303 savage rebore (1899)

cody c

cody c

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Maybe 5-10 years ago on a whim I bought an 1899 in 303 savage. Just a barreled action.

I was ignorant to 303 savage, bought it thinking it was a savage in 303 (Brit)

Anyways, I’ve been thinking about a rebore.. having just done a .308W to .358W courtesy of RKS in Alberta.

I been wanting to go to 35 rem, but the dimensions at the neck of the 303 seem to broad.

Was also thinking 444 marlin but the caliber and sourcing brass had got to be less convenient to work with.

Any thoughts or recommendations from the CGN brigade? Ideally hand gun calibers for cheap plinking would be what I’d bore to.

Cody in Calgary
 
I just googled 444 marlin brass canada, 3 of the first 5 links had stock. Not particularly cheap brass, but at 444 marlin pressures they should last a long time. Bullets are 44mag bullets, pretty affordable especially if you're not looking to hunt with it (where some 44mag bullets might not be up to the task at 444 marlin velocities).
 
I'm in the same boat with an old .303 Savage, and I've also considered reboring to a larger calibre, but there are a lot of limitations when it comes to feeding, etc. I'm leaning toward purchasing a barrel liner and getting that installed and chambered in .38-55 or something similar.
 
Rotary mag is a pain to modify. They can be swapped between different savage 99’s so letting you change calibers if you swap barrels and matching rotary mag.
I bought Lee 303 savage dies from Higginsons with shell holder. Most of my brass is made from modified 303 British brass. I have seen 303 Savage brass available lately if you want new. Easy cartridge to reload for with all components easily sourced. If your barrel is good I would just go with what you have and get dies and brass and start shooting it.
 
cody c said:
Maybe 5-10 years ago on a whim I bought an 1899 in 303 savage. Just a barreled action.

I was ignorant to 303 savage, bought it thinking it was a savage in 303 (Brit)

Anyways, I’ve been thinking about a rebore.. having just done a .308W to .358W courtesy of RKS in Alberta.

I been wanting to go to 35 rem, but the dimensions at the neck of the 303 seem to broad.

Was also thinking 444 marlin but the caliber and sourcing brass had got to be less convenient to work with.

Any thoughts or recommendations from the CGN brigade? Ideally hand gun calibers for cheap plinking would be what I’d bore to.

Cody in Calgary
Click to expand...
Way more practical to just reload .303 Savage.
 
Painkillers said:
Way more practical to just reload .303 Savage.
Click to expand...
oh man. So much it would.
I mean, I could flip it and pick up a used 308 made by just about any rifle manufacturer and that would be so much more practical.

But it’s kind of like the journey is way more fun than the destination. And hunting season is a long ways way, giving me plenty of time to tinker.

The safe isn’t full of super expensive cool or conventional rifles. It does have some unconventional stuff. And that’s way more fun for me.

Lots of good insight on this overall. Appreciate the input from you all..

I didn’t search for the 444 ammo, so had a 45-70 for a while and didn’t use it for hunting so I flipped it. Other calibers got the job done better (9.3x62).

Maybe looking into 357 barrel is something I should look over again. Cheaper to rebore than rebarrel but maybe there’s another way or another caliber I haven’t thought of.

Any other handgun ammo that crosses over I should consider?
 
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cody c said:
oh man. So much it would.
I mean, I could flip it and pick up a used 308 made by just about any rifle manufacturer and that would be so much more practical.

But it’s kind of like the journey is way more fun than the destination. And hunting season is a long ways way, giving me plenty of time to tinker.

The safe isn’t full of super expensive cool or conventional rifles. It does have some unconventional stuff. And that’s way more fun for me.

Lots of good insight on this overall. Appreciate the input from you all..

I didn’t search for the 444 ammo, so had a 45-70 for a while and didn’t use it for hunting so I flipped it. Other calibers got the job done better (9.3x62).

Maybe looking into 357 barrel is something I should look over again. Cheaper to rebore than rebarrel but maybe there’s another way or another caliber I haven’t thought of.

Any other handgun ammo that crosses over I should consider?
Click to expand...
If you have a very good press, with lots of torgue, you can play with 30-30 Win brass in a set of 303 Savage sizing dies and form the cases you need.

You should use new unfired cases or anneal the whole case to make it more malleable. It's a lot of work and you might have to turn the rims, etc, but it's doable.

Brass and dies are available if you do some due diligence on the internet.

I have one with an excellent bore, the rest has been refinished, so shooter grade. Very smooth, pleasant rifles to shoot, considering it's a lever action ;-)
 
Reworking .303British or .30-30?
.303 Savage has become a bit more available.
Rebarreling 99s is more challenging than most any bolt action.
Altering the magazine is problematic.
These projects can be interesting and challenging, but the cost might be prohibitive if someone must be paid to do it.
 
I have a 99 short rifle(22 inch barrel) in 303 Savage. Local guy loaded me 40 rounds formed from 30/30 a couple years back when brass was impossible to find. They work though I don't think they would take many firings because the case head of 30/30 and 303 are around .020 different. Maybe they will be fine.
Either way will get some 303 factory stuff now that it can be had. Anyone know if any company makes factory loads with the original 190 grain bullets?
 
Tiriaq, You're right. 303 British cases were used to size down to the 303 Savage.

I had to go and look because I was certain I had used 30-30 cases.

Some 30-30 cases were used for the conversion but they have serious "swelling issues" Not dangerous but slightly offset.

Thanx for pointing that out.

I did those conversions over 20 years ago when 303 Savage cases were even less obtainable than they are now.

I finally found some from Budget Shooter Supply, I don't know if they still carry them

I used an old Hollywood press, which is mounted on a 2-inch-thick aluminum plate, 18 inches square. The previous owner used it for 50 BMG and it's very powerful.
 
The two cases that will give proper head dimensions are 303 British and 30-40 Krag. Both cases need to be reduce in diameter by about 2 or 3 thousand. I had seen 30-30 cases that were reformed and didn’t like the amount of expansion, especially being off set to one side usually. My 303 Savage was made in 1900 and another one with a shot out barrel made in 1904 which if I ever find a Savage barrel I may just swap them out.
 
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FYI: Here is 303 savage versus 35 rem. There is a spot at the neck where the 303 case is 0.011mm wider that the 35 rem case. But it the barrel is setback .598mm it matches width and works. So maybe spinning the barrel in one more thread etc. will make it a possibility. And thinking about it, I suspect it would be fine to try, resizing should be able to handle 0.011mm with a little case lube

In the above picture the 303 sav is red, the 35 rem is white.

I was up late last night looking at dimensions of hangun ammo. 460 S&W ammo is a possible candidate, maybe even 500, but would have to check the rotary mag. also the 360BHMR is a possibility.
 
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