Converting new manufactured .308 for my Remington model 81 in .300 Savage.

[Rob'sModel81]

Hello All. I have lurked on THR for years, but have just registered. I have a Remington Model 81 that I bought the day the family place sold. My Grandfather had a model 8 in 30 Remington, but it left the family a couple of years prior to the place selling; hence my drive to "replace" it. My 81 has been refinished and drilled for a scope by some prior owner. It shoots well, and looks nice. I say all of this to indicate that I am quite attached to it, and it is in good condition, but it is not a collector or true family heirloom. I don't want to hurt it, but I am not overly worried about a little wear and tear. Still, I am not open to any "just buy another rifle" approaches.

I know from this site and others that I can convert .308 brass to .300 savage. Much reading has informed me of the basics of this. What I want to do is purchase new manufactured .308, especially the high velocity 125 grain options that I see, pull the bullet with a proper tool, resize the case with dies that have been modified to leave the primer alone, remove the powder, reduce the powder charge by 10% (to start), add the remaining powder back to the case, reinsert and crimp the bullet; and then call it a day.

I did a bit of weight lifting and manual labor in my youth and the remnants of that leave me comfortable applying force and leverage when needed. My budget/space efficient plan is to do the conversion with a Lee Hand Press kit, the dies, and a case trimmer. I don't want to set up a reloading room.

I am looking for feedback about anything else that I might need for this project, and the idea that using the 125 grain loadings would reduce any added stress on the action if I work the loads back up a bit by removing less powder after getting comfortable with results of the initial plan. I am not too worried about any residual case lube harming the primers. I have other guns to defend the place with, and would only use this for nostalgia and controlling the hog population on my new property that I bought to "replace" (not possible I know) the family land that slipped away.

Anyway, that is my introduction to everyone, and I am seeking any feedback that others might have regarding the mechanics of pursuing this particular plan. Hi.

 

[AJC1]

Hello All. I have lurked on THR for years, but have just registered. I have a Remington Model 81 that I bought the day the family place sold. My Grandfather had a model 8 in 30 Remington, but it left the family a couple of years prior to the place selling; hence my drive to "replace" it. My 81 has been refinished and drilled for a scope by some prior owner. It shoots well, and looks nice. I say all of this to indicate that I am quite attached to it, and it is in good condition, but it is not a collector or true family heirloom. I don't want to hurt it, but I am not overly worried about a little wear and tear. Still, I am not open to any "just buy another rifle" approaches.

I know from this site and others that I can convert .308 brass to .300 savage. Much reading has informed me of the basics of this. What I want to do is purchase new manufactured .308, especially the high velocity 125 grain options that I see, pull the bullet with a proper tool, resize the case with dies that have been modified to leave the primer alone, remove the powder, reduce the powder charge by 10% (to start), add the remaining powder back to the case, reinsert and crimp the bullet; and then call it a day.

I did a bit of weight lifting and manual labor in my youth and the remnants of that leave me comfortable applying force and leverage when needed. My budget/space efficient plan is to do the conversion with a Lee Hand Press kit, the dies, and a case trimmer. I don't want to set up a reloading room.

I am looking for feedback about anything else that I might need for this project, and the idea that using the 125 grain loadings would reduce any added stress on the action if I work the loads back up a bit by removing less powder after getting comfortable with results of the initial plan. I am not too worried about any residual case lube harming the primers. I have other guns to defend the place with, and would only use this for nostalgia and controlling the hog population on my new property that I bought to "replace" (not possible I know) the family land that slipped away.

Anyway, that is my introduction to everyone, and I am seeking any feedback that others might have regarding the mechanics of pursuing this particular plan. Hi.

Problem 1 is you have no idea what powder is used so you cannot effectively reduce it.
Problem 2 I would not try and case form with a hand press. I just moved and my old press is bolted to a board and clamped to a lifetime plastic table.... many others just use a stool under a nice shade tree outside. You don't need a fancy garage to build a race car, but you do need the right tools.
When converting or fire forming cases, I trim to Sammi maximum. They only get longer during resizing.
Problem 3, I anneal before sizing for big case changes. This makes sizing easier and fire forming more effective. I won't anneal a primed case.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Hello All. I have lurked on THR for years, but have just registered. I have a Remington Model 81 that I bought the day the family place sold. My Grandfather had a model 8 in 30 Remington, but it left the family a couple of years prior to the place selling; hence my drive to "replace" it. My 81 has been refinished and drilled for a scope by some prior owner. It shoots well, and looks nice. I say all of this to indicate that I am quite attached to it, and it is in good condition, but it is not a collector or true family heirloom. I don't want to hurt it, but I am not overly worried about a little wear and tear. Still, I am not open to any "just buy another rifle" approaches.

