Author Topic: 250 Savage (Read 3256 times)

Con · « **on:** March 09, 2004, 11:41:45 PM »

Does anyone on this forum use a 250 Savage in a modern bolt action? I've a M70 Featherweight in 243 rapidly approaching its barrel's use by date and was considering rebarreling/rechambering to this cartridge. Advice I've received ranges from "don't bother, much like a 243 but more expensive to feed" (hard to find 250 Savage ammo in Australia!) through to "fantastic light round for all-round use". In my case I want to use this rifle as a "walk-about" varminter to 250m with the capability to hunt (humanely) small to medium deer at the same range. Does anyone have experience with the 250 Savage in this role?
Cheers...
Con

Lawdog · « **Reply #1 on:** March 10, 2004, 12:14:55 PM »

Con,

I have long been a admirer of the Quarter Bore. I have two .250 Savage's. One is a Savage M99DL(rotary magazine) and the other is a rebarreled Ruger M77 that has a 24" barrel. I like your idea and the cartridge will do a better job than the .243 that it is now. Remember that the .250 was the first cartridge to break the 3,000 fps. mark(yeah I know that was with the 87 grain bullet). Go with the .250 Savage and don't listen to those other guys. Great cartridge for everything from varmints up to deer. Lawdog

257AI · « **Reply #2 on:** March 13, 2004, 04:18:02 PM »

The 250 works great in a bolt. I just put together another 250 on a Husqvarna 38 Swede Action. I also have a Savage 99F in 250. Have had 250 bolts in Ruger 77 RL, Winchester 54, Savage 1920, and 93 Mauser. No trouble at all to get 3000 with a 100 gr bullets. It seems to work better on deer sized animals than the 243. Only time a ever clocked 243 factory 100 gr bullets they were clocking less than 2800. The Savage was doing lots better. All the one I have had have been good shooters also. The Savage 1920 would not shoot most 100 gr bullets because of its 1 in 14 twist but 87 gr bullets got the job done.

You may have trouble finding 250 brass down there but do you have any trouble finding 22-250 brass. The 250 in 22-250 comes from the original source of brass which was necked down 250 Savage brass . When I got my first 250 brass was hard to find so I just got some 250 Savage Norma Brass and went on my happy way.

Con · « **Reply #3 on:** March 13, 2004, 07:40:04 PM »

Thanks for the replies. As stated the 243 barrel is fast approaching its end and rechambering/barreling to something a little different woudl be nice. At this point my leaning is still the 250 Savage (using necked up 22/250 brass) but I'm also considering a 257 Roberts, I've got till the end of year to decide so there's no rush.
257AI: I take it you've achieved 3000fps (chronographed?) with 100gr projectiles? I thought this was a little too much for the 250 Savage? What length barrel was it in and can you mention the load?
Cheers...
Con

257AI · « **Reply #4 on:** March 14, 2004, 05:41:57 AM »

The load was over the book load in 4320 in a 20 inch barrel. ran close to 3000. Remember that most book information for the 250 is held to 44-45000 CUP in deference to the old rifles. In a modern bolt action you can load up to 243 pressures and match or exceed factory 243 ballistics. I ran some factory 100 remingtions across my chrony and got less than 2800 fps. Several of my books list 100 gr loads at approx 3000 or better. hagdon list a load of 40 gr of H414 for 3100 out of 26in barrel. I have seen other data with Winchester 760 or IMR 4350 that will make 3000 given you have a 22 or 24 inch barrel. The 250 seems to be an easy cartridge to load for. I think it is at its best with the 100 gr at 2800-2900 fps. If you want to hot rod it is best to go to the 250AI or the 257AI. I hope to get out this afternoon to fireform some brass for my new 257AI.

got to go

257AI

Lawdog · « **Reply #5 on:** March 14, 2004, 09:57:00 AM »

Con,

Brass for the .250 is easy to get. Midway, Midsouth and Black Hills come to mind but for brass at a lower cost go to Ebay. I bought 300 1x fired .250 Savage brass there just a couple of months ago(under $20) and I seen more just yesterday. I get a lot of brass off Ebay. Lawdog

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #6 on:** March 25, 2004, 05:24:48 AM »

I had a Ruger 77 in .250 Savage and still have a Savage 99. The Ruger seemed a little clunky for the cartridge and the chamber was oversized so I wound up selling it. To my mind, the .250 Savage belongs in the smaller rifles, Featherweights, etc.

