Reforming 300 Savage from 30-06 ... no idea it would be so involved

I forgot how involved it is to resize 30-06 brass into 300 Savage. One displaces those memories that would otherwise make you do something else.

1) full length resize the 30-06
2) anneal the case necks
3) cut down the necks just in front of the shoulder
4) remove burs
5) lube and first pass with the sizing die
repeat 5 at least 4 more times
6) use 30-06 full length sizing die with expander to open up the case mouths
7) trim brass with cutoff wheel
8) final trim with Lee trimmer
9) deburr and chamfer
10) Turn the necks

Obviously, these need to be done in batches. I did 10 at a time for each step and it took me over an hour. That was including a couple of test cases that I ruined. (once fired range brass is perfect for this)

But in the end, they look outstanding and feed flawlessly in my 50's era Savage 99.

My goal to have 100 of these might be more ambitious than first thought. ;)

Why not buy them? Time is money!

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Originally Posted by Eric in NC

Why not buy them? Time is money!

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Agreed! You should be able to find both new and used brass at reasonable prices. Even in these crazy times!

I managed to pick up a few boxes from MidwayUSA and I have also formed 35 on my own. The ones I formed will be for cast bullets, as I know a recipe for 4064 and 2400 that works with them.

The new ones will be loaded up with Speer grandslam 150gr softpoints. I've used those in other slower calibers and had excellent luck.

I need to post pics at some point. The process was fun, even though a bit slow.

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I need to post pics at some point.

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Looking forward to it!

I do this all the time for my .250 Savage cases as well as my .260 Ackley cases, which is even more time consuming. I really love Lake city match brass so I use the .30-06 as it seems to be a touch easier to get my hands on and it allows me to leave the necks on the ackley cases a little long so that when I fire form they come out with about .002" clearance of my chamber. Really helps cut down on the throat erosion.

or just buy a form die and hack off the excess.

Why not start with 308 cases? Probably would not have to anneal or turn the necks when done. The body size of the 300 Savage is nearly identical to the 308. The 300 Savage was the case the military started with when they designed the 308. The only difference is shoulder angle 30 degree vs 20 degree for the full auto 308, then neck length? Full length size and trim should do it. My research shows 300 Savage brass much less available and inexplicably more expensive.

.300 Savage has a shorter neck, shorter body and more body taper than the .308Win.

I found a nice tiny tube cutter that works really slick and cleaner than the cutoff wheel.

I am off to test out some cases tomorrow.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...from_30-06.jpg

1) Original 30-06 Remington case
2) Heat treated/annealed case, full length resized, de-capped, and small-base sized with an RCBS die
3) Trimmed with Dremel cut off wheel
4) first stage in neck sizing
5) Final stage of neck sizing
6) I used a magic marker and trimmed to an intermediate length, then cleaned up the neck with a 308 pin
7) After final trimming, case is neck turned, chamfered/deburred, and polished with a fine Scotch pad with Flitz
8) After fire forming, full length sized, trimmed, and polished ... its all set for an actual load!!!

I do these in batches of 20-25 and now have 100+ for shooting lead bullets. A very easy day at the range with open sights and I don't cry if I lose a case to the brass-rats of the range.

My 99 is not tapped for a scope, so I enjoy shooting it as it is with the Lyman tang sight. (although I switch to Marbles)

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Originally Posted by FancyFred

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...from_30-06.jpg

1) Original 30-06 Remington case
2) Heat treated/annealed case, full length resized, de-capped, and small-base sized with an RCBS die
3) Trimmed with Dremel cut off wheel
4) first stage in neck sizing
5) Final stage of neck sizing
6) I used a magic marker and trimmed to an intermediate length, then cleaned up the neck with a 308 pin
7) After final trimming, case is neck turned, chamfered/deburred, and polished with a fine Scotch pad with Flitz
8) After fire forming, full length sized, trimmed, and polished ... its all set for an actual load!!!

I do these in batches of 20-25 and now have 100+ for shooting lead bullets. A very easy day at the range with open sights and I don't cry if I lose a case to the brass-rats of the range.

My 99 is not tapped for a scope, so I enjoy shooting it as it is with the Lyman tang sight. (although I switch to Marbles)

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Kick the 'brass rats' where it would do em the most good.

For trimming, I have one of the RCBS models that had the hand crank. I was making some .357 Herrett from .30-30's and cranking got old REAL quick. I removed the factory screw/handle and got the correct one in hex head at Lowe's (it's metric thread). Now I run it with a drill. I can take off .040 in a few seconds with no effort and it leaves a nice clean and squared off surface.

