A Problem with Lee .303 Savage Die & need help

[Sly Old Fox]

I bought a set of Lee .303 Savage dies a few years ago because I could find no other make available here in Canada.

While I don't have a Savage .303 S rifle, I have a friend that does and he is not a reloader. The friend only uses the rifle for his deer hunt, at short range, never shoots it otherwise.

Here is my problem. I have taken once fired .30-30 brass, lubed it and gradually taken the neck down in the Lee sizing die with the decapper. After this, I have turned the case length down to .303 S specs.

I am aware that the swelling of the .30-30 case after firing in a .303 S chamber and would not bother to try and reload them a second time.

Here is my problem. I have a .30-30 case stuck in the die and the Lee decapping rod and button is NOT like a standard die that will permit a RCBS Stuck Case set fix the problem.

Should I be turning the collet nut on top clockwise or counterclockwise to get it out?

Thanks.

 

[tiriaq]

Lee solution is to loosen the rod holding collet, and drive the stuck case out.

Incidentally, as you are aware, the .30-30 case will expand in front of the solid head to fit the .303 chamber. While many folks have made .303 ammunition using .30-30 cases, and have not reported problems, IF the case were to fail in front of the solid head, there would be a release of high pressure gas. Does your friend understand this? There is a liability issue if you are loading non-standard ammunition for someone else. Might be better from the liability standpint if he were to load his own ammuntion, with your help.

 

[commonman]

Hey SOF, I am pretty sure CCW loosens the collet. I have my gear in storage right now so can't find out for sure but you can tell from looking at the exposed threads of the nut.

 

[tiriaq]

RH thread. Righty tighty, lefty loosie.

 

[Sly Old Fox]

.30-30 case necked to chamber in a .303 Sav

I will give a try to loosen the collet.

Yes, I am well aware of liability that you mention!

However, do you know that CIL > Dominion > Imperial were a few years ago using their own .30-30 brass, necking the cases as I am doing, boxing
the ammo labelled as .303 SAV? When my friend about 10 years ago showed me the ammo, I said WTH! But, they were catering to those who were still trying to keep these 99s going. My friend's rifle is a late model 99, not tang safety but in excellent condition.

I gave him 30 rounds with .308 flat nose bullets with a very modest load of Ball-C. I am just back from a shoot with a bunch of the local good-old-boys getting "sighted in" (I am using this term in the broadest sense. The friend fired 5 rounds and he knows that the cases are now scrap and he was very happy with the shells.

One man who I know, who used to use a Win 94 in .30-30 has found the $$$ to buy a Remington rifle in 7 mm Rem Mag, big Bushnell scope, attached bipod was trying the rifle for the first time! Target was on a tree that I paced out to about 75 yards, slightly down hill, standing but with the rifle bipod on top of an unsteady plywood topped very shaky chest high and could not get a shot onto a 2' X 2' pizza box with a target taped to it! He was using Federal at $30 for 20 for this sightin fiasco but said he would be using the Remingtons at $60 for 20.

The man with the 7 mm RM asked if I would try a shot. I set up a target at about 30 yards, after shortening the bipod legs, using my own sand bag at the rear to steady the but and we had it within 1.5" +- at this distance - and he was content.

So gentlemen, I will try and and report back on my stuck case.

And I do have a hoard of about 40 .303 Sav brass of mixed make which I will use for my friend when I get stuck case out of the Lee die.

In the area where I was today, a person who reloads is about as common as a 2 headed chicken.

Lee solution is to loosen the rod holding collet, and drive the stuck case out.

Incidentally, as you are aware, the .30-30 case will expand in front of the solid head to fit the .303 chamber. While many folks have made .303 ammunition using .30-30 cases, and have not reported problems, IF the case were to fail in front of the solid head, there would be a release of high pressure gas. Does your friend understand this? There is a liability issue if you are loading non-standard ammunition for someone else. Might be better from the liability standpint if he were to load his own ammuntion, with your help.

 

[Sly Old Fox]

Eureka! The Stuck Case is OUT!

Hey SOF, I am pretty sure CCW loosens the collet. I have my gear in storage right now so can't find out for sure but you can tell from looking at the exposed threads of the nut.

Problem solved, yes, just a matter of holding the die firm enough with a 1/2" hex head socket and unscrewing. Indeed, I have had more trouble getting a stuck case out of a standard die with the RCBS stuck case remover.

As the expert mechanics have always said, it is important to know that one hard blow with a heavier hammer will do the job whereas many easier blows my create damage.

This being my first experience with a Lee die, I remember having a problem to get the collet tight enough, when first used, to ensure that the decapping rod did not slip in the collet and so really tightened it!

To all of you, a great big thanks and my friend can shoot all he wants using once fired .30-30 cases for a one time .303 S shot. When hunting, even reloaders at times don't bother to chase down all cases.

And this afternoon, I must have picked up some 20 7 mm. Rem Mag cases being discarded.

This experience today demonstrates what a great information source that we have here, thanks to GT and the Mods. I am certain that we will have a young newbie signing in to CGN as he was using a 1918 badly bubbaed L-E and he saw my infamous multi bubbaed 1913 BSA this afternoon.

 

[tiriaq]

The IVI ammunition was packed in .303 Savage boxes, but was headstamped .30-30? Or the headstamp was .303 and the use of .30-30 material was confirmed by measurement?
Very interesting!
Here is another thought - pick up range brass is an unknown. IF cases were fired in a rifle with excess headspace, there could be incipient separations. One of these converted to .303 could be bad news.
Might be an idea to start with new, unfired brass for the conversion.

 

[Why not?]

........However, do you know that CIL > Dominion > Imperial were a few years ago using their own .30-30 brass, necking the cases as I am doing, boxing
the ammo labelled as .303 SAV? When my friend about 10 years ago showed me the ammo, I said WTH! But, they were catering to those who were still trying to keep these 99s going.......

The Dominion 303 Savage brass I have seen was definitely not 30-30 brass. It had a considerably larger head diameter.

Doug, on here, sold a whack of it to CGN members a few years ago. He might still have a few cases he could measure.

Ted

 

[Sly Old Fox]

The IVI ammunition was packed in .303 Savage boxes, but was headstamped .30-30? Or the headstamp was .303 and the use of .30-30 material was confirmed by measurement?
Very interesting!
Here is another thought - pick up range brass is an unknown. IF cases were fired in a rifle with excess headspace, there could be incipient separations. One of these converted to .303 could be bad news.
Might be an idea to start with new, unfired brass for the conversion.

New .30-30 brass for the conversion. I must agree.

What I have not mentioned is that my .30-30 brass was from a new Winchester 94, then full length resized and fired once or twice in a Savage 340 bolt rifle. It was not just picked up haphazardly from an unknown rifle.

More clarrification. The head stamp was .30-30 and of course the same shell holder will take .30-30 and .303 S. In checking last night after I got the stuck case out, I found that the .303S shell holder is a closer fit and it was a SH for .30-30 that also contributed to the stuck case. But the diameter of the case itself forward of the rim on the .30-30 case is considerably less when miked, I forget how much but once reformed to chamber in the 99 and fired, certainly shows the bulge. And as I said earlier, these cases while perhaps fired 2-4 times as .30-30, will only have one load as pseudo .303S before being scrapped!

And it was an old .303S case that got stuck.

So, my friend with the 99 in ,303S is happy. I may when time permits, load up a few gas checked .309 hard cast for him to try, aiming for about 1,900 FPS, if I have a powder suitable.