Blast from the past--.300 Savage

[blixen]

I ducked into a big box Sporting goods store to check on powder (not much) and noticed a stack of factory .300 Sav. Cartridges. And a couple of sacks of brand-new brass! I thought I stepped into a time warp.

I have 3 .300 Sav. rifles and love the ol' .308 progenitor.

[Mk42gunner]

I hope you followed the big hint to stock up on brass at least. I can not remember the last time I saw .300 Savage brass as components, if I ever did.

Robert

[JWFilips]

You know it is kind of funny My 2 brothers hunted with 300 savage ( I was the only odd ball with a 35 Rem) when I was in my youth.
I almost forgot what they looked like until I recently sorted out a bunch of range brass to sell.... Then I remembered that strange little cartridge again!
Put a lot of meat on our family tables

[blixen]

I'm guessing they were there because everything else was selling out and no one ever heard of .300 Sav.

I made a commitment to some .308 military-converted-to-.300 Sav. brass recently. But I grabbed a sack of the commercial stuff just cause I could. Actually, this will be the first time I've used unfired cases for .300 Savage! Up to now it's been old range pickup.

i know military brass generates higher pressure because of thicker case walls, but it performs and functions about the same, right?

[Hardcast416taylor]

About 10 years back a friend of mine that hosted an outdoors program on a PBS station on the telly called me up to ask about a rifle he had. It had been given to him quite a few years before and he put it in his safe and forgot about it. He said it was a Savage 99 and in some odd ball caliber, a .300 Savage he said. He claimed he had never heard of such a caliber, now this guy is almost 70 now! I explained what it was and to bring the rifle over and we would fire some factory ammo I had thru it. After only 4 or 5 shots he took a liking to the little round and the rifle.Robert

[frnkeore]

There are a lot of Rem 722's out there in 300 Savage. It's a excellent caliber and is as close as you can come to the 308 Win.

In a 722 (not a Sav 99), you can reduce 308 loads by 1.0 gr and get the same velocity and as good or better accuracy as the 308 Win.

Frank

[blixen]

There are a lot of Rem 722's out there in 300 Savage. It's a excellent caliber and is as close as you can come to the 308 Win.

In a 722 (not a Sav 99), you can reduce 308 loads by 1.0 gr and get the same velocity and as good or better accuracy as the 308 Win.

Frank

Thanks, Frank. I own both a Sav. 99 and a Rem. 722, which explains my love of the .300 Savage—both are tack drivers. (Someday I'll find a Remington pump in .300 Savage.) Since, I shoot only boolits through them, I don't really push velocities much beyond 1,800 fps.

[blixen]

I forgot. I also have a Arisaka rechambered to fire.300 savage. Rechambered isn't quite right, someone in the '50s figured that if you cut off some of the breech end of a 7.7x58 chamber it was approximately the same as a .300 Sav. So it's a "7.7mm Savage" and needs .314 boolits to shoot well.

[dragon813gt]

It's not an obsolete cartridge yet. You can still buy new production ammo. In my area it's easier to find then 35 Remington. I own a bunch of 99s chambered for it. My Uncle owns a 99 and inherited my Grandfathers's 760 and a converted Arisaka. I love the round and w/out it we wouldn't have the 308 Winchester. People want the newest wiz bang round and over look most of the old great ones that do everything just as well.

[tdoyka]

i didn't have it but a friend got a 300 sav in m99 right after high school gradution, bought it from an old fella. we shot a bunch of shells thru that gun, they were around $10 for factory loads. he hunted with it and killed a couple of deer. this was like 25 years ago, and you are right, "the old great ones that do everything just as well. " this year i really wish the 30-40 krag does as well too.

[Dan Cash]

.....i know military brass generates higher pressure because of thicker case walls, but it performs and functions about the same, right?

I was experimenting with paper patched .300 Sav last winter using converted 7.62 brass. The max load in the converted brass was significantly lower though I would have to look up what it was. I would suggest starting 20% lower than the standard starting load for any non ball powder.

[Dan Cash]

.... " this year i really wish the 30-40 krag does as well too.

Never fear, the .30-40 is everything a .308 ever wanted to be and much better with heavy bullets.

[tdoyka]

Never fear, the .30-40 is everything a .308 ever wanted to be and much better with heavy bullets.

i'm shooting a 165gr(173gr actually) ranch dog thru my '98 springfield. the 300 sav would like that one too!!!

[blixen01]

I'm picking up a 165 grain ranch dog mold tomorrow. I hope it shoots as well as my Lee 175 .308 (sized to .310).

[CJR]

The 300 Savage was the forerunner and model for the 308Win. Handloaded, it will equal or surpass the 308W with some loadings. It is my "meat gun" in a Rem 760. I'm currently working on PP loads for my 760 rifle and enjoying every minute of range time.

Best regards,

CJR

[blixen]

Let us know how the paper patching goes. Picked up my second-hand ranch dog today. One cavity is gas checked and the other plain base.

[starmac]

Sportsmans warehouse is one of the very few places ammo is available here. They always have 300 savage ammo, but like every other caliber it dried up for a few months during the great government gun and ammo sales period. lol

[ChristopherO]

I met an older gentleman in Greybull, Wy that hunted deer and elk with a Remington 722 in 300 Savage. In my younger days I looked down my nose at that round as anemic compared to my vaulted 30/06. At least the reloading manuals of the day said so. Thing is, this gentleman's family ate very well with this rifle around.

[FergusonTO35]

Love the .250 and .300 Savage, great old rounds. Strangely, the Meijer's store near my apartment in Lexington in the mid-2000's always had a bunch of it.

[Larry Gibson]

'Nother nice thing about all those M99 .300 Savages for use with cast bullets.....they all have 12" twists

Larry Gibson