Savage 303 ammo

[Kilo Charlie]

.442 minus .422 is . 20 thou. not .02 thou. , a very dangerous and significant difference in the dia. of the base.

You are correct. No-one said it was .02 though, this symbol " designates inches, so it is .02 INCHES, or, as you point out, 20 thou.

[Gun Nut]

Checking the 12th ed. Of the Cartridge of the World, I found this historical note:


“Originally developed as a potential military cartridge in 1895, the 303 Savage was later introduced commercially as one of several chamberings for the popular Savage Model 1899 lever action. Savage discontinued this chambering when rifle production was resumed after World War II. In England, it is known as the 301 Savage. No new rifles are chambered for this round at present.”


General Comments go on to add:


“Dogma holds that the 303 Savage is not a true 303 but instead uses standard 0.308 - inch bullets. However, current SAAMI specifications call for a bullet of 0.311 - inch. Measurements of bullets on three lots of each of two makes of World War II - era factory loads yields mixed results. Some were 0.308 - inch +, others 0.310 - inch +.”


So the original true diameter would appear to have been .301 not .303 or .300. Also it would appear that they may have been just as spastic rifling these .301 barrel as they were rifling the .303 barrels, of the day. I take from what is said, that the switch to .300 caliber appears to have come after World War II.


You don’t stop hunting because you grow old. You grow old because you stop hunting.
- Gun Nut

[Kilo Charlie]

They were measuring bullets, not bores. Anything I ever read was that the .303 Savage rifles always used a .308" bore.

Don't go by Brit nomenclature: They still call the 7mm Mauser the .275 Rigby.

[Gun Nut]

They were measuring bullets, not bores. Anything I ever read was that the .303 Savage rifles always used a .308" bore.

Don't go by Brit nomenclature: They still call the 7mm Mauser the .275 Rigby.

The point of the historical note was to point out that the original barrels were not .300 caliber, but rather .301 caliber. The bullets they measured were merely evidence of that fact. The .311 bullets was initially used and are still recommended if you have one of the prewar Savage rifles. They were not used in the .308 bore as a ploy to up the pressure, attempting such could blow the gun up. If you have a rifle that was manufacture after the WW II, it will have a .308 groove diameter and require the .308 diameter bullet. The reality is if someone has one of those older rifles, they might not be getting the best of accuracy by using the .308 bullet, and might be interested in having their bore diameter check, and if it is the larger bore. They may wish to special order a box of .303 Savage ammunition with .311 bullets to see if things improve. Don't write the English off as not knowing what they're talking about. There is a lot of nomenclature out there that doesn't belie the true caliber of a firearm. If you could actually find a bullet with a .270 diameter, shooting it in a .270 Win. would demonstrate the situation, I'm trying to put across about the older .303 Savages with under sized ammunition. The groove diameter of the .270 is actually .277. The .38 special is really a 354 caliber and can be used in a 357 Mag. The nomenclature of a firearm does not necessarily provide the specs for it's bore diameter. Bore diameters in the .303 British range anywhere from .309 to .317, I use .30 and .32 caliber pistol bullets in mine they make a great plinking and small game loads. Those calibers use a bullet on the jacketed end that ranges from .309 to .313, that puts the cast bullet in the .311 range which works if you have a tighter .311 bore, 303 British, again you only need light powder loads for those 80 to 95 grain slugs.

You don't stop hunting because you grow old. You grow old because you stop hunting.
- Gun Nut

[Nanabush]

Thanks for the info guys, you raised more questions and provided more answers so great conversation...I have some bullets that I found a couple years ago to shoot for now and I am now looking into reloading so that when these are used I can reload them and hopefully that will do me until I figure out what new brass I can use. It is not my main gun but would love to hunt with it a bit. It was handed down through my wife's family...she will be the fifth generation...her brothers don't shoot and neither does she so I was the default to hand it down to and her father was happy to keep it in the family and have it used. My boys will use it as well!
Thanks again
Until the next question....

[Kilo Charlie]

Check for ammo everywhere you go. I travel a lot and I just found a store that had some old white-box Winchester (1980s vintage) .250 Savage 100-grain Silvertip. I bought all five boxes for $22.75 per box. You just never know. The last box of .303 Savage I bought retail was just before they closed Fife's Hardware in Kenora about ten years ago. I traded it to a guy in Ottawa for three boxes of .30-30 Winchester.

There are still boxes of the Hornady .303 Savage out there somewhere. Try running local ads and see if someone has some.

[Nanabush]

Check for ammo everywhere you go. I travel a lot and I just found a store that had some old white-box Winchester (1980s vintage) .250 Savage 100-grain Silvertip. I bought all five boxes for $22.75 per box. You just never know. The last box of .303 Savage I bought retail was just before they closed Fife's Hardware in Kenora about ten years ago. I traded it to a guy in Ottawa for three boxes of .30-30 Winchester.

There are still boxes of the Hornady .303 Savage out there somewhere. Try running local ads and see if someone has some.

Thats how I got the ones I have, I ask at every gun shop I go to, picked these up in Peterborough a couple years ago, the owner said his supplier offered them up and he thought what to heck...paid $60 for 2 boxes of 20 CIL Imperial 190 gr KKSP's, bought everything he had and left him my number in case he got more in...haven't seen any since anywhere though. I never tried putting out ads - great idea!
Thanks again for the info.