.300 savage questions.

[Thekid]

So I have been thinking about making this my next project. I have a savage 99 in .300 savage and want to start loading for it. Well here is the plan.... I want to use the lee 312-160-TL boolit, I have a bunch that I have powder coated, gas checked, and sized to .309. My alloy is 50% range scrap 50% Linotype. Now for the questions, could this be pushed to jacketed velocity? What would be a good powder? I have a ton of h335, some reloader7, some imr 4198, and some blc(2). But wouldn't mind trying another powder. I know I could shoot lower velocity, or shoot some jacketed but this seems like a fun project. Thanks!

[hodg0610]

Haven't tried cast boolits in my 99. It has never been a great shooter. I suspect the bore is oversize, which calls for CBs. I have tried them in my 722 in 300 Sav with OK results. Using the Lee 150 grain with 30ish grains of IMR 3031. Still a long way to go working up loads for it. Keep us posted on what you come up with. I know I'm interested.

[Texas by God]

You won't know till you try but I'd hang around 2000 fps with IMR 4198. Check your results and work up from there but I'm not sure you'll gain more than flatter trajectory. Best, Thomas.

[dragon813gt]

Not w/ that bullet. It's not designed for that velocity and accuracy will disappear quickly. It's also a cast bullet. You don't need jacketed velocities.

[wv109323]

I don't know that I can help but I have nearly the same project. My father gave me his Savage 99 in .300 Savage. Today I took it to the range with some cast reloads. I have the RCBS 180 FN bullet. With my alloy , a gas check and lube the bullet weights 198-200 gns. I used 28.0 gns of WW748. They were sized .309".
A 3 shot group was 13/16" at 50 yards. These were lubed and not powder coated. There was no leading after 20 rounds were fired. I used a 4X scope but the trigger is pretty bad for benchresting.
I would start with the BLC(2) and start with a load around 2000 FPS. Keep us informed with your progress.

[runfiverun]

you won't know till you try.

but i'll go with no, but maybe over 2,000 fps.
well,,,,,,,,,,, jacketed velocity will be easy.
hitting anything smaller than the proverbial barn at that speed will be the hard part.

[Thekid]

Thanks for all the input! I also have the lee 309-170 flat point and the 312-185 round nose molds that I can work with as well. When I get around to getting my dies (probably when hunting season is over and I start loading a lot more again)I'll start working on it. 2k fps sounds like what I'll be working for.