303 Savage COAL question

arcticcathonda

arcticcathonda

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Hey guys,

Recently was handed down my great grandfathers Savage 1899 chambered in 303 Savage. I have some IMR3031 on hand and some 160gr Hornady FTX bullets. This might not be optimal but it is what I have on hand to use.

I am starting with the minimum load of about 29gr (between minimum loads for the 150 and 170 gr bullets in the load manual). When I get the bullets seated to meet overall COAL measurements per the book, the bullets are buried quite deep in the case be yon the cannelure. Also appears the loads are slightly compressed as there is no powder shaking inside. My question is, can I seat these out a little further, have anyone else tried this combo?

Many thanks
 
COAL values in books are arbitrary and meant to work with *most* rifles in *most* situations. They aren't some magic number that is absolutely required to work.
So long as it fits in the magazine and feeds, seat to the cannalure. If there is no cannalure and you want to use a magazine, seat to the longest COAL that fits in the magazine, feeds, and chambers easily.
If you are developing a load from starting values, or just loading at starting values to keep things simple, there is zero risk to loading this way in any conventional rifle.
 
Forget about that COAL figure. It is completely meaningless.
Seat the bullets to the cannelure, but no need to crimp them.
 
COAL values in books are not arbitrary. They're SAAMI spec.
Max OAL with the bullet for the .303 Savage is 2.520". Max case length is 2.015". Trim-to is 2.010". Lyman manual with loads tested in a 99.
Max loads of IMR3031 are not compressed. And there's no 'about 29 grains'. There's no 'about' anything when reloading.
Forget the cannelure altogether.
 
The 303 savage is a favorite of mine. Over the years I tried several spitzer type bullets but never found any that were not too long for the action, so stuck with round nose styles. I did see this Hornady 160 FTX recently and believe they should work well, so am itching to try them. So please keep us posted.

If they work in the 3030 it is my guess that the cannelure is in the right place for the 303 too. Most of the rifles that I have owned had an extra 40 to 50 thou of room in the action and as much or more in the throat. I would load a dummy round to the cannelure and try it in the action and see if it chambers without hitch. If it goes through the action and chambers easily right to the rim you are good to go.

IMR3031 is a good powder for this cartridge and 15 years ago I might have started with the 29 grains. But I am noticing that the powder made lately is hotter, at least it seems that way to me (maybe I am just older). The receipe you are following is in my Lymans 45th Edition (circa 1970) so I would likely start a bit lower just to be safe, but expect that as you move up you will find that a 303 in good condition will load hotter than a 3030 if you need to. The Lymans 49 lists a 3030 150 Grain bullet starting at 26.5 and a 170 grain bullet starting at 25 grains of IMR3031.

I recently was able to buy a pound of the Leverevolution powder so when I can get some of the 160 FTX bullets want to try that. I expect it to work well based on the 3030 data I found.
 
Well it looks like in order to fit the rotary magazine, they need to be seated in past the cannelure. I suspect it has something to do with the pointy bullet shape of the FTX compared to the FN bullets used in the chambering in days gone by.
 
Which FTX are you using? There are pointy ones that look like they're for a 308 Win or 30-06 that are meant for the 308 Marlin Express and stubbier ones with the cannalure way up meant for the 30-30.
 
Well there you go, this thead taught me an important fact already. I go bullet buying with experience, yours.;)

Hornady sku 30395 for the 30-30 bullets.
 
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I accidentally bought a wrong box once; that's how I learned. Was trying to load for my dads 30-30 but got the 308 Marlin Express bullets by mistake. When I bought them they had a picture of the 30-30 bullet with the cannalure way up on the outside of both boxes. I have no idea if they still do or not.
I loaded the 308MX bullets in 308 Win using data for the same weight.
 
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