5 each, in my 26" barreled 1899 B. No pressure signs of any kind what so ever. Still, I have enough experience to know that just because there's no sign of high pressure doesn't mean it's not there. Here's the results:

30-30 Book Loads for Leverevolution Powder and Sierra 170 FP for use in Winchester 94s and the like I assume.
- 33 grains for 2145 fps (28,000 psi)
- 36 grains for 2332 fps (35,000 psi)

My .303 Loads using Leverevolution Powder and Speer 170 FP
- started at 33 grains and measured 1950 fps
- tried 34 grains and got 2050 fps
- last load was 35 grains and got 2150 fps

Accuracy was good, around 1.75" with tang sight. Could be better but I didn't seem to be shooting all that well today. Too much coffee I'm thinkin'. The lower velocity per grain of powder that I got could be due to slightly larger case capacity of .303 Savage or the bore of my 101 year old rifle being somewhat worn. I'm going to go ahead and up the load to 35.5 and 36 grains. I'd like to get the 170 grainer to 2250 fps. That's 200 fps more than my IMR 4320 max load at 2050 fps. My "assumption", we all know that old joke, is that since 30-30 and .303 case shape and capacity are similar, the pressures/velocity relationship should be about the same. I've shot other loads that approach the 40,000 psi rating of the 1899 with no trouble. These Leverevolution loads should actually be less pressure. By the way, this powder meters from a measure very well.

If 2250 fps can be achieved with no high pressure signs then I'll shoot the load for awhile and see what the long term effects on case life are. If I have to trim necks more than usual or full length size instead of neck size to chamber the rounds then I'll back the load off some. None the less, even if I can't keep the 200 fps velocity increase, it looks to me like I can load to my original 2050 fps with quite a bit less pressure. That means longer case life and less of a beating on my old rifle. If I can keep the 200 fps velocity gain then I can extend my self imposed range for shooting at game with the .303 Savage from 150 to 200 yards or so. I'm assuming I'll have less bullet drop and more energy. That's my thinking anyways. We'll see if it pans out. By the way, I don't foresee ever shooting out to 250 or 300 yards with tang sights so I see no advantage to trying Hornady's "pointy" 160 grain Leverevolution bullet.

I got a pound of it. Haven't tried it yet. Curious to see how it performs with 190gr. cast bullets. Thanks Matt for the report.

Good info. By all means, please keep us informed.

Gary, loading 190 grain cast bullets with it is next on my list.

Need any more 190's?

Thanks for the offer Gary but I'm good for now. I've been hording those big ol' cast bullets and saving them for elk and bear hunting. Still waiting to get a good bull in range of the .303. Wolves have played hell on my elk spots over the last 10 years. Our elk numbers are down 70 to 80%. Our burgeoning grizzly population isn't helping either. Black bear seasons just around the corner. I'll probably pass once again on any small to medium bears to keep looking for a whooper. If I only get one more bear my entire life that's OK, I just want it to be a really good one.

Really great info, even though I am not a reloader, I still appreciated reading it... good to know there are options out there to "tweak" the old 303 and get a little more out of it... its this sort of things that gets me interested in reloading one day.

Matt:

Waiting to see you in a picture with that 303 laying on top of a dead wolf.

35 grains of Leverevolution powder with a Speer 170 FN is max in my .303 B. Tried up to 36 grains but the primers were backing out a little and flattened slightly. I was getting a velocity increase of 100 fps per grain added until I got to 35. From 35 to 36 only had 20 fps gain. Tells me that 35 grains at 2150 fps may be the "sweet spot". I'll try that load for a while and see how it works out.

Once again I've found that you can't load to max 30-30 data in a .303 Savage.

No free lunch.

RL 15 for the 303 Sav, trust me, you won't look back, and the barnes TSX's for the 30-30 are AWESOME in the 303 Sav, I have data worked up, tight groups at 100 yards!

Great info!

Care to share your RL 15 loads?

Thanks, Chad

Certainly, I will post them this evening, gotta get my log book out with my load data, pretty sure my Barnes TSX load is 33.5 gr of 15 with winny primer. I will verify tonite.

so you guys are getting better-than-30-30 velocity out of the same bullets in your 303?

I would sure hope so. That's how mine chronied out.

Oh heck ya, as the case capacity is slightly more on the 303, and the case design lets powder burn more completely. In all Honesty, Mike is one of the guys that set me on the path of getting the most from my 303.