Not to get way off topic here but the 190 grain bullet in the 303 was really the way the 303 survived for 25 years after the 30-30 was introduced because it was the only way it could separate itself from the 30-30. Hell you could even buy a 30-30 99, why would anybody buy a 303 when no other gun maker other than Savage chambered it? It was thought by many sportsman of the time the 303 190 grain was able to penetrate better than the 170 grain bullet fired from the 30-30. There may have even been a shred of truth in that because of the increased sectional density of the longer bullet. Although in practicality it probably only really separated itself from the 30-30 in that regard if the rifleman was shooting at elk, moose or the biggest North American bears. If the 303 had only been loaded with a 170 grain bullet it would have died very young.
Anyway, the 303 hung on another 20 years after the 300 Savage was introduced in 1920, but the 300 essentially put the 303 on life support shooting a 180 grain bullet another 400 ft +/- per second than the 303 190 grain bullet. Ironic because when Savage introduced the 300 they essentially cannibalized the 303. If you were going to buy a brand spanking new 99 in 1925 and you only have the money to own one rifle, you going to buy a 300 or 303?
