I would not let reloading be a factor. I enjoy reloading, and I have shoot a lot compared to my Dad who did not. I shoot in a year what my Dad shot in many years. Dad still killed deer with the rifle.
As I mentioned in an earlier post my Dad had two other .300 Savages that were used by my brothers when growing up. When things were tight they shared the same box of shells. Initially the 150-grain Remington Bronze point was the round of choice, but it quickly fell to the 150-grain Remington Cor-Lokt. I think this is the round #2 brother took his first buck. It was a large 3x4 with tall eye guard points. I guess in the East it would have been called a 9-point. The big old buck had a thick layer of fat.
A week or two later the same brother killed a small 2x3 buck using the same load. He and another brother continued being successful with the .300 Savage using factory loads in years to come.
As consumers of factory ammunition on a limited budget our practice was limited. Most of our training time was with a .22 rimfire. That is still a good option.
Thirty years back I got a new neighbor. Frank was a hunting and fishing fanatic who was retired. During his younger adult days he hunted the Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and California seasons. Depending on the season dates he would hunt all four states in the same year. In the 1950 and 1960 era some of the States offered up to 4 tags per hunter. Frank all he could and filled them. His wife and him lived will on low fat deer meat.
Frank had thick photo albums documenting his hunts. The most common rifle in the album was his Savage 99 in .300 Savage. Frank gun collect grew over the years and he had a number of centerfire rifles. They ranged from the .222, 270 Winchester up to the H&H 375.
Frank had more then one 300 Savage in his collection. He and I went to Big Gun Show in Reno, NV one year. It is the largest gun show I have been to, it is huge! We went or different ways in the show planning to meet up at noon for lunch. When Frank showed up he had a Savage 99, in 300 Savage.
http://www.bigrenoshow.com/When we went deer hunting Frank carried a 300 Savage, and the other rifles stayed home.
There is one business not far from me that carries a limited stock of centerfire rifle ammunition. They carry 30-06, 30-30, .223, and 45-70. That is all they carry. Another store stocks 30-06, 30-30, 270 Winchester, and 223. This leaves out a lot of common calibers including the .308. (I am surprised.)
A few years ago I picked up four boxes of 150-grain Remington-Peters Cor Lokt in fancy boxes. I have most of a box of 180-grain factory Sivertips that must have come from Dad’s when we closed the house. I have seen the ammunition on the shelves of what I called a real gunshop. As an owner of a .300 Savage I would plan ahead.
My hunting partners laughed at me years ago when I showed up in camp with a hundred rounds of reloads in a big plastic box. They now except it because I do that no manner what cartridge I am using. One season I slide down an icy slope with the Remington 722 as result of a hard fall. The turret of the scope was damaged. I replaced the scope with a new one, which required re-sighting the rifle. The 722 held up fine.
I was snared by wire and fill when carrying another rifle. The hard fall resulted in another damaged scope, and more ammunition expended.
I was recently talking to one of my hunting partners regarding the current ammunition shortage. He hunts with a 30-06. He is a reloader who has not had the time to reload because of business demands. He has been picking up a box of 30-06 shells on a regulars base. When he has found a good sale he has bought more then one box. This way the cost is not prohibitive, and he is not worried about the shortage.
My Dad had followed the same pattern with his 300 Savage and the 32 Special years ago. Every few months a new box or two of shells would show up in the storeroom. Not being a reloader should not be an issue.
The only issue I see is that you are trading a rifle you like. If you are like me you might enjoy the new rifle, but mourn the missing rifle. I mourn my 30-06.
*Bench rest shooters sought the 722 actions in the past.
