Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 250 Savage the Darling of the Campfire?

The 250-3000 is a nice cartridge, but pretty limited if you don't load your own, since the only U.S. factory ammo options are the 100 grain loads from Remington and Winchester/Olin. For the average guy, the 243 is clearly more practical, but for the "Rifle Looney", the 250-3000 has a nostalgic feel to it that makes it different/special.

Other than in the Savage 99, the 250-3000 has never been widely chambered, either in action types or manufacturers. Nobody ever cataloged semi-auto or pump guns in 250-3000. Lots of different manufacturers cataloged the 250-3000 in bolt guns, but other than the Ruger 77, they generally disappeared before too long. Pre-'64 Winchester 70s in 250-3000 are rare. Remington only chambered the 700 in 250-3000 as a 1-year Classic. Only Ruger has embraced the 250-3000 over an extended period, but not continuously. Savage has also been in and out of the 250-3000 business with the 110 series.

The 250-3000 was designed almost 100 years ago, introduced in 1915, and was a great match for the 99 and 1920. The 1920 failed to capture the public's interest, so it was superseded by the 40/45 Super Sporters that were chambered for the 2 most popular cartridges of their day, the 30-30 and 30-06, in addition to the 250-3000 and 300 Savage. Even with the advantage of being chambered for the 30-30 and 30-06, the 40/45 Super Sporters were never very popular and many people, even "Rifle Looneys", have never seen or owned 1. Only the Savage 99 was continuously chambered for the 250-3000 from 1915 thru 1961/62, with time out for WW1 and WW2, and again from 1970/71 thru 1981/82.

Regarding the Ruger #1, from a practical POV, I can't think of a rifle less optimally suited for the 250-3000. Why chamber a single shot falling block rifle without COAL limitations for a short cartridge?

JEff

PS - I think that in bolt guns, the nicest 250-3000s have been the Savage 1920, not the 20/26, the Ruger 77RL & 77RSI, and the 1986 Winchester/USRA 70 Lightweight Carbine. The Winchester/USRA 70 even looks like a current version of the Savage 1920 if you swap the barreled action into a 70 FWT stock. A sweet little rifle that is light to carry, a dream to shoot, and has all the right curves in all the right places.