.308 or .30-06 to .300 Savage

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DeadEye9

DeadEye9

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not sure if I should post this in reloading or Rifle Country but I think since this has to do with Brass here is the right place.
Basically what I'm looking for is anyone who has successfully trimmed down .30-06 or .308 brass to use for loading .300 Savage cartridges. I'm a huge lever gun fan and my favorite overall is an odd one for many, the Savage 99. I love them in both .250 and .300 Savage, but mostly shoot the .300. I like it so much I bring it out basically every other range day. It's got to have over 10k rounds through it and over 60 years old but still shoots like a champ. I have a Weaver K-1 as well as factory iron sights on it and with those I shoot solid 1.25 MOA groups with my 150 FMJBT handloads. The problem I'm having though is that I just don't have enough brass so I'm constantly reloading the same cases and I know they will wear out and get lost eventually. I have thousands upon thousands of loaded rounds plus thousands of cases for just about every caliber I shoot regularly except for .300 Savage of which I might have 250 total cases, live ammo and all. I can get Hornady 150 SST or Remington soft points for about $30/20 rounds local to me, but neither of these loads are very accurate from my 99, so it's a steep price to pay for rounds I don't even like just to get brass. I've also been unable to find just brass for it either, so I've started thinking about other options. Since the .30-06 is the parent case for both the .308 and .300 Sav, I figured I could trim either down into .300 brass and have it work just fine. Problem is I don't know how to go about doing this properly/efficiently. I've been reloading well over a decade now and gunsmithing almost as long, but I've never created a case from a different caliber case yet. This may seem simple to some but I just haven't ever had the need to. Does anyone have any good methods for trimming/making .300 Savage brass or alternatively know where I can acquire some easily for a halfway decent price? I don't mind only having a few hundred rounds of the .250 Sav because I don't shoot it often, but my .300 is a go to range and hunting rifle so I really need to feed this old guy! All help appreciated!
 
DeadEye9 said:
not sure if I should post this in reloading or Rifle Country but I think since this has to do with Brass here is the right place.
Basically what I'm looking for is anyone who has successfully trimmed down .30-06 or .308 brass to use for loading .300 Savage cartridges. I'm a huge lever gun fan and my favorite overall is an odd one for many, the Savage 99. I love them in both .250 and .300 Savage, but mostly shoot the .300. I like it so much I bring it out basically every other range day. It's got to have over 10k rounds through it and over 60 years old but still shoots like a champ. I have a Weaver K-1 as well as factory iron sights on it and with those I shoot solid 1.25 MOA groups with my 150 FMJBT handloads. The problem I'm having though is that I just don't have enough brass so I'm constantly reloading the same cases and I know they will wear out and get lost eventually. I have thousands upon thousands of loaded rounds plus thousands of cases for just about every caliber I shoot regularly except for .300 Savage of which I might have 250 total cases, live ammo and all. I can get Hornady 150 SST or Remington soft points for about $30/20 rounds local to me, but neither of these loads are very accurate from my 99, so it's a steep price to pay for rounds I don't even like just to get brass. I've also been unable to find just brass for it either, so I've started thinking about other options. Since the .30-06 is the parent case for both the .308 and .300 Sav, I figured I could trim either down into .300 brass and have it work just fine. Problem is I don't know how to go about doing this properly/efficiently. I've been reloading well over a decade now and gunsmithing almost as long, but I've never created a case from a different caliber case yet. This may seem simple to some but I just haven't ever had the need to. Does anyone have any good methods for trimming/making .300 Savage brass or alternatively know where I can acquire some easily for a halfway decent price? I don't mind only having a few hundred rounds of the .250 Sav because I don't shoot it often, but my .300 is a go to range and hunting rifle so I really need to feed this old guy! All help appreciated!
Click to expand...
That's one way to do it, have you checked diamond k for brass?
https://www.diamondkbrass.com/.250-SAVAGE-25.html
The .300 is out of stock but it might be worth checking periodically......
 
