Any .300 Savage users out there??????

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  A couple years ago, on a whim I bought a very nice model 99 .300 Savage, put a 6x scope on it. With Rem. 150 CL it shoots well, not so great with Win. but good enough. So far I have taken a mulie, whitetail, antelope, and one jackrabbit with it. It is certainly a sweet handling and nice shooting rifle. My last game with it was a whitetail doe at maybe 100 yards. She took a 150 Win. PP though the boiler room and ran maybe 2 jumps.  I am not saying I would take this rifle if I were trying for a monster mulie, it would do the job with in its range, but for just deer hunts, it is a great little round.

[AtlLaw]

I always thought the 300 Sav. was just about the perfect deer round.  But then, my generation thought the M71/.348 was just about the perfect bear gun...   

Anyway, a friend has a M99 takedown in 300 Sav for sale.  I've been thinking hard on it, but this old boy would cheat his gran-momma outa a nickle.  And I don't have any idea what the rifle is worth.   

[MGMorden]

Don't own one yet, but I like .30 cal in general (I've got 2 .30-06's, 2 .30-30's, and 1 .308 in sporting rifles).  The .300 Savage is certainly on the want list, though I think I'd rather get one in a Remington 722.  The Savage 99 looks like a nice rifle but almost all of them that I see are cracked behind the tang.  Seems like a design flaw (I've noticed the same of Remington 11-48 shotguns.  Virtually every one I see is cracked in the same spot).  That and I'm just a bigger fan of bolt guns than levers .

[Val]

I've got a Savage 99 from the early forties in .300 Savage. I'm getting less than MOA with it a 100 yards. I want to use it but haven't got around to develop the non-lead round that is required in the Republik of Kalifornistan, where I hunt deer. I really like the Savage 99. I also have an older one in 30-30.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Val, I missed a peach of a 99 in 30-30 a couple years ago, been kicking my self ever since.

AtlLaw, the only thing I have heard about the take downs is they can bet loose and acc. of course goes to pot. Mine shoots pretty good, real good with Rem ammo. It would be a perfect deer rifle for the woods.

[03A2]

Yeah, there used to be a hard-core fan and user around, Savage99?   Anyway, Its one of those rifles I have always romantisized and finally found a good early fifties model, no stock splits.  Current load is 42 grains of win748 under the speer 150 spitzer.  Shoots well, but I haven't played that much with it, haven't even tried 4895 which is something of a sin as regards loading your own for a .300 savage, if I understand things correctly.  My thinking was I didn't have a lot of brass at the time, did have a lot of 748, and the marketing folks would have me believe ball powders are easier on barrel steel.  I planned on shooting it a lot and didn't want the old rifle to wear out on me.
I know felt recoil is subjective and depends on stock design, weight, powder charge, etc., but I much prefer firing my 99 with any reasonable deer load over any reasonable deer load in either a 94 or 336.  For me, I am convinced that my 99 is the most pleasant to fire over .22 cal rifle I own.  I think of it as my "heavy" 30-30 that shoots like my .222.  I am very happy with it and need to actually hunt with it, but haven't so far.

[Sweetwater]

I don't own one, but a pal has two of them and is haunting my gunroom of late, so expect I'll be on here boning up on do's and don'ts at the loading bench.
Also have a young friend in Laramie that inherited his Grandfather's 300 Savage as well as a wealth of reloading stuff and records. I know he took a late season cow elk with it more than once in the Big Sandy Openings above Farson. 180gr Hornady were the elk ticket for his Grandad. 150's for everything else.

Regards,
Sweetwater

[WyoStillhunter]

I had a 99 carbine/straight stock in .243 Win. for several years but only hunted with it a couple of times.  If it had been a .300 Savage I would still have it.  I just couldn't warm up to the .243.

A neighbor to my cabin property hunts elk with a .300 Savage and open sights.  He is a retro-kind-of-guy, a 60s survivor, and it suits him just fine.

[jager]

   I've had several 99's in the .250Sav., including a "take-down" model, but until recently never a .300 Savage. I really like the rifle and caliber combination because of the way it handles and the lack of recoil for the size of the bullet, even for its older "made for iron sights" design. Mine is an early '50's "EG" model and thankfully no one had it "drilled and taped"; nor did it have a "cracked" stock around the "tang" from storing a "well oiled" gun for months at a time stock down.
   Hopefully I'll get a chance at a nice "Whitetail" this season, and expect it will do about what most .308's will do at maybe 25yards less, with less "fuss" and a whole lot of "class"

[nononsense3]

I'm the proud owner of two 300's. A early 50's 99 with a ''period'' Weaver 4x and a early 50's Remington 760 with a Bushnell 2.5x. Both excellent deer rifles but I have a preference for the 99. Both were handed down in the family. Which I plan to do also.

[Hairtrigger]

I have 2 rifles in 300 Savage, a Rem 81 and a Savage 99
Sadly I have never shot at anything but paper with either

[Sweetwater]

   Hopefully I'll get a chance at a nice "Whitetail" this season, and expect it will do about what most .308's will do at maybe 25yards less, with less "fuss" and a whole lot of "class"

Quite seriously; I doubt if any Whitetail would know if it were getting smacked with a 300 Savage rather than a 308 Winchester, or react any differently. The real differences are simply on paper. If you are within the limits of a 308, the 300 will do just fine. IF you can put the right bullet in the right place, the rest is headed for the BBQ....

I was raised on specific yardages being maximum range for a particular weapon. Moving from Maine to Wyoming dispelled most of that in a short time, as I came to realize I couldn't judge distances in the open worth a hoot and was dropping game cleanly at way beyond those previously claimed maximum distances.

You do your practicing and the rifle will do the rest.

[jager]

I was refering to the "trajectory" between the .308 and .300Sav and not their nominal "power" ratings. I agree with you, Sweetwater, foot-pounds has little to do with the "lethality" of a round if you hit game in the "right spot" with a "suitable" bullet. Hand-gun shooters have proved this over the last 150+ years!

[03A2]

A little follow up, I will add that of the ammo I have tried nothing has bettered the factory 180 gr rn remington stuff that came with my rifle.  That includes a couple of different handloads and 150 gr factory stuff.  I have only seen 150 gr factory stuff in my area, so if any of you 300 fans come across some of those rn's, you may give them a shot.

[Sweetwater]

I was refering to the "trajectory" between the .308 and .300Sav and not their nominal "power" ratings. I agree with you, Sweetwater, foot-pounds has little to do with the "lethality" of a round if you hit game in the "right spot" with a "suitable" bullet. Hand-gun shooters have proved this over the last 150+ years!

Explanation noted and totally accepted!

Side bar on the trajectory. Sometimes the difference in trajectory doesn't show up in the field. I have two pals here in North Idaho. Pal#1 has been shooting a 308 for about 10 years and does very well. PAL#2 has been shooting a 308 for about 15 years and can stay right with him at the range or in the field. However, Pal#2 even outshoots himself when he breaks out his 300 savage99 that his Dad gave him over 40 years ago. The familiarity of the weapon breeds confidence. I have rifles I shoot a lot and have confidence in at whatever range i judge as appropriate for the indiviual rifle. I have others that don't get shot much and I have a real hard time doping the trajectory. Nothing beats practice...

Regards,
Sweetwater