It's a perking little cartridge and well worth having, but were I rebarrelling a .243, I'd sure look into building a .25 Souper. With your ammo supply problems, a wildcat on the .308 family of cartridges would make better sense.

You can, and I have, form .250 Savage cases from .308, but it's a chore and not really worth doing.

Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #7 on:** April 04, 2004, 12:38:17 PM »

Con -

Glad to see you are considering the .257 Roberts, as that was going to be my suggestion.

The .257 Roberts is a nice step up from the .243, but recoil is still minimal. Using 50,000 CUP (.257 Roberts +P) load data and H4895 I am pushing Hornady 75g VMAX bullets to 3606fps. Barnes 115g TSX are going 2958fps with H4831SC and 3013fps with H4350. I may be wrong, but I believe all three powders are made in Australia and available under the original manufacturer's name.

Mike in Ct · « **Reply #8 on:** April 11, 2004, 11:28:59 AM »

It would be an easy solution to your new barrel ...You may get the gunsmith to open your reloading dies as well...All your old brass just needs to be annealed & then necked up...Te 257 bore on that modern case is going to be OK ..mike in ct

kombi1976 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 22, 2004, 08:06:40 PM »

As another Aussie, Con, I'd go with the .257 Roberts. There's more ammo about for them. The 250 Savage has plenty of fans and I've heard a lot of guys say it was the best rifle they owned but it was over 30 years ago and the ammo or brass cost a heap & has to be specially ordered. Once you have the cases of course you're right. But .257 Roberts ammo is much easier to come by(although you'll be ordering that too) and it has a little more thump. Mind you, .25-06 is really the only 25 cal ammo that's very easy to buy. Pity you're restricted to a short action.

Lawdog · « **Reply #10 on:** August 23, 2004, 07:29:35 AM »

Con,

Before you decide on the .257 Roberts you may want to have a gunsmith check out the action on your M70 to see what MAY have to be done to use the longer cartridge that the Roberts is based on. You may have to seat the bullets in the Roberts deeper than desired to get them to work through the action. This is a problem I ran into years ago when I wanted to re-barrel a M722 action to the .257 Roberts. This is why I have a .250 Savage now and glad I have it. Remember brass is not a problem. Tons of .300 Savage brass is around. Let us know what you decide. Lawdog

shooter444002 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 27, 2004, 10:47:48 AM »

250 brass is easy to make from 22-250 if you have problems with reg 250 savage brass.

Blackhawk44 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 01, 2004, 11:42:29 AM »

.257 Roberts loaded to 2.8"OAL will do just as well as trying for 3.0". You can also form 7MM Mauser brass for that one if need be. .25 Souper would be cheap on brass. Probably be cheaper to buy dies than having your 'smith open the necks of your .243's. 'Could even use your old .243 brass. All said, .250 handloaders would never think of having a .243 in their house. Underrated, sweet cartridge.

260 AAR · « **Reply #13 on:** October 07, 2004, 06:41:40 AM »

Just make a 25 Souper[25-08] and want for nothing more. The last one I did for a gentleman in Ga on his Sako is getting over 3300 fps with 100s and who knows where it`ll go from here? The accuracy is wonderful. I just made up another for me as a friend in WA got the last one. Being without a 25 Souper is very hard on the esteem and personal developement.

