Success with the .303 Savage

bigmoose

bigmoose

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Yesterday was opening day of deer season (gun) in my neck of the woods. As I was hunting a small piece of hardwoods I decided to carry my Savage Model 99T in .303 Savage, instead of my usual Remington 700 Mountain in .280 Remington. I started a thread a few years back when I purchased the 99 so I won’t go into much detail on the rifle except to say it is quick to the shoulder and has factory “high speed” sights.

The buck was broadside at about 50 yards when I pulled the trigger. He reacted like he was hit with a MUCH bigger round, ran 50 yards and dropped dead. The 190 grain Winchester Silvertip went through both lungs and lodged deep in opposite shoulder.

So last night I did some reading on the .303 in Cartridges of the world, Savage brochures, and various sites online. I gather that it was highly regarded back in the day. Apparently Canadian hunters used it on bear and moose with great success due to the penetrating power of the 190 grain bullet. What say you, forum friends from the cold North? Any truth or family lore about that claim?

I have new respect for this cartridge and am thrilled that I was able to fill my freezer with the help of a 1930s Model 99 and a cartridge developed at the turn of the last century.

Please post your opinions and experience with the .303 Savage.
 

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The .303 was Savage answer to the .30-30 Winchester. The heavier bullet likely did make it more effective on heavier game. Have never owned a 99 but would love to find one w/ the cartridge counter feature chambered in some decent hunting round. Till then, I'll just have to get along w/ my Waffle Top Marlin 336 in .30-30 Win. Sincerely. bruce.
 
When I was in elementary school, our next door neighbor hunted deer and elk here in Colorado with a 99 in 303 Savage. He had a glass front gun cabinet I would always check out when I was at their house.

I was beginning to read a lot about hunting, rifles and cartridges and remember being unimpressed with the 303, having discovered Jack O’Conner and his love for the 270. No one in my family hunted or owned guns at the time ( circa 1955) so my point of reference was the sporting magazines. Contrary to my expectations, the neighbor continued to have success with that inferior rifle.

Fast forward to today, I know a LGS that has two used 99s in 303 Savage. I visit them every time I drop by that LGS.
 
I INHERITED a 99 SAVAGE in .303

My grandfather killed all of his deer with 99 SAVAGE in 303. My father killed his first Whitetail when he was 9yo with it. My dad inherited it and now I have it . Fabulous gun with massive knockdown power. A real collectors item. Have not bought ammo for it for years. What does it cost now? Is it hard to find?
 
That is one great rifle and a very nice load for deer hunting, that will fill the bill, nicely.

I remember a hunting camp where the hunters used 30 Rem. auto's as their go to brush weapon.

Lots of great "Old rounds" out there that worked for Grand Pa, that we don't even know about, let alone the old rifles that shot them.

I remember seeing the rifles but have no clue of what the names and calibers were, today. Bummer.
 
Claymore33 said:
Have not bought ammo for it for years. What does it cost now? Is it hard to find?
Click to expand...

I’ve been able to pick up a box now and then at small gun shows. Some gun shops may have them on the ‘random used gun stuff’ shelf also. Expect to pay $25 to $40 for a tattered box of 20. I live in upstate NY, home to Savage and Remington, so these types of rounds were popular around here.
 
I bought a model 1899 takedown in 303 Savage and considered it a wall hanger. I did put a Marble's tang sight on it. Then I found Midway and Grafs carried Prvi Partisan brass at $25/50.

The Hornady 160gr bullets for 30-30 and LeverEvolution powder give it a whole new life as a medium range deer gun.

I also load 62gr .223 soft points with a sabot over IMR 3031. I'm getting around 3700FPS with good accuracy on varmints (Feral dogs).
 
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Tex1001,
Holy crow, I bet that saboted round is quite a hoot. The tang sights work out very well on the Savages. Thanks for posting.
 
I am 2 for 2 in shooting deer with the 303 Savage. Mine works great.
I am envious of your T. I do not have that variation of 99 Savage. A T in 303 Savage is fairly rare. Congratulations. Old Arthur Savage was definitely ahead of his time.
 
brucev said:
The .303 was Savage answer to the .30-30 Winchester. The heavier bullet likely did make it more effective on heavier game. Have never owned a 99 but would love to find one w/ the cartridge counter feature chambered in some decent hunting round. Till then, I'll just have to get along w/ my Waffle Top Marlin 336 in .30-30 Win. Sincerely. bruce.
Click to expand...

And the .32 Winchester Special was Winchester's answer to the .303 Savage. Both, plus the .30-30 WCF are damn good deer cartridges.
 
The T in .303 is not just fairly rare! By the time the T came out, the .303 was pretty much done. I have a T in .250, and another in 30/30, and while the T in .22HP is extremely rare, the .303 is well beyond uncommon.
 
Brings back memories. I hunted with some locals in northern Saskatchewan in the mid-70s who were the proverbial one-gun men. They used the .303 Savage to good effect on everything including moose except "fool hens" and rabbits, which they head shot.

Regarding ammo: the smaller of the two hardware stores in my home town got out of the gun business during the late 60s. Ten years later the only vestige of that line was 3 boxes of Peters .303 Savage ammo next to the cash register.

Late one Saturday afternoon I was in the Watch Commander's office when an elderly lady toddled in and said she had brought us some "explosives" for disposal. There was a coffee can on the floorboard of her car, tightly wrapped with pink fiberglass insulation secured with electrical tape. The WC and I slowly cut away the tape and lifted the lid to reveal more pink fiberglass insulation, wrapped around 2 boxes of Savage brand .303 Savage ammo. I'll bet she prayed all the way to the station.
 
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It was touted as more effective than the 30-30. I’d say the 20 extra grains on the bullet weight would have given it a slight edge, but probably hard to really see much difference in actual use.
 
diyj98 said:
It was touted as more effective than the 30-30. I’d say the 20 extra grains on the bullet weight would have given it a slight edge, but probably hard to really see much difference in actual use.
Click to expand...

When you load the 30-30 with a 170gr bullet you generate equal or better velocity as with the same bullet in the 303 Savage.
 
Gunbroker has 303 Savage ammo available from the ridiculous to the sublime.(5 X 20 round boxes = 100 rounds for $3.00 each)...

That would probably last one into the next century!

Great post & pics!

Cheers!
 
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