I finally found & bought the rifle I've been obsessing on for the last 50 years. It is a Savage 99 in .250-3000 that had been in a gun safe for 25+ years & had only 3 boxes of ammo through it (as the story goes)! From the looks & condition of the rifle that story holds true - it looks like it just came out of the factory packing box! The collector's value would be off the charts except the owner had it drilled & tapped for a scope & the steel butt plate was removed & a Pachmayr pad install. Both modifications look professionally done by a gunsmith. The modifications didn't bother a bit as I need a scope these days & I intend to hunt with the little rifle. You see, I shot my first deer with a 99 in .250 Savage when I was 12 years old sitting in a tree with my dad. My brother had done the same with that old 99 also. Unfortunately, early on, the rifle was stolen but it's memory has remained in my head unforgotten.
I remember the ammo I hunted with was Winchester 100 gr Silvertips in a yellow box with a big red "X" on it. The rifle had a Redfield receiver peep sight & I guess it was as accurate as you could hold that bead. The 100 gr bullet was considered the best weight for deer being the heaviest you could buy at the time.
I finally got a scope mounted on my new rifle & off to the range. I had some factory Hornady 100 gr ammo & some 100 gr reloads (H322 at minimum book starting charge). To my disappointment, the rifle shot patterns instead of groups. I thought the scope was bad or the mount was loose, so I check everything & mounted a different scope that was known to be good. The results were the same.
According to the serial number, the rifle was manufactured in 1949 or 1950. I've read that the rifling twist changed in the early Savage 99's so perhaps a lighter bullet might help. Perhaps my rifle has the "varmint" twist(?) So the dilemma is what lighter bullet should I try that is worthy of deer hunting? I have tuned many bolt guns but the two-piece 99 stock doesn't point to much tuning.
Any comments or suggestions to help my lil' .250 shoot a 2" group instead of a 5" pattern would be most appreciated!
TIA..