I know from this site and others that I can convert .308 brass to .300 savage. Much reading has informed me of the basics of this. What I want to do is purchase new manufactured .308, especially the high velocity 125 grain options that I see, pull the bullet with a proper tool, resize the case with dies that have been modified to leave the primer alone, remove the powder, reduce the powder charge by 10% (to start), add the remaining powder back to the case, reinsert and crimp the bullet; and then call it a day.

I did a bit of weight lifting and manual labor in my youth and the remnants of that leave me comfortable applying force and leverage when needed. My budget/space efficient plan is to do the conversion with a Lee Hand Press kit, the dies, and a case trimmer. I don't want to set up a reloading room.

I am looking for feedback about anything else that I might need for this project, and the idea that using the 125 grain loadings would reduce any added stress on the action if I work the loads back up a bit by removing less powder after getting comfortable with results of the initial plan. I am not too worried about any residual case lube harming the primers. I have other guns to defend the place with, and would only use this for nostalgia and controlling the hog population on my new property that I bought to "replace" (not possible I know) the family land that slipped away.

Anyway, that is my introduction to everyone, and I am seeking any feedback that others might have regarding the mechanics of pursuing this particular plan. Hi.

.300 Savage is still in production.

300 Savage Ammo Ammo | Sportsman's Warehouse

300 Savage Ammo Ammo

www.sportsmans.com

Are you sure it’s not easier and cheaper to buy loaded ammo and keep the brass?

 

[Sarge7402]

.300 Savage is still in production.

300 Savage Ammo Ammo | Sportsman's Warehouse

300 Savage Ammo Ammo

www.sportsmans.com

Are you sure it’s not easier and cheaper to buy loaded ammo and keep the brass?

I sold my 81 some years ago. Still have about 60 round of 300 savage.

Send me a PM and will ship it to you

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Yeah, how the heck did Arkansas not make the list?

I sold my 81 some years ago. Still have about 60 round of 300 savage.

Send me a PM and will ship it to you

And THIS is why THR is the best damn forum on the interwebnets.

Welcome aboard!

 

[FROGO207]

Yeah. I personally like to use correctly made and headstamped brass. You may have to turn necks that are too thick and the 300 Sav is a finicky brass to size due to its rounded radius neck as opposed to the standard tapered neck. I would not attempt to size change that brass without annealing it first as you will probably mangle it badly otherwise.

If you had no other choice, then do it but I would look for brass that is ready to go at this point. I watched GunBroker for a while and was able to source 400 brass from there in a year and a member here sold me 150 NOS brass about 2 years ago.

After you participate in the forum for a while they open up the swap and sell area for you to use. It is worth your time to interact with others here.

 

[Rob'sModel81]

Problem 1 is you have no idea what powder is used so you cannot effectively reduce it.
Problem 2 I would not try and case form with a hand press. I just moved and my old press is bolted to a board and clamped to a lifetime plastic table.... many others just use a stool under a nice shade tree outside. You don't need a fancy garage to build a race car, but you do need the right tools.
When converting or fire forming cases, I trim to Sammi maximum. They only get longer during resizing.
Problem 3, I anneal before sizing for big case changes. This makes sizing easier and fire forming more effective. I won't anneal a primed case.

Fair enough.

 

[Rob'sModel81]

.300 Savage is still in production.

300 Savage Ammo Ammo | Sportsman's Warehouse

300 Savage Ammo Ammo

www.sportsmans.com

Are you sure it’s not easier and cheaper to buy loaded ammo and keep the brass?

I think I would save quite a bit, and it has been hard to find the 300 Savage in stock. I also like velocity, and wanted the 125 grain option. It priced 200 round lots of .308 against the Savage I could find in stock, which led to this idea.

 

[Rob'sModel81]

I sold my 81 some years ago. Still have about 60 round of 300 savage.

Send me a PM and will ship it to you

Thanks. I'll do that as soon as I figure out how to P.M. on here. I would want to reciprocate of course.

 

[GooseGestapo]

removed by poster

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I think I would save quite a bit, and it has been hard to find the 300 Savage in stock. I also like velocity, and wanted the 125 grain option. It priced 200 round lots of .308 against the Savage I could find in stock, which led to this idea.

Ah, good points. I was thinking you would have the first load to shoot and the brass for reloading but the Winchester is pretty pricey.

 

[GRIZ22]

Hello All. I have lurked on THR for years, but have just registered. I have a Remington Model 81 that I bought the day the family place sold. My Grandfather had a model 8 in 30 Remington, but it left the family a couple of years prior to the place selling; hence my drive to "replace" it. My 81 has been refinished and drilled for a scope by some prior owner. It shoots well, and looks nice. I say all of this to indicate that I am quite attached to it, and it is in good condition, but it is not a collector or true family heirloom. I don't want to hurt it, but I am not overly worried about a little wear and tear. Still, I am not open to any "just buy another rifle" approaches.

