Reduced loads for Savage ML10-2

[Midohhntr]

Ok I’m a cheapskate, I brought my Savage out of storage this past few weeks and shot a nice doe with it first day of our ml season. Yes I have a bit of BH 209 left but I’ll probably sit on it, saving it for my inline Traditions ml. The deer I shot was with a book load of 42g of 4759 but seriously that much power is not needed, not where I hunt anyway. The 250g Hornaday boolit literally blew up inside her. I’m looking for loads in the 1500 fps range with hardcast boolits in 280-330 range. Powders available are RL7, V120, H4198, and 4759 but when that’s gone it’s gone. I forgot how much fun this thing is to shoot, and cheap...

[Screwbolts]

I have recommended 28 gr of 4759 to many friends for a reduced load in smokeless guns. 28 grains in my guns gives me 1500 fps and is deadly on game using a hardcast WFN or LFN projectile.

[Midohhntr]

I got a chance to do some testing this past week but got some mixed results. I tried 30g of 4759 and the Lee 452-255 rfn sized to .452 in a MMP hph -12 sabot, the tighter one, and this load didn't even hit the 16"x32" cardboard even at 50 yds...velocity was where I want to be around 1440 fps, but who knows where the boolit was impacting..next up was 40g RL7 and Harvester's hard cast 330g boolit and MMP hph-24 sabot. Around 1500fps but accuracy was so-so, 4"-6" at 100yds.
Next day I tried 40g RL7 again only this time I used the Lee 255g boolit unsized and with the hph-24 sabot shot at 50 yds. This gave the best so far with a 1 1/2" spread. Didn't have the chronograph out this time but I figure around 1600 fps. All boolits except the Harvesters were PC'd. Stay tuned I'm not giving up yet..

[NSB]

I got a chance to do some testing this past week but got some mixed results. I tried 30g of 4759 and the Lee 452-255 rfn sized to .452 in a MMP hph -12 sabot, the tighter one, and this load didn't even hit the 16"x32" cardboard even at 50 yds...velocity was where I want to be around 1440 fps, but who knows where the boolit was impacting..next up was 40g RL7 and Harvester's hard cast 330g boolit and MMP hph-24 sabot. Around 1500fps but accuracy was so-so, 4"-6" at 100yds.
Next day I tried 40g RL7 again only this time I used the Lee 255g boolit unsized and with the hph-24 sabot shot at 50 yds. This gave the best so far with a 1 1/2" spread. Didn't have the chronograph out this time but I figure around 1600 fps. All boolits except the Harvesters were PC'd. Stay tuned I'm not giving up yet..

If you don’t know where the bullet is impacting at 50 yards, try it at 25 yards with a bigger sheet of cardboard and just use a marker to put a dot on the cardboard. I owned a Savage ML2 for about fifteen years and tried about everything you can think of in it. If you want less recoil they make sabots for smaller bullets you can try. You can also try some 300g XTP bullets in the gun. They won’t “blow up”.