Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 303 And Partitions?

I've actually got a Handi Rifle action sans barrel and a Handi Rifle FP sight laying around that I'm actually toying with the idea of getting a barrel made in 303 Sav for one of these years. Mostly because I've got more brass than I'll ever eat up with my 1899A. Has anyone here done a single shot in 303 Savage?

What would be some starting loads for 165s and 180s with 3031? I can't find any specific loading data for either bullet.

BP...

3031 or IMR4064 should work well - considering the powders you have

You won't find data for those bullets because they fall outside the spectrum of dedicated .30-30/.303 bullets. By extrapolating data for 170 grain jacketed stuff I would think that a starting load of 27 grains 3031 would be safe, edging your way up to 29 grains if you think you must. But that's my educated guess, not gospel. The thing with pushing those cartridges into the stratosphere isn't whether the gun will take it (Savage 99, yeah, probably, but what about a rickety old Winchester 94?), but whether the brass will take it. That brass was never intended to withstand 50K+ psi pressures (although a fair number of wildcatters have adapted the brass to some pretty woolly cartridges). Again, the decision is yours - I never felt the need to push those cartridges beyond their traditional load levels. I have plenty of other .30 rifles that'll function quite nicely in the + 2000 fps realm.

I still wouldn't hunt deer with a 165 or 180 bullet intended for use in such things as .300 Savages, .308's, .30-06's, and .30 magnums - at least not without thorough testing in suitable media. Their performance on game at .30-30/.303 velocity, especially at some distance past the muzzle, is suspect. Of course, paper targets and steel plates don't care.

When I lived in a communist state that required using all copper, I loaded up the 150 grain Barnes with 30 grains of 3031. Never got a chance to use them on game, but shot one into wet newspapers. Impressed with the mushroom, shot from my SRC.

Indeed, yet another example of choosing the right bullet. I would have no problem using those to hunt if forced to by a repressive regime. It's just that their usurious cost makes them too expensive for day in-day out shooting, at least for me since my name ain't Daddy Warbucks.

Watch out Kenster,those bullets cost a whole lot of money!!

Yes they do, but not going to plink with them !

Great bullet, as is the 30-30 partition.I've been using the 190gr. Hawk.

I have been very impressed with the Hornaday FTX 160 grain with a 300 savage. I thumped a few cow elk/ deer at 300 to 400 yards.

I would extrapolate that this would be similar performance out of a 303 at 100 yards.

When I lived in NH from 1986-1990, I loaded the 170 grain Remington RNCL for my Remington 760 in 300 SAV in an effort to get quicker expandion and DRT performance on woods range whitetails. If I was going to hunt elk or moose with a 30-30 or 303 SAV, I'd probably opt for the deeper penetration potential of the 170 grain Partitions or the old 190 grain Winchester/Olin Silvertips, but I'm not going to, so those bullets will continue to gather dust.