That 300 SAV brass shows up in the swap and sell reloading here on this site fairly regularly. Also there are some lots on gunbroker. I like the correct headstamp on my brass so I seek it out. Last I checked Graff and Sons and Natchez Shooters Supplies had new brass available for reasonable cost but it is available seasonally.
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I have not checked the swap section here or Diamond Ks so I will look into both of those options. I like the idea of having the correct head stamp as well, Especially since I'm quite sure a .300 Sav fits in a .308 chamber, however I have a plan for this. Since I don't shoot a ton of it anyway, I figured I would use only .308 stamp brass for repurposing and then load my 7.62 brass for my actual .308/7.62x51 loads. This or I will choose to use .30-06 instead of .308 since I shoot even less of that than anything else and it's so long that I really can't mistake a typical .30-06 for a .300 Sav after sizing. Ideally though I would like to just get some brass at a decent price, so i will definitely check the resources mentioned. I actually just did my first internet "sale" with a couple of old SD9VE mags and it seems to be going smoothly so I'm all for finding someone else to deal with on the forum if I can. This may mean I need to finally break down and setup a PayPal, though. Thanks again all!
 
243winxb said:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/554401/rcbs-trim-die-300-savage Looks like it may do 308 brass. See Reviews by 5 customers.

The brass neck may need to be inside reamed or outside neck turned. A loaded rounds neck diameter of a 300 Savage cant be larger than .339"

I have not done it.
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About the brass neck needing to be .339 or under, where is that information from? Not saying your wrong, I'm just curious because my rifle handles case necks larger than that regularly with no issues. Factory brass from Hornady is all I have on hand for new unfired .300 Sav at the moment, and their case never fired is already .335. My reloads run .345 generally after they've been fired formed and shot a few times and this has never caused any feed malfunctions or accuracy issues in my particular 99.
 
DeadEye9 said:
Thanks for all the input guys. I have not checked the swap section here or Diamond Ks so I will look into both of those options. I like the idea of having the correct head stamp as well, Especially since I'm quite sure a .300 Sav fits in a .308 chamber, however I have a plan for this. Since I don't shoot a ton of it anyway, I figured I would use only .308 stamp brass for repurposing and then load my 7.62 brass for my actual .308/7.62x51 loads. This or I will choose to use .30-06 instead of .308 since I shoot even less of that than anything else and it's so long that I really can't mistake a typical .30-06 for a .300 Sav after sizing. Ideally though I would like to just get some brass at a decent price, so i will definitely check the resources mentioned. I actually just did my first internet "sale" with a couple of old SD9VE mags and it seems to be going smoothly so I'm all for finding someone else to deal with on the forum if I can. This may mean I need to finally break down and setup a PayPal, though. Thanks again all!
Click to expand...
My local smith has a box or random bags of brass i poke thru when im in his shop (which isnt often, hes on the other side of the island), and ive seen 300savage in there, grabed one for my Fils t99. I need to stop in next week so ill see if hes still got any.
 
"...successfully trimmed down..." There's more involved than just trimming the length. Shoulder angle is different, as is the shoulder diameter.
"...sure a .300 Sav fits in a .308 chamber..." Yep, but you're not trying to form .308 and a .30-06 is way too long.
$38.99 per 50 for Hornady .300 Savage at Midway.
 
Sunray said:
"...successfully trimmed down..." There's more involved than just trimming the length. Shoulder angle is different, as is the shoulder diameter.
"...sure a .300 Sav fits in a .308 chamber..." Yep, but you're not trying to form .308 and a .30-06 is way too long.
$38.99 per 50 for Hornady .300 Savage at Midway.
Click to expand...
Sunray said:
"...successfully trimmed down..." There's more involved than just trimming the length. Shoulder angle is different, as is the shoulder diameter.
"...sure a .300 Sav fits in a .308 chamber..." Yep, but you're not trying to form .308 and a .30-06 is way too long.
$38.99 per 50 for Hornady .300 Savage at Midway.
Click to expand...
I might as well buy Hornady loaded ammo at that price though. HORNADY 150 SST is only $23 a box at Cabellas, so for another $12 I could have 50 loaded cartridges vs new brass. I'm also not a fan of buying new brass anyway because the whole reason i reload is to shoot more volume for the same dollar spent. I also was mainly looking for a way to self sustain with this rifle as .308 and even .30-06 brass is plentiful. The practice of forming .300 savage brass from other cartridges is not new, many do it on a regular basis and those are the people I was really looking to chime in. Most people shoot a few boxes from their 99 a few times a year maybe, so $38-40 for 50 cases isn't bad in that instance. I shoot a couple hundred rounds in my 99 weekly, so I need something that is volume friendly.
 
