I am finally getting around to putting some loads together for my '99 B and I have an abundance of 180 grn. Partitions. Do any of the 303 reloaders here run the 180's? Any recommended loads?

Thanks.. BP...

Sorry, can't help with Partition feedback, but my !899 B and 1926 F both love 180 gr Sierra RN bullitz.

Zero reason to use in 303 Savage which is just a 30-30 with a heavy bullet.
As oldotter pointed out any 180 cup-n-core will kill anything you'ld hunt with a 303.

I'd be worried about not having enough MV to open them up? It's a tough bullet.

They would work a lot better coming out of a 300 Win mag at 3,000 ft/s methinks.

This was my concern. I just have a couple hundred of them. I like the cool factor of round noses. I shoot 250 RN hornadys in my 35W.
BP...

These will work. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010506567

Mercy. $68/50. Not this boy, not when garden variety 150-170 grain cup and cores will continue to kill deer with alacrity long after I'm gone, just like they have done for the last 125 years. IMO the .303/.30-30 is one of those cartridges for whom there's not much point in feeding fancy-schmancy bullets. And yeah, I put my money where my mouth is and use a 190 grain soft cast lead flat nosed bullet at 1850-2000fps (depending on the rifle), the same one I've been using since 1980, and deer die very dead from it.

Would I load those Partitions the OP is inquiring about? Sure, for sh*ts and grins, but I wouldn't hunt with them when employing them at sedate muzzle velocities.

Just a thought, sell the excess Partitions in the classifieds and buy twice as many conventional soft points with the proceeds. Oh yea, PM me first with the particulars as a consulting courtesy! 😎

It depends on what you are hunting, but I have found that the most important thing for you to do is to put ANY bullet where it is supposed to go.

If you want to trade Bulletts I will do it!

I use 180 part ions and have many other variety and weights

Pm me if you want to go there!
Thanks

I asked Nosler, and at the time the needed 1800fps to expand. So I don’t use them in 30-30/303.

I have Hot Cores and Interlocks. 165's & 180's. Suggestions on powders?

Thanks for your experience.. BP...

Can't help you with powders but I'll put in a good word for both Hot Cors and Interlocks.

What powders do you have on hand?

I'm working from memory... 3031, R-15, 4350, 4064 and a few others.

BP...

I've heard good things about 3031 in 30-30/303 although I have never loaded it

It doesn't work! LOL

For my money, 3031 is the one to choose from that list. It's what I've religiously stuck by for .30-30/.303 for full-tilt loads over the last 40-50 years. Are there better powders? Quite possibly (I would bet on CFE-223 for one), but I'm quite happy with how 3031 has treated me and I shan't argue with success, nor do I care to continue whipping a race horse while he's 50 feet ahead of #2 when approaching the finish line.

The area I feel the .30-30/.303 offers an even more interesting application than as a deer hunting round is as a short to mid-range target cartridge. With the myriad of suitable .30 bullets available (jacketed and cast) and the myriad of suitable powders (RL-7, 4227, Unique, 2400, 4759, etc.), the possibilities are endless - and more fun than enough awaits an intrepid shooter/experimenter. Put the .30-30 (or .303, if you have cornered the market on brass as a Californian I know has done) in a good single shot or bolt action rifle and prepare to have your life changed.

3031 is my go to, it also smells great 😃

I do believe IMR3031 is the powder I usually load up and use in my 30-30/303 rifles.

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.