cart SHOPPING CART You have 0 items
SELECT CURRENCY

Discussion Forums

1
Search forums
Forum Index > Rifles general discussion > Reloadilng for the 300 Savage

Reloadilng for the 300 Savage

26 Mar 2014
@ 01:28 pm (GMT)

Ed Dickerson

About 10 years ago I bought my third Model 99 Savage EG and first one in the 300 Savage caliber. I have taken many deer and wild hogs with it using commercial ammunition. Six years ago I purchased a new in-box Remington 700 Classic in the 300 Savage. It too has take deer and hogs. I recently decided to reload to see if I could improve accuracy and velocity to increase my effective range for hunting. My longest kill was laser ranged at 252 yards on a 200+ pound hog with commercial ammo. Using the Hornady manual and Hornady SST 150 grain bullets designed for the 300 Savage specifically I worked with IMR 4064 at Hornady's suggestion for the best powder. I started at 40.0 grains with their recommended maximum of 44.0 grains of 4064 producing 2800 fps. I have reached the following loads: 99EG @ 42.5 grains of powder for velocity of 2750, 0.812MOA, ES=16, SD=11. For the Rem 700; 43.6 grains of powder, average velocity=2820fps, accuracy=0.529 MOA, ES=14, SD=8. I put a Shilen trigger in the 700 Rem set at 2.5 pounds, with a Zeiss scope. I am not seeing excessive pressure signs in either rifle, but the 99 stretches the case about 10 thousandths more than the 700 so I reload only brass fired in each gun for that gun. Feeding, extraction, and ejection are smooth in both rifles. Resizing dies are set not to set the sharp shoulder back more that 0.002. I use a Master Chrony-Beta for velocity testing and ES and SD data. Does anyone have any suggestions or "red flags" for this data.

Replies

1
26 Mar 2014
@ 02:25 pm (GMT)

John Smith

Re: Reloadilng for the 300 Savage
Before I gave my Savage 99 in 300 Savage to my son, I reloaded 150 grain Hornady bullets with 44 grains of 4064. I was completely satisfied
with the accuracy of this round. It proved itself on a bull elk in Oregon.
26 Mar 2014
@ 04:04 pm (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Re: Reloadilng for the 300 Savage
Hi Ed, I don't see any problem with that. I suggested average velocities for the Savage in the Savage text because I was not greatly interested in pushing velocities in older rifles. 4064 is a very safe powder to work with so you won't run into any sudden severe pressure spikes with temperature changes etc.

As long as you are monitoring the cases as you are- no worries.

The 150gr SST bullet will be fine for deer and wild pig. You may however find that this bullet is at its limit on heavily shielded boar. The 165gr SST bullet is better in this regard. I suggest you run with your current load and observe its performance on local game, then decide if a heavier bullet is needed.

When I initially researched the 150gr Interlock bullets, I was at the time engaged in ongoing communication with Hornady. I would test bullets, then get on the phone and chat about it all with the ballisticians. They had put a great deal of attention into the BTSP bullet in an attempt to optimize its performance so that it could be used at magnum velocities and on a wide range of game body weights. I found the BTSP bullet to be extremely good at that time but it did have its limits. The Ballisticians felt the same and were happy to come forwards and give me similar examples from their own experiences. As time and technology progressed, new bullet designs emerged. Its hard to believe that there were rely only a handful of 150gr .308 bullets on the market 15 years ago. This was a time when 150gr bullets generally produced wider wounding than their 180gr counterparts. If you could get a 150gr bullet into the vitals, it was often the way to go.

I have seen folk take Sambar with this bullet and it has also been used on Elk in NZ. But it is not overly reliable if heavy shoulder bones are encountered. The same goes for Thar and I had a friend spend a great deal of time repeat testing this for me. Impact velocity and shot placement do have a pronounced effect on results. The newer (I almost said new) SST bullet has a slightly stouter jacket. Penetration is slightly better and full fragmentation on major bone is less common providing the bullet is matched to game weights. Nevertheless, this bullet also has its limits.
26 Mar 2014
@ 08:10 pm (GMT)

Ed Dickerson

Re: Reloadilng for the 300 Savage
Thank you John and Nathan for you comments and information. This is the best forum I have ever joined.

I have reloaded for many years without any serious problems. I was hesitant "to reload the 300 Savage for an older rifle as I had read that it was somewhat difficult because of the short neck and sharp shoulders with a danger of pushing the shoulders back to far and developing excessive head space. However, after many "dummy loads" and measurements as well as cycling these dummy loads in both the 99 and the 700 I felt safe to start reloading for the 300. I will continue to work on the loads until I have reached the best velocity for the tightest groups. The accuracy groups listed in my first post were on a gusty, windy day with wind 15 to 20 and gust to 30mph, with temperature at 74 degrees F.

Nathan, I inspect each case after firing on the range and again when I get with a magnifying glass. Until I settle on an accurate, safe load I will probably continue to do this.

John, while I lived in Wyoming I occasionally guided friends from other states that drew a Wyoming elk license. The second largest bull I was ever associated with harvesting was taken with a M 99 EG 300 Savage using 180 grain Rem Core Lokt bullets at a little under 100 yards. He scored 378 two days after being killed.


11 Oct 2015
@ 02:49 am (GMT)

Randy Bannor

Re: Reloadilng for the 300 Savage
We are having issues, with such a long jump to the lands . We get great accuracy dime size groups with 150 gr hornady Inter lock bull it's and 44gr of Imr 4064. The 300 Savage model 99 e, We held back about 100 thousands off lands and it shot great. Now we had to shorten col to mag feed. Our group was awful . Any suggestion?
11 Oct 2015
@ 02:49 am (GMT)

Randy Bannor

Re: Reloadilng for the 300 Savage
We are having issues, with such a long jump to the lands . We get great accuracy dime size groups with 150 gr hornady Inter lock bull it's and 44gr of Imr 4064. The 300 Savage model 99 e, We held back about 100 thousands off lands and it shot great. Now we had to shorten col to mag feed. Our group was awful . Any suggestion?
11 Oct 2015
@ 05:38 am (GMT)

Thomas Kitchen

Re: Reloadilng for the 300 Savage
hi randy.
just having a read up on this thread what an interesting bit about the 150 interlocks anyway.

two things springs to mind
1 did you change powder charge when you changed seating depths? your barrel harmonics will change so you'll need to workout your coal then do your load development from there.

2 what dies are you using? if your concentricity isn't good a bigger jump may cause problems

1
 

ABOUT US

We are a small, family run business, based out of Taranaki, New Zealand, who specialize in cartridge research and testing, and rifle accurizing.

store