has anyone tried a 30/30 lee collet die on the 303 savage case?

. measurements look like it might work with or without. a little shortening of the die?

Ed

I haven't but it seems to me that one could be made to work without too much monkey business.

Hey 1234,
I am struggling with the same question. My best guess is “maybe”.. As the 303 neck is longer than the 30-30 it should work, but then the case is wider so who knows.
Also, with my Lee seating die it wants to insert the bullet slightly askew leaving a neck bulge that just shouldn’t happen. Repositioning the die or shell holder doesn’t help, do you experience anything like this with Lee dies?

1234 I'll check and see if I have an extra set of 303 dies I can send you with that rifle. I'll look in the pile going in the garage sale this weekend.

Ooooooo, I'd love to come to one of your garage sales!

Keith had an idea about converting a .30-30 Lee Loader to work for .303's also. (The .303 being fatter stopped well shy of entering the die the whole way. And mind you, Lee Loaders only neck size anyway, at least in this instance.) He provided the guinea pig and I ran an appropriate diameter chucking reamer (via lathe) up into the die until a .303 case entered the whole way allowing the neck to be sized. It's now a twofer- two calibers in one die.

Seriously, you have a map! We could have turned it into Savage/Garage Sale Fest West with a little heads up.

The Lee .308 Factory Crimp die is also labeled for use with the 303 Savage ... so I messaged Lee Precision yesterday and asked if the .308 Collet Die could also be used on the 303 Savage ... yes. Here's the response:

Keith,

Yes, you should be able to use the 308 Win Collet Die for the 303 Savage.

Thank You,

Laine
Customer Service

Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 Highway U
Hartford, WI 53027
phone: 262-673-3075
fax: 262-673-9273

Come on up. The garage sale might cut into the Savage festivities a little bit but you're welcome. I'm smoking a big ol rack a ribeye on Saturday.

I use the Lee 308 Win pilot for trimming the cases as the lengths are the same.

One caveat, since the 303 Savage neck is longer than the 308's (.538 vs. .303,) the .308 Lee collet die may only neck size the upper portion of the 303 Savage's neck.

I believe that will be more of a benefit than a liability as it should aid to even better chamber alignment!