300 sav help

[speedrackin99]

need some help , just started reloading .... have had a friend reload for me before i ventured out on my own .... was using a 150 gr spire point with 42 grains 4064.... worked good could get quarter groups at 100 ....decided to switch too sst150gr. Cant seem to get any thing near the spire point .....have tried powder  weights from 41.5 to 44 grain ..the lower volumes were better than the higher........i did change the length ... spires were running at a length of 269 ...reloading manual says 260. last night i loaded a dumby load just stuck the bullet in the case put it in gun and closed the action the bullet slid in to case removed and reseated .10 less for clearance ........ i will try this today with 41.5 and 42 grains ... am i on the right track. getting frustrated ....this is just a hunting rifle 760 . ive had great success with reloading for my h&r single shot and ruger #1.   Im just trying to get a little more performance out of the 300 sav...maybe im askin for to much ?

[Larry L]

The probabilities are high it's not going to shoot any boat tail style bullet. The original 300 Savage came out with a 1:12" twist and there are some out there 1:14". The longer boat tails just won't properly stabilize in that twist rate range. Some of the newer chamberings though are a 1:10" which allows more variation in bullet selection. The SST is a long slender missile and you're probably going to need to back up to a flat based bullet. The Remington Core Lok has always worked well as a hunting bullet and most of them think they are a match grade bullet, accuracy wise.

[speedrackin99]

Thanks larry ....i was at least on the right path i was researching and comparing old and new reload manuals ....this morning and noticed the rifle test data new hornady book shows 1n 10 twist out of a sav 110 old books show 1n 12 twist out of a sav 99 ... mine is a 760 from the 50's so im sure it is a 1n12 or like u say 1n14 ...after finding this out  my thought was to slow it down alot ? because of the rate of twist in the older gun . i was shooting factory corelots and have had a freind reload he was using either a hornady spitz type or a sierra ..... do u have any experience with 130 spire type in this caliber i have read they work well ...... thanks a bunch for sharing ur knowledge..

[Larry L]

One of the 300 Savages I load for is a Savage 99. It has an old Weaver 4 power scope on it and is in decent condition. I'm loading the Sierra 125gr #2120 bullet. It sits on top of IMR 4320 powder but I have had good groups from IMR 4064 as well. With bullet velocity at about 2700'ps, the old gun will shoot 1" groups all day long. Might give that a try. I doubt slowing it down is going to effect stability any. You might play with the OAL in 10 thousandths increments but I doubt you'll find a sweet spot- the bullet is just too long.


Just a hint. Obviously I don't know your experience in reloading but on the old guns, I start and load 80% of max load listed. Then I dial in accuracy with OAL. Works on the old guns. Since I'm old too, I'm not a player for most of the new and improved cartridges that don't do a darn thing the old ones aren't already doing. But some sound intriguing, like the 30 TC but frankly, it's just a 300 Savage in disguise.


I think the old Savage round is grossly overlooked these days. I'd love to find a Remington Classic in one with the 1:10" twist. I'd be hard on the coyotes with the 125 gr TNT Speers. Considering the round is just behind the 308 but much less recoil, great accuracy, what's not to like. But I guess since the word "magnum" isn't in the name it will stay in obscurity. Best of luck with your project.

[speedrackin99]

larry . just gettin into reloading after all these yrs .... The 760 has killed deer for my dad myself and my son . It is a whiteail thumper. with 150 Corlot style bullets, I shoot a .243 and a 7mm08 with this style bullet and just thought same type mightt make the 300 more accurate . Experience is a great thing i appreciate ur knowledge !!!!!

 what i did do is make a dumby load {no primer no powder) i slid a bullet slightly in the case and inserted in chamber slid the bolt closed the bullet slid down the case neck i could just see the line in the chamber then i measured and backed off 10 thousands . was going to shoot to groups today ......the longer bullet thing  makes sense . will go back too the sqautty body style and definitly try the 125 or 130 bullets..i see hornady came out with a new 125 in sst ....but i think it is a boat tail .... thanks again

 

[speedrackin99]

larry just went into reloading room i have some 160 ftx bullets for 30/30 i noticed they r fatter and and sqautty . and 30/30 is a 1/12twist ...what r the chances ?  hornady also makes a 150 sst(savage) it's boat tailed i dont think there is a difference between the ftx  just labeling ......mite give it a go ...but i did order some 125 spitzer flat base .

