Savage Reloading Equipment

Reloader762 · Apr 16, 2023

Seem that Savage Arms back around the 60s sold their own line of reloading equipment, which was all made by outside vendors, I was in my single digits age wise when it all went by the wayside so it's been around 50+ years since any of this was mfg.

My brother found this old Savage reloading equipment at a local flea market yesterday. Not pictured in the box of all the stuff he got is a new bench top RCBS case trimmer with all the pilots, a set of the black Lee dippers and a three die set of Savage 45 ACP dies. I'm getting the 38/357 magnum dies, and the lead bullet swaging kit and die sets, the entire lot was $50. Going to need a little TLC but I enjoy bringing old gear back to life.

Speculation is that the equipment was made by several mfg. and the dies possibly being made by C & H as they look very similar, the bullet swaging kit may be adaptable to another press of similar design from that era or can be modified to work with another press. All the papers came with all the equipment as well.

kmk1012 · Apr 16, 2023

Wow, I learn something new every day. Very interesting that a firearm co sold reloading equipment as these days they discourage reloads in their firearms. Thank you for sharing.

bcp · Apr 16, 2023

Did you get a Savage press?

Savage Straight 8 Model 730 Press (Not Complete) - Scribner Auction Ltd.

www.bidscribnernet.com

Bruce

Reloader762 · Apr 16, 2023

bcp said:
Did you get a Savage press?

Savage Straight 8 Model 730 Press (Not Complete) - Scribner Auction Ltd.

Savage Straight 8 Model 730 Press (Not Complete) - Scribner Auction Ltd.

www.bidscribnernet.com

Bruce

I wish, but the vendor didn't have one of those for sale, they come up on auction or for sale once in a blue moon but they are pretty rare but I'll keep my eyes open for one. I know of a few people online that own one of those presses so I may end up selling the bullet swaging kit to them if they are interested, but the dies I'll keep as they work in any press.

gmerkt · Apr 16, 2023

I've been doing this stuff for a while now and have never seen Savage reloading gear.

The two knurled rings on the upper end of the die bodies look like the style used on a couple of CH designs. Which varied a bit over the years. If they are chrome plated, that's another sign that yours might be made by CH.

CH offered a big line of bullet swaging equipment, their hefty Swag-O-Matic press comes to mind. You bought CH or Speer copper cups and some lead wire and made your own. It's a labor intensive project that not many people do these days. Maybe people who might have been inclined to do this gravitated to cast bullets and gas checks as that method became more widely offered by the mainstream reloading equipment firms.

Westfield, Mass. Now that most things are made in China or lower wage American venues, we forget that lots of "gun stuff" used to come from the Connecticut River Valley area.

Reloader762 · Apr 16, 2023

@gmerkt, started reloading in the early 80s, never seen or knew about Savage reloading equipment till yesterday, even at that there isn't much information concerning the equipment.

gmerkt · Apr 17, 2023

There are actually people who collect "vintage" reloading gear. It's not unusual for them to find stuff in odd, incomplete lots. So they wind up with thises and thats for which matching parts may never get found. At one time in the past, the offerings of commercially-made bullets were way, way less than they are today. All the major, stand-alone companies that make bullets today have been set up since WW2. If you wanted to buy bullets for reloading, they typically came in little boxes from Remington and Winchester. There were some small companies doing it, like R.B. Sisk and Western Tool and Copper Works, but nothing like Speer, Hornady, Sierra, et al. So swaging your own pistol bullets that you couldn't buy was not unknown in days gone by. As well as casting.

aasbra · Apr 17, 2023

I acquired a set of Savage dies recently in a lot of reloading items. First time I had seen them; found it kind of interesting.

TNoldtimer · Nov 1, 2023

aasbra said:
I acquired a set of Savage dies recently in a lot of reloading items. First time I had seen them; found it kind of interesting.

View attachment 1406225 View attachment 1406227 View attachment 1406226

If you still have this set, would you consider selling them?

TNoldtimer · Nov 1, 2023

Reloader762 said:
Seem that Savage Arms back around the 60s sold their own line of reloading equipment, which was all made by outside vendors, I was in my single digits age wise when it all went by the wayside so it's been around 50+ years since any of this was mfg.

My brother found this old Savage reloading equipment at a local flea market yesterday. Not pictured in the box of all the stuff he got is a new bench top RCBS case trimmer with all the pilots, a set of the black Lee dippers and a three die set of Savage 45 ACP dies. I'm getting the 38/357 magnum dies, and the lead bullet swaging kit and die sets, the entire lot was $50. Going to need a little TLC but I enjoy bringing old gear back to life.

Speculation is that the equipment was made by several mfg. and the dies possibly being made by C & H as they look very similar, the bullet swaging kit may be adaptable to another press of similar design from that era or can be modified to work with another press. All the papers came with all the equipment as well.

View attachment 1405131 View attachment 1405132 View attachment 1405135 View attachment 1405136 View attachment 1405137

I know this thread is a little old but, if you still have the 45 and 357 dies, would you be willing to sell them?