Load recommendations for Savage 99 .300 Savage

[Hanzy4200]

Ive had this rifle about a year and tried a number of loads. Nothing is getting me much better than about 2"-3". Most of my loads have been with 4064. What have you guys found to shoot best? I have a pretty wide variety of projectiles. Multiple 150, 165, 180 gr. Varget, W748, 4064 are listed powders i have.

[FergusonTO35]

Both of my Savage Axis .308's shoot great with 37.2 grains IMR 4895 under a 180 grain spitzer, which is in fact a tried and true .300 Savage load. Mebbe your 99 would too? I assume you are talking about IMR 4064, which is a little bit slower burning than 4895 and is accurate in everything I've tried it in.

Every lever action I have, tube or mag fed, shoots best with starting loads or just a little bit above, so I would encourage you to try starting loads for all your powders and bullets and see what happens. A starting .300 Savage load is still .30-30 power level and should make anything go dead no problem

[K43]

My 300 Savage shot best with 150g Sierra Prohunters with max book load of Vihtavuori N140. Consistently less than an inch at 100 yards from the bench, but that was with a bolt action (Husqvarna M46 with a Shaw barrel).
N140 is very close to Varget, so perhaps Varget might get you that little extra over 4064.

[oscarflytyer]

40.0 gr of IMR-4895 with a 150 grn Speer/Sierra/Hornady bullet. ~2550 fps (not chrono'd).

Waters Pet Load from way back. My start/end/go to load.

[NSB]

I have two, a model 99f and a model 99. Both made within a year of each other in the mid 1950’s. Best loads are Sierra Spitzer 150g with 41.0g of Varget, and 39.5g of IMR4895. Groups of 1.25” at 100 yards. For a lever gun, that’s not too shabby. I’m now working of a load for Barnes 130g. Hoping I can find one for all copper.

[FergusonTO35]

One more thing: if you want to try a different powder, I recommend Hodgdon 335. I am very impressed with the groups I am getting in my Marlin .30-30's with it. 28 grains and a 170 grain Hornady slug does a little more than an inch without even trying very hard. Once again, this load is not much above starting. It meters really well too and is about $10.00 less than other rifle powders, at least around here.

[kaiser]

For some reason, my 99EG .300 Savage prefers "boat tail" bullets to "flat base" in 150 or 165 gr. My most accurate load is with RL12, but AA2520 is a very close 2nd. My 99 is not scoped, or "drilled", but wears a Redfield aperture sight.

[FergusonTO35]

You know, I'm thinking there is a niche for the .300 Savage in a modern rifle with state of the art loads. I think it would be a very useful low recoil load that uses larger bullets than the .243, which is what most people select if they have problems with recoil. In a common sporter weight hunting rifle with plastic stock, the .308, 7mm-08, and even some 6.5 Creedmoor loads still have a fair amount of kick. And of course, hunting game larger than deer with a .243 is not such a good idea or even legal in most places. I see no reason why a .300 Savage with a quality 180 grain bullet wouldn't be suitable for elk, moose, and black bear at reasonable ranges. And of course, it would be a more certain deer killer than the .243. My .300 Savage level loads in my Axis .308's are a ton of fun and I know they would be effective on game as far as I would dare to shoot, under 200 yards.

[Hanzy4200]

You seem to be correct. I tried several loads guys recommended, all in the 40-42.5 gr range of 4064 and varget. Tried one at .38 gr, 165 gr game king. It just grouped at under a inch. I think my gun just doesn't like higher pressure loads. Thank you.