Forming .22 Savage Hi-Power brass

[condor bravo]

.25-35 cases are said to be the parent case for the .22 Savage Hi-Power cartridge, and using new Winchester .25-35 brass, Hi-Power cases are easily and successfully attained by simply necking down until a slightly snug chamber fit is achieved by forming a secondary shoulder on the still enlarged neck slightly above the case shoulder. First firing then forms the case to exact chamber dimensions. But like with about all factory Hi-Power brass and ammunition, the 103 year old split neck problem returns after just a few reloads--often as few as two or three (103 year old refers to the age of the cartridge, as I recall, up to the present 2015). There are references to using .30-30 brass for forming to the Savage. This would require setting the .30-30 shoulder back some and probably requiring inside neck reaming and then trimming, considerably more work but possibly ending up with a more solid and longer lasting case. Does anyone have any experience with or knowledge of using .30-30 cases for converting to the Savage? Any problems that wouldn't make using .30-30 cases worth while?

Rifle used is a Mdl 99 Savage lever action with near full loads of standard powders and the Hornady 70 grain .227 jacketed bullet, along with max loads of Trail Boss powder and a 60 grain gas checked cast bullet sized to .228. This latter bullet is available from Montana Bullet Works and accuracy with both bullets is superb. The max Trail Boss loading will not stabilize the slightly longer Hornady jacketed bullet.

 

[big al hunter]

To form cases out of 30-30 you might need a set of forming dies to incrementally form the cases. RCBS will make a set for you, custom order. I also suspect trimming and inside neck reaming will likely be needed.

Have you tried annealing the cases you have to prevent premature neck splitting? It softens the brass and makes it more workable.

 

[condor bravo]

No I haven't done any case annealing that would probably benefit. This neck splitting is so common that some report only one or two reloads before encountering the split necks. One web source reported that he jumped directly to sizing the .30-30 cases with the .22 Savage dies but of course ruined a lot of cases. I would at least use a .25-35 sizer as an intermediate die and that should work fairly well. Was hoping to avoid neck reaming, although I have the reamer, but that will depend on neck clearance. Trimming probably cannot be avoided. It's so easy just to convert the .25-35 cases but they hardly last. These Savage Hi-Powers are such a pain with the brass and everyone who has one reports the same problems. Thanks for the reply; was about to give up hope on any. Doesn't seem to be much information out on the web for converting and successfully using the .30-30 cases.