[Siskiyou]

 I just checked Lyman Reloading Handbook 46^th Edition page 454 and it says the Remington 760 in 300 Savage has a 1-12 Twist.  Having said that be aware there maybe exceptions to the rule.  (Standard Disclaimer.)  It states the same for the Remington 722 in 300 Savage, but I have seen ads for take-off barrels claiming 1-10 twist.

But you are working with a rifle that has been used for 40-50 years.  Users work hard and think they are doing a good job cleaning the rifle but a lot of copper is left in the bore.  Suggest you take your unloaded rifle with the action open.  Place the butt of the 760 on the floor next to your foot.  Hold it with the muzzle up but at a slight angle away from your body.  Shine a good light at the bore at the angle you are looking from.  Cooper fouling should show up.

My Son-in-Law and Great Son-in-Law brought their rifles out a year ago during a reloading session.  Both of them assured me that their rifles were clean.  And when looking down the bore with a bright reflective lighting clean shinny steel was observed.  It was not until I had them look at the bore as described above that cooper fouling was observed.

One of my brother’s has a Remington 760 in 300 Savage and I have a Remington 722 in 300 Savage.  Accuracy has not been an issue.  One of the first bullets I loaded for my 300 Savage was the Hornady Spire Point, 150-grain and one of my favorite powders is IMR4064.  The volume of the 300 Savage case and IMR4064 result in close to or compressed loads.  From an accuracy stand point that is good when loading recommended loads.  It has been recommend that because of the case volume that flat base bullets are best in the 300 Savage case.  I have loaded 150-grain Nosler Ballistic Tips with a boattail and 165-grain Hornady BT without issue.  But that was an experiment and my 165-grain loads are flat base 165-grain Hornady, 165-grain Nosler Partition, and 165-grain Remington C-L.  I go for the heavier bullet because I want an exit wound.
Hornady has surprised us with their new loading for the 300 Savage in their Super Performance line using the 150-grain SST. http://www.hornady.com/store/300-Savage-150-gr-SST-Superformance/
Sometimes certain loads do not work in a given rifle; my Remington 760 in 270 Winchester does not like the factory WW 150-grain load.  But when I hand load the same bullet it is a tack driver. 
While I like IMR-4064 both my brother and I have had a lot of success with Accurate 2015BR and 150-grain bullets in the accuracy department.
I have some 130-grain Hornady, 130-grain Speer Hollow points, and 125-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet in my .308 bullet collection.  They are all accurate but I consider them coyote and jackrabbit bullets not deer bullets.

[rmagill]

My model 99 300 Savage prefers flat base bullets loaded over 4064, would have to be home to look up the exact load.

[Siskiyou]

You have a lot of options with your 300 Savage.  I have used 7.62 NATO cases resized with RCBS Small Base dies and trimed to create 300 Savage dies.  In this case I used Nosler 150-grain Balistic tip bullets and AA2015BR powder.  They are marked +P incase somebody picks them because they are loaded to the Accurate Maxmum published load of 38.5 grains giving 2742 fps out of a 24" barrel.  The 150-grain FMJ load that Accurate uses produces 43,600 C.U.P.
My brother purchased a used Remington 760 in 300 Savage a few years ago.  He had given me some AA2015 to try out and when I told him how great AA2015 worked for me.  But I noted that my hunting loads are powered by IMR4064.
 
 

[goodconcretecolor]

I had the same situation with SST vs. Spirepoint in my 30-06. SP grouped ~moa without trying too hard while the SST groups ran 2.5-3". The lee Factory Crimp tightened up the SST groups to 1 moa while the spirepoints went submoa. I hunt a cattle farm with many open pastures with stands so the improved trajectory from the SST's is of real value for me. Velocities increased about 100fps so watch pressures.