Also, apparently many people with looser chambered rifles, which mine seems to be as .345" Neck cycles fine when .300 Sav recommended is .339", it really is as simple as just resizing and trimming. The neck doesn't need to be pushed back hardly any from what I'm gathering with other sources. So .308 to .300 Savage is not some ultra intricate process; were not talking a 1000yd match load here, just 150gr FMJ target fodder. I Believe I will just learn the old fashion way and try it!
 
Take a look at GunBroker. There are 10 boxes of 300 Savage Remingtion brass for sale at a price of $114. That's 200 rounds for $114 which is 57 cents per case.. The brass has been fired then re-sized, trimmed and polished.
 
If you are going to form them then 308 in some form is the way to go. The 300 SAV is a couple ten thousands shorter and has a shorter shoulder that is shorter and about 30* instead of 20* that is on the 308 family. Setting side by side they are easily identified from one another. If you think you will have problems take an old piece of rigid plastic and make a length gauge for the 300 SAV the 308 will be too long. If you use the 30-06 brass I think you would have to turn or ream the necks as they would be much thicker. Just my two cents.:scrutiny:
ETA There was a guy on gun broker that was from Vermont that would sell once fired 300 SAV brass every month or so. I bought a pile from him and all were as advertised.
 
Thanks for the info guys! Just checked out the Gunbroker auctions and indeed found a fair price for what looks to be good .300 brass. I've never used Gunbroker before but I'm going to give it a shot I think. As for the resizing, just out of curiousity I took both a fired .30-06 and a .308 and full length sized them both in a .300 Savage die. They both came out with a shoulder perfectly resembling a .300 Savage case, although I bet it was a lot more strain on the .30-06 case because there is ALOT of neck now lol. Regardless, I should have just tried this in the first place & answered my own question because it seems I can simply take a .308 case, lube it, full length size it in a .300 die, trim to spec/debur and be good to go. I'm going to try maybe 30-50 cases like that and work up a few loads to test them, but they appear legit. In the mean time though I'm still going to check out the brass on Gunbroker because that old UMC/RP brass I already know is good and have plenty of load Data for them as well. Thanks again all for the help!
 
Also I wanted to mention that I reminded myself of another identifiable factor if I use .308 trimmed to .300, the bullet I load in 300 Savage is the 150 FMJBT from Hornady. This is the only 150 FMJ I load, so seeing that specific bullet would also clue me in that it's a box of my homemade .300 Sav and not .308. So that plus my using .308 stamped brass for forming Savage and 7.62x51 brass for actual 308/762 loads I should be safe with enough checks in place.
 
DeadEye9 said:
Also, apparently many people with looser chambered rifles, which mine seems to be as .345" Neck cycles fine when .300 Sav recommended is .339", it really is as simple as just resizing and trimming. The neck doesn't need to be pushed back hardly any from what I'm gathering with other sources. So .308 to .300 Savage is not some ultra intricate process; were not talking a 1000yd match load here, just 150gr FMJ target fodder. I Believe I will just learn the old fashion way and try it!
Click to expand...
So true, A caveat for reforming Savage 99 brass is just that. The Mdl.99 is known to have varying chamber dimensions. It is not unusual for the dies to not full length size properly. As stated the Mdl 99 is a hunting rifle. You will not find one on the line a Camp Perry.:D
 
Dog Soldier said:
You did not read my first post. I prefer buying new brass to reworking the .308.
Click to expand...

You lost me. I was referring to the OP who started the thread. Brass is available at two of the big online component stores, no reason to bother with forming from other rounds.
 
Read this string:
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=547651

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No problemmo.... :thumbup:
 
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