I know from this site and others that I can convert .308 brass to .300 savage. Much reading has informed me of the basics of this. What I want to do is purchase new manufactured .308, especially the high velocity 125 grain options that I see, pull the bullet with a proper tool, resize the case with dies that have been modified to leave the primer alone, remove the powder, reduce the powder charge by 10% (to start), add the remaining powder back to the case, reinsert and crimp the bullet; and then call it a day.

I did a bit of weight lifting and manual labor in my youth and the remnants of that leave me comfortable applying force and leverage when needed. My budget/space efficient plan is to do the conversion with a Lee Hand Press kit, the dies, and a case trimmer. I don't want to set up a reloading room.

I am looking for feedback about anything else that I might need for this project, and the idea that using the 125 grain loadings would reduce any added stress on the action if I work the loads back up a bit by removing less powder after getting comfortable with results of the initial plan. I am not too worried about any residual case lube harming the primers. I have other guns to defend the place with, and would only use this for nostalgia and controlling the hog population on my new property that I bought to "replace" (not possible I know) the family land that slipped away.

Anyway, that is my introduction to everyone, and I am seeking any feedback that others might have regarding the mechanics of pursuing this particular plan. Hi.

I would think.buying 300 Savage brass and working up your own loads would be much easier and cheaper.

 

[Highland Lofts]

With the availability of 300 savage ammunition and what little use the gun will get I'd just buy two or three boxes of loaded ammo for $50 a box and call it good.
Then you could find someone local that would let you reload your empties at their place.
I have a few people who come over to make thier hunting ammo on my equipment.

 

[Rob'sModel81]

I sold my 81 some years ago. Still have about 60 round of 300 savage.

Send me a PM and will ship it to you

Thanks Again. I used the "start conversation" function, which seems like the pages approach to a P.M.

 

[Pottimus]

Welcome to the bidness of posting ideas...Thumbs up Sarge 7402.

 

[Random 8]

While feasible, your approach will likely be frustrating and potentially dangerous or damaging to your rifle.

I have reformed .308 into .300 Savage with mixed results. I got good results with a Rem 722 Bolt action. Poor results with an M99. Not sure how your M81 would perform. I think the strong rotating camming action of the 722 helped. I did have to modify a factory shell holder with some file strokes to get proper cam-over sizing and near minimum headspace (tight fit in chamber). You will need a higher leverage O or C frame press for this procedure, the hand press will not suffice. I was able to acquire proper .300 Sav brass prior to any further work with the M99, so discontinued the experiment and red tagged the modified shell holder to preclude accidental use on "standard" case heads.

As for your desire to lower impact on your M81, a higher velocity loading with a lighter bullet is the opposite approach. Your rifle was designed around the 150 grain factory loading, with 160, 170 and 180 grain options. A lighter, faster load will cause greater wear.

I would pursue standard and well proven loads with 150 grain spitzer style flat based bullets such as the Hornady spire point seated to cannelure and lightly crimped. IMR or H 4895, IMR 4064, or Win 748. You should be able to load these 10% below max and still reliably function your M81 based on my experience with a .35 Rem M81. Factory 150 grain ammo should also be a good option in your rifle.

 

[Highland Lofts]

This is why I buy proper headstamp brass even if I have to part with some extra cash.

 

[Rob'sModel81]

While feasible, your approach will likely be frustrating and potentially dangerous or damaging to your rifle.

I have reformed .308 into .300 Savage with mixed results. I got good results with a Rem 722 Bolt action. Poor results with an M99. Not sure how your M81 would perform. I think the strong rotating camming action of the 722 helped. I did have to modify a factory shell holder with some file strokes to get proper cam-over sizing and near minimum headspace (tight fit in chamber). You will need a higher leverage O or C frame press for this procedure, the hand press will not suffice. I was able to acquire proper .300 Sav brass prior to any further work with the M99, so discontinued the experiment and red tagged the modified shell holder to preclude accidental use on "standard" case heads.

As for your desire to lower impact on your M81, a higher velocity loading with a lighter bullet is the opposite approach. Your rifle was designed around the 150 grain factory loading, with 160, 170 and 180 grain options. A lighter, faster load will cause greater wear.

I would pursue standard and well proven loads with 150 grain spitzer style flat based bullets such as the Hornady spire point seated to cannelure and lightly crimped. IMR or H 4895, IMR 4064, or Win 748. You should be able to load these 10% below max and still reliably function your M81 based on my experience with a .35 Rem M81. Factory 150 grain ammo should also be a good option in your rifle.

Yea, that would be better if I need to cull a hog or three (150 grain).