Aloha, Mark

260 AAR · « **Reply #14 on:** October 07, 2004, 06:44:34 AM »

Just make a 25 Souper[25-08] and want for nothing more. The last one I did for a gentleman in Ga on his Sako is getting over 3300 fps with 100s and who knows where it`ll go from here? The accuracy is wonderful. I just made up another for me as a friend in WA got the last one. Being without a 25 Souper is very hard on the esteem and personal developement.

Aloha, Mark

earschplitinloudenboomer · « **Reply #15 on:** January 10, 2005, 10:26:31 PM »

Con;
Built one for my son for his first deer rifle. Built it on an '09 Argentine, '98 Mauser action. Used the shortened military stock 'til he grew a little then whittled him one from walnut. Sierra's .90gr hollow point "brings pee". He still hunts with it some, his grandfather gave him his old .257 Roberts in a Rem. 722. The boy seems to be blessed with quarter bores. All the deer we have both killed with the .250 are still dead. It's a pleasant, unassuming little gun that work very well.

Alaninga · « **Reply #16 on:** January 31, 2005, 09:22:30 AM »

I had a Ruger 77RL in .250 Sav.
I have a Ruger Mark II in .250 AI
I have a Ruger 77R in .250 stamped "200th Year of American Liberty"
I have a Ruger 77R in .250 'not' stamped "200th year,,,,,etc."

none are for sale. The Mark II 250AI went deer hunting succesfully just a few weeks ago. One shot at stepped 155 yards,,100 Nosler BT thru the heart. Barrel is Shilen 24" sporter contour.

My only thoughts are that the factorys are missing out by not having already offered a .25-08.

riddleofsteel · « **Reply #17 on:** January 31, 2005, 10:22:56 AM »

The .257 Roberts AI (Ackley Improved) is a fine cartridge and nips quite closely at the heels of the 25-06. The worst that can be said of it is that it requires a long action or a Mauser length action to realize its full potential. It is really not as well suited for a true short action. The advice on the 25-08 is well given. You will have to load 95% of the ammo you shoot for the .257 Roberts anyway so a 25-08 should not be much of a problem.
Another solution may be to turn to the .260 Rem or the 7-08. You will see the improved performance you seek in a .257 Roberts with a wider range of bullet weights. The .260 or the 7-08 are a true short action cartridges and will take any game you care to tackle. Plus they have off the shelf ammo available.

Now to really highjack the thread.
:twisted:

When I rechambered my son's Model Seven .243 Youth Model I went with the 6.5-284! It will give you 6.5-06 or .270 performance out of a short action and with a 20" barrel to boot. That's real performance, plus it's no harder to load for than the .257 Roberts AI will be.
:wink:

Alaninga · « **Reply #18 on:** January 31, 2005, 01:37:33 PM »

gave serious thought to reaming the .250AI on out to 25-284 but I'm concerned about the short action. But then I like 100 grain bullets and shorter/lighter so maybe I'm worried about nothing. The .260 should be great,,but when you have a fixation on something,,logic doesn't enter the equasion. I like .25 caliber. Buddys are building 6.5-284s and spitting 140s way out to 1,000 yards. Targets tho, not deer.
alan in ga.

riddleofsteel · « **Reply #19 on:** January 31, 2005, 04:11:54 PM »

Like I said, my son has a 6.5-284 on a short action. the goal was to duplicate 6.5x55 performance on a short action rifle with a 20" barrel. We did that plus a little to boot. Even at entirely sedate loads the little 6.5-284 short action will push past the 6.5x55 and I suspect it will push past the .260 as well. I do have to seat the, somewhat longish for thier weight, 6.5mm bullets pretty deep into the case to fit the short action but I have case capacity to spare and it does not seem to affect accuracy at all. I suspect that a 25-.284 would be a real screamer and the bullets would not have to be seated quite as deeply as the 6.5's.
Of course a 25-08 would eliminate the danger of feeding problems as the short action is designed for cases of that width. However, a competent gunsmith can solve those problems with a little judicous grinding and polishing.