300 savage

[olduser]

Needed: 300 savage small base sizing die. Anybody have one they would sell?

[georgehwbush]

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.c...th-shellholder

[olduser]

Sorry, but already have standard die set (actually two, RCBS and Lee) but need a small base sizing die.

[Jim Watson]

Never heard of a small base .300 Savage die. RCBS or Redding might make one on $pecial order. RCBS used to provide a die to suit cases you sent in that had been fired in your rifle.

A kluge that MIGHT work is to prep your cases in a small base .308 die, then the regular .300 die to size body, neck, and shoulder.

[44 AMP]

Just out of curiosity, what makes you think you need one??

What problem are you having?, what are you using? (rifle, dies, components, load??)

[olduser]

300 Savage ammunition is sky high. New brass is just plane scarce. 300 Savage can be formed by sizing 308 Winchester in a 300 die and then trimming to length. It works most of the time. When I size 20 308 cases about 25% will not chamber. Another 25% will chamber but with extra effort when closing the lever on my Model 99. The remaining 50% will chamber properly. If I load the 25% which chambers with effort they will stick after firing. A gentle tap by a cleaning rod down the bore will free them. These loads are beginning values from published manuals, nowhere maximum.
I believe 308 cases are made a little bit more stout than normal 300 Savage cases. Some are pliable and will size properly, but the rest will apparently spring back to varying degrees.
I think a small base die would take them down enough so they will all chamber properly.
Internet search indicates that small base dies have been available in the past, but I believe nobody is producing them now. RCBS does not list it now and Lee never produced any. Lyman does not list them.

[ligonierbill]

Buffalo Arms has Federal 150 ammo in stock. Pretty good ammo, and you get the brass.

[44 AMP]

There is a bunch of NEW .300 Savage brass out there, or "new, old stock" on the internet, its just priced more than you want to pay. (more than I would pay, as well...)

What .308 brass are you using?? Winchester is most likely the thinnest and softest. If you using GI surplus stuff, (fired from machine guns) forget it...Technically possible, practically impossible...

Yes, .308 brass is thicker, especially the case web and head. The .300 Savage is a 46,000 psi round the .308 is higher pressure, 52, or 55k psi or higher depending on the measurement system used and how it is converted to psi.

For those cases you convert that chamber with effort, try this, size them in the 300 die, leave them in the die for a few minutes, then remove them, rotate them 90 or 180 and size them again, also giving the brass some time to "adjust", not a guaranteed cure but in some cases it helps.

Do expect to pay an arm and a leg if you get a small base .300 Savage die made. You'd be lucky to find one for $100 and I think double that, or more is likely.

Local shop orders like 20 boxes of .300 Savage ammo, and as soon as the word gets out they have them, they're gone in a day or less.

Good Luck.

[olduser]

$98.00 shipped to my house! Might as well say $5.00 per round.
I can get new 308 Winchester brass delivered to my house for $0.80 apiece.

[44 AMP]

I can get new 308 Winchester brass delivered to my house for $0.80 apiece.

Ok, but if they aren't working, are you saving money??

I was on the phone with a friend earlier today, discussing this, and he did some searches and found brass for about $2 each. I'll ask him tomorrow where that was...

[ligonierbill]

There are 3 or 4 sellers on GB, but most are more like $2.50 apiece. It's sad and unfortunate that a fine and recently (maybe not so recently - getting old) popular round is unavailable commercially. But that's the market. I grew up in Pennsylvania, and the Savage 99 in 300 Sav was very popular. Still see many in the field. But they're typically not shot much. A box of ammo every 5 or 10 years means a seasonal run by a couple ammo makers. We handloaders can keep it going, but brass is dear. The good news is mid-range powders do well (I'm using some Reloder 15.5 now), and there are tons of 308 bullets available. Primers? Well...bad for any round.

[44 AMP]

It's sad and unfortunate that a fine and recently (maybe not so recently - getting old) popular round is unavailable commercially.

It is not "commercially unavailable". Its out there, still available. True, its not at the top of the popularity list, nor is it sold for what we paid 40 years ago, (what is???) but you can get it, so its not "unavailable".

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by olduser

Needed: 300 savage small base sizing die. Anybody have one they would sell?

Take a shell holder and machine 10 thousandths off it.

[tangolima]

Originally Posted by reynolds357

Take a shell holder and machine 10 thousandths off it.

So that the die can be lowered further? But the op didn't say the die had bottomed out on the shell holder.

-TL

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[44 AMP]

Interesting tidbit, looking at the case drawing & dimensions in my Hornady book, the case head diameter for the .308 Win is .470", and for the .300 Savage is .471"

Might be interesting to know the actual inside dimensions of the die being used.

If we consider the specs to be the maximum allowable, would a .300 Savage die actually be sizing the head portion of a .308 case at all?

Also considering most ammo is made to smaller than max specs it makes me wonder....

[olduser]

OK, progress. My problem is the distance from the shoulder datum point to the case head. It is not because of the diameter of the case at the base. I got my hands on a Wilson 300 Savage case gauge. MY chamber is apparently on the tight side. New factory 300 Savage ammo when inserted into the gauge the case head is just slightly lower than the minimum surface of the gauge. For a sized case to chamber properly in my rifle the case head needs to be exactly even with the minimum gauge surface or like the factory ammo just slightly lower. Any higher than that and the lever will not close properly.
Got a new shell holder coming and will try taking some off the top to allow the case to enter the die a little more.

[tangolima]

Very often when sizing a brass, there is gap between the bottom of the die and the shell holder top, due to flexing of the press under load. You can still lower the die further.

I usually would grind the die a bit shorter if I really bottom out, as the coax press doesn't have a normal shell holder. It rarely happens though.

-TL

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[olduser]

I have been sizing with no gap between the die and the shell holder. In other words there is no more adjustment in my set up. Taking some material off the shell holder is my only option.

[tangolima]

No gap when setting the die up (no brass) or during sizing (with brass)? If it is the former, you may still be able to go down as much as 0.01".

-TL

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[olduser]

When sizing. I run the case into the die until it makes contact with the shell holder.

[tangolima]

Right that would require shaving some metal off from somewhere, unless you want to try putting shim under the brass head. People use feeler gauge. That would buy you 0.005" or so.

-TL

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[44 AMP]

Shellholders are much cheaper than dies, if you need to modify something, that the place to start.

Another difference I found in the drawing in my Hornady book, is the rim thickness. .300 Savage is .049" and .308 is .054". Interestingly the .30-06 has a .049" rim thickness, too...

I don't know if that .005" difference (max) is making any difference in your resizing efforts, or how well your rifle's extractor grips the cases, but it might, so its something to check out.

Unless the die makers says otherwise, the correct way to set a full length sizer die is press ram fully extended, all play out of the linkage and the die screwed down hard against the shell holder. No gap between them.

When sizing a case, if you press flexes and leaves a visible gap between the die bottom and the shell holder, you should look for a better press.

[tangolima]

All presses flex under load. The difference is how much.

-TL

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[44 AMP]

"O" frames generally do better than "C" frame presses, and, in my experience, turret presses flex the most.

[tangolima]

Quite right. I used to have a turret press, and I shimmed the back end of it to limit the flex.

The height of a press is about 8". 0.01" of flex is about 0.1%. Quite normal.

-TL

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