I have a 1914 vintage 1899 Savage takedown in .303, with a rather poor bore. I was thinking about having it re-bored to .38-55, so my first step is see if the .38-55 feeds through the mag. The round hangs up about half way in the mag. OAL is 2.53 so it's not to long. An empty case fits right in. It seems to hang up at the bullet, but I measured the width of the magazine in that area and it's about .404". Any ideas?? Or should I just forget about it??!!
Would it require a different cartridge guide and/carrier assy.??
I know 99's in .38-55 are rare, if I can make it work I can always get another .303.
Last edited by Big Al1; 10-04-2015 at 03:34 PM.
Well I just answered my own question!! I measured the .303 case just in front of the rim and it's .020 larger than the .38-55, so the chamber area would not clean up to accept the smaller case, you can't add metal so a re-bore won't work. My other option would be a reline to .32 Spec., 'cause that feeds ok, but that's not a lot different than the .303, performance wise.
- In case your wondering, I already have another .303 barrel, other wise I'd do a re-line.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks