.300 Savage info......

[Del]

To all that visit this great place.....

I'm looking for any information I can find regarding using the .300 Savage or .300 Savage Improved in a T/C Contender.
I used the search feature on this site and nothing came up, don't know if that is working, or if no one here has discussed it.
In another paper publication, I have seen a guy or few that wrote about their experience w/their .250 Savage barrels from custom barrel makers, and wondered about the .300 version?!!

Any info, personal experience, or know where to point me to find out about this cartridge / gun combo would be greatly appreciated

Thank You,
Del

[Graybeard]

I once had a 10" barrel rechamered to .300 Savage by SSK Industries. Bad move. Barrel was way too short for the amount of powder it burns. That thing had the loudest BOOM of any TC barrel I ever owned and kicked like a mule for what it was.

Now I do think the .300 Savage has a lot of potention for a Contender but I'd not recommend a barrel lesss than 14" for it. Better still is the .309 JDJ however. It has a much larger capacity and thus can operate at lower pressures for the same velocity obtained.

BTW I got no more velocity from my 10" .300 Savage than I did from my 10" .300 Whisper.

[Del]

Graybeard,
Thank you for the reply and feed back about your personal experience w/the .300 Savage / Contender combo.
Do you know where I could locate some reloading data for that round that is safe in the contender, and more tailored for pistol length barrels?

I was thinking about a Super 14" or 14" Hunter type barrel in that caliber.  Possibly from a custom maker or maybe rechamber a shorter .30 caliber chambered factory barrel.  I really want the most potent .30 caliber 'factory cartridge' that can be chambered in the Contender, that will give me the option of being able to go buy a box of ammo off the shelf, if time is short and I didn't have time to make up some handloads.  Plus the cost of reloading dies & brass is usually cheaper & easier to find.  And finally the steps to making handloads is less troublesome & time consuming, then a lot of the custom rounds available (I've owned a 6.5JDJ & .256WM barrel in the past).

Again, Graybeard, Thank You for the information provided!

Del

[Graybeard]

I'm sure that any reliable source of loading data such as from CURRENT bullet or powder manufacturers should be safe. If JD thought it unsafe with factory level loads he'd not have chambered it. BUT DO NOT go over book max and if you find different books have various levels of max with your components be conservative and don't use the higher of them.

The .300 Savage is really pushing the limit for the Contender. I think the newer G2 frame would be what I'd use if I were going that route again. In spite of what TC tries to say it has got to be some stronger with those gusset reinforcements.

If I were you I'd likely settle on the 150 grain bullet for it as I think it's the best weight for the capacity of the case. Now IF you chose to take on game a bit on the heavy side for it you might want to step it up to 165 grains. Personally I think the 180s are just too much for the case in such a short barrel.

Generally speaking the best loads in long barrels are also still the best loads in short barrels. But a 14" .300 Savage barrel and a G2 frame would make a nice combination. You can also get the Contender chambered to the 30-40 Krag. But the .309 JDJ is the full equivalent of the .308 Winchester. Not much factory ammo but I think you can get some limited loads, still it's mostly a reloading proposition.

[IKE]

Quoting Bill; "The 300 Savage is really pushing the limit for the Contender".

Back in Sept. of 2004 I decided I wanted a 300 Savage pistol length barrel for the Contender and I called the Fox Ridge Custom Shop and ask if they'd make me one and their reply was "NO", and that they felt it was just too much for the frame.....that was good enough for me, afterall they mfg the Contender and you'd certainly hope that they know more about it's limits than anyone else.

The 300 Savage runs darn near side by side with the .308 Winch. example;

In the current Sierra 5th Edition Reloading Manual using a 150gr bullet and Varget the max load for the 300 Savage is 44.5grs for 2800fps and the max load for the .308 Winch. is just 44.8grs also for 2800fps.....only 3/10 of a grain separates the two cartridges and you certainly wouldn't want a .308 Winch. barrel for the Contender.

Granted you could probably load the 300 Savage down for the Contender frame but why when there are other rounds safe for the frame....as Bill stated the 309JDJ would be an excellent alternative for what you're wanting.

Not being able to shake off the desire for a 300 Savage barrel I went with a 15" Fox Ridge Custom Shop 300 Savage heavy barrel for the Encore and couldn't be more pleased with it's quality or accuracy.

For those that may be interested I'm loading 44.0grs of Varget under a Hornady 150gr SST with a CCI BR-2 primer.

Ike

[HL]

I've had a 300 Savage in a 15" Sporter Barrel since 1988. The powders that work best for me are H322 and IMR 4895. Both are accurate but you get the best velocity with H322.

I don't load up to max in the manuals, mainly because when I got the barrel I was told not to and that the contender would not be acceptable for factory loads. The pressure for this case needs to be kept below 43,000.

That being said, I worked up my loads with H322, and I have chronographed 130gr. HOrnady's at 2475. This load grouped 3/4" at 100 yards. I have since gone to 125gr. bullets and started testing loads with IMR 4895. Accuracy, so far at 50 yards, appears to be better. Several loads group under 3/8" at this range. Still testing, but the 300 savage does great on deer size game with the 130's and 125gr. bullets.

Good Shooting,

HL

[spinafish]

I had e-mailed JD about the 300 Savage some time back and his response was "just don't try to make a .308 out of it", his suggestion was use the published loads for the 300 Savage.

[RonF]

Let's see, can't you get these velocities with 125-130 gr bullets in the .30-30 AI?  We know it's safe in the Contender, and in a pinch you could just fire the Hornady 125 gr (I think) flatnose factory .30-30 loads.  In fact, I think you can get close to these velocities with the regular .30-30.  I'm a great fan of Contenders and of wildcats and of a variety of cartridges, but why try to make it into a bomb waiting to go off if someone who doesn't understand the limitations gets hold of it?

Just my half nickel....

RonF

[spinafish]

There was a gentleman who has posted here in the past who owned a barrel chambered for a wildcat he called the 30 Something..it was a 307 Winchester case ran through a 300 Savage die and loaded with low end 300 Savage loads..claimed he had the barrel for years with no problem at all..

[RonF]

I'mm sure he didn't have any problem with low end loads and probably never will.  The problem, though, is there is a fair chance that one day he will sell the barrel, or die and his kids will get it, and maybe the person who ends up with it won't know as much about Contenders or this wildcat as he does.  It will look like a .300 Savage, so they'll look up some loads and maybe won't be as careful about using the low end ones.  That could cause a problem.  I dunno; maybe that's called improving the gene pool, but I'd prefer not to go down this road.

As I said, just my half nickel.

RonF

[HL]

I don't know why so many people are afraid of the 300 savage in a contender. The 300 Savage operates at a much lower pressure than the 308 Winchester, and higher than others used in the contender.

You can look at cartridges such as the 219 Donaldson Wasp or the 219 Zipper, both are made by custom barrel makers for the contender and those operate at a much higher pressure than the 300 savage. I'm not exactly sure, since I don't have my manuals in front of me right at this moment, but it is probably in the area of 8-10,000 psi greater. I do realize the head is not as larger as the savage, but the bore is much, much smaller, which would negate the aspect of comparison of head size affect for back thrust on the action.

Sure you can soup up the savage to get within 200fps of the 308, but that's not even a safe practice when using rifles, IMO.

I agree with the above statement about the gene pool.

Not just with this caliber, but anyone that gets a firearm and just starts cramming anything and everything into it they can to see what happens, before they educate themselves on what they're doing, pretty much deserves what happens. If this means cleansing the gene pool. so be it.

Sorry for the rant, but that's just my 2 pesos.

Good shooting Guys.........and gals, PC here

HL

[Del]

Hey Guys.......
Thanks for the replies so far!

I realize that the .300 Savage is pushing the limit in the Contender, but like I said I'm looking for the most powerful .30 caliber "factory" loaded round that I can get chambered.  That way I can get started and go hunting w/factory ammo, I don't want to be handicapped w/a "handloading only" chambered barrel as I have in the past.  That way I can develope a handload as time permits, yet still use the barrel set-up to hunt w/using factory ammo.   

If SSK and or some other custom barrel makers will chamber the .300 Savage for the Contender, then it must be safe w/in reasonable limits.  I don't see JD Jones putting out a barrel that will blow up, then he gets sued and loses his whole business.  And as "HL" basically states, you can make just about any round unsafe in any gun if you don't use caution when reloading.  I WILL start w/minimum loads and carefully proceed from there.

So......anyone else have information about using the .300 Savage in a Contender?  What is your personal experience w/reloading powders that have worked well in pistol length barrels (14" - 15"), and results of your load on game taken in the field would really interest me!!

Thanks for your input so far, I look forward to hearing from more of the people that visit this great site.
Del

[Cowboybart]

Try www.Edstc.com   in the third party or custom barrel section there is a 300 Savage barrel for sale, I think it is a 12".   I also remember that when using the 300 Sav in a Contender that you have to clean your chamber prior to firing w/ Acetone.  This makes the brass not slip on the chamber walls when firing.  The barrel takes the pressure and it reduces backthrust to the frame.   With a G2 frame you may not have to do this.