312 Savage: Starting Out
Hello and welcome back to another post on 311 cartridge.com.
Yes I’m finally back after 2 years. I apparently picked the worst possible time to start gathering data on reloads with the coof and then the primer and component shortage. I apologize for taking so long before putting out another article.
This is just going to be a short segment on reloading for what I call the 312 savage. Yes doesn’t it sound like a cool wildcat cartridge? It really isn’t though; I just like to make it sound good. The explanation is pretty simple. I have a penchant for collecting Arisaka rifles in weird calibers and one of them is chambered in 300 savage….but with the original barrel. For those of you who may not know, the Arisaka rifles were 30 caliber but instead of a .308 size bore like a typical 30 cal, it has a .312 size bore. 300 savage is supposed to use 308 size bullets so you can see the slight problem. So to solve the problem al that is required is to reload using 312 size bullets. Of course, there are some slight complications that are come along with loading 312s. The first problem is the sizing die and the crimp die are to small in the neck area. The second problem is that the case neck itself will not fit a .312 size of bullet.
Thankfully the solutions are relatively easy. The crimp die problem was solve by taking a 5/16 drill bit and reaming the inside of the die so a 312 bullet will fit through. The small cartridge neck is solved by flaring the neck just enough to for the bullet to fit and then running it through the seating die as normal. The sizing die problem will have to be something you figure out what works best for you. If you are only shooting one rifle you can neck size and not have to full length resize at least for a while. This is the option I will probably choose.
Now fortunately, the actual load data is easy. Just use the same data for 300 Savage. Using the Lee load manual, I picked a middle of the road load to start. The manual shows a starting load of 37 grains and 2187 fps and a max load of 40 grains at 2408 fps of H4895. I started my loads at 38.5 grains and here is the data that I collected.
Cartridge: Mixed brass, 150 grain Sierra soft point, CCI 200 Large Rifle Primer, 38.5 Grains H4895
Series 1 Shots: 10
Min 2455 Max 2549
Avg 2510 S-D 32.2
ES 94
Series Shot Speed
1 1 2492 ft/s
1 2 2455 ft/s
1 3 2468 ft/s
1 4 2525 ft/s
1 5 2493 ft/s
1 6 2549 ft/s
1 7 2536 ft/s
1 8 2525 ft/s
1 9 2545 ft/s
1 10 2520 ft/s
As you can see, 38.5 grains gave me an average 2510 fps which is about 100 fps faster than the max load is supposed to be getting. There were no pressure signs on the cartridges, primers were still rounded and not flattened. It was very interesting to see this velocity from a mid-range load, so I think I will continue to work up and see where I start getting pressure signs.
I did not try very hard for accuracy; at least that is the excuse I’m using, don’t question me. Trying to shoot irons at 100 yards through tall grass…the sun was in my eyes…the wind blew the wrong way…hmm what else? In all seriousness though I think I’m going to invest in a tripod to try and eliminate most of the shooter variables. I really am not an accurate shooter, so a lot of the inaccuracy is my fault.
All in all, I’m quite pleased with the results from this load. I honestly didn’t expect much trouble since I can work off established load data unlike some of the 7.7x58 loads I’m working on.
Anyway, thank you all for reading. I hope to have another write up posted to the site soon after this one, so be looking for that. Thank you all and I’ll see you all in the next one