I use the Lee lock stud and cutter in a cordless drill. I tend to do the final trimming in two stages and get brass that is within 0.001 of the goal. I am so use the RCBS neck trimmer right afterwards and avoid changing the holder.

After the first 30, I had it down to a science.

Not planning on doing this much more, but it's nice to have an extra hundred or so for plinking and sighting in.

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Originally Posted by JCalhoun

.300 Savage has a shorter neck, shorter body and more body taper than the .308Win.

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Trim, then bump the shoulder and full-length resize in the 300Savage FL die. Set the shoulder bump for a crush fit and fire-form. Some brass brands may need a neck turn.

I'm in the early stages of building a 300Savage on a Stevens 200 using a barrel with 1:13.5" twist, will be reforming some 308Win, but even at the local price of $55 per 50 here in Australia, I'm buying x100 genuine Hornady 300Savage cases.
Cheers...
Con

The .300 Savage is a great cartridge for the Stevens 200 build. I did one with a 20" barrel and it's an awesome hunting rifle.

Neck turning is almost a requirement when starting with 30-06 brass, I have found.

The only 308win brass I have access to is LC military stuff and that is hardly any easier to work with. A tad bit less stress on the necks, but, it still needs to be turned down.

I've actually had pretty good luck so far. After 120 cases, only 6 were destroyed in the process.

Not planning to do much more, maybe another batch of 20 or 25, and then this experiment is done with. I am keeping the Hornady 300SAV brass for loading with Speer 150 flat base bullets... VERY accurate and expand nicely. The reformed stuff is for cast lead/gas-checked bullets. They appear to group nicely at 100yds at about the same POA as the Speer.

Need to dig out my chronograph and see just how both of these loads are doing velocity wise. As far as accuracy, 1.5" group out of my 99 with the Lyman peep sight at 50 yards and about the same with my Weaver K-3 scope'd 99. I just got the scope sighted in again after fighting with stripped screw for the rings.

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Originally Posted by JCalhoun

The .300 Savage is a great cartridge for the Stevens 200 build. I did one with a 20" barrel and it's an awesome hunting rifle.

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So a friend keeps telling me! He's been hunting with Savage99s for quite awhile, and just finished building a 300 Savage on a Rem Model 600.

My build will use a heavy barrel cut at 20"-22" ... the fast twist I'm hoping will love the 110gr Varmageddon pill for varmints, with a 130gr TSX slipped in for any larger game.

Either way, I've been making brass from 308Win as I have a large pile, plus the shoulder bump is fairly minor, the trimming is relatively easy ... whilst the turning with be a pain in the backside. Given that brass thins when expanded, another option I'll be exploring is opening once fired 243Win brass, if the neck thins out, it may not require the neck turning.
Cheers...
Con

308 is easier to format into 300SAV than 30-06 but not any stronger, or so I have been told.

I did measure the volume of a Remington factory case vs one of my reformed and a military 30-06 case I formed.

Military cases have 7% less volume vs 3% for the Remington. I also had to neck turn a lot more material from the military case. Not fun. :mad:

Con,

Does he have the Remington Mohawk? That would be sweet in a .300 Savage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Con

I'm in the early stages of building a 300Savage on a Stevens 200 using a barrel with 1:13.5" twist, will be reforming some 308Win, but even at the local price of $55 per 50 here in Australia, I'm buying x100 genuine Hornady 300Savage cases.
Cheers...
Con

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I am curious how this build goes for you. Did you shorten and then recut the chamber of the original barrel? Did you start with a 308 or other?

The 300 Savage is a really wonderful round and under rated by many shooters. It tends to be better with slightly lighter weights (under 160gr) but is still a very solid round under 200yds.

My 30-30 has since been retired.

Extremely well laid out, thanks ! I personally love converting brass, it's my quality time for myself !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FancyFred

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...from_30-06.jpg

1) Original 30-06 Remington case
2) Heat treated/annealed case, full length resized, de-capped, and small-base sized with an RCBS die
3) Trimmed with Dremel cut off wheel
4) first stage in neck sizing
5) Final stage of neck sizing
6) I used a magic marker and trimmed to an intermediate length, then cleaned up the neck with a 308 pin
7) After final trimming, case is neck turned, chamfered/deburred, and polished with a fine Scotch pad with Flitz
8) After fire forming, full length sized, trimmed, and polished ... its all set for an actual load!!!

I do these in batches of 20-25 and now have 100+ for shooting lead bullets. A very easy day at the range with open sights and I don't cry if I lose a case to the brass-rats of the range.

My 99 is not tapped for a scope, so I enjoy shooting it as it is with the Lyman tang sight. (although I switch to Marbles)

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