Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 180 Grain .300 Savage Loads

Every discussion of reloading for the .300 seems to concentrate on 130 to 165 grain bullet weights. I can understand that, considering the dimensions and capacity of the cartridge case.

However, I prefer to use Hornady 180 gr. RN bullets in my iron-sighted 99 EG. Anybody have any pet loads with the 180 grain bullet in the .300 Savage?

Maybe later tonight I can dig out my copy of Ken Water's 'Pet Loads' and scan the 300 Sav pages. There is a wealth of good info in that 2 volume set!

43 grains of W760 will shoot the lights out!

41 to 41.5 grains of Varget ain't far behind.

Work up carefully using the normal precautions and a good chrony.

40.5 grains of Reloader 15 with either 180gr RN Hornady or Sierra. I get 1" groups @ 100yds out of my 1950's .300 Sav. EG. Eric

According to Hornady 4th edition, 180gr RN, (#3075)
IMR 3031 35.5gr 2300fps, 37.3max (2400fps)
IMR 4064 37.9gr "" , 39.8max (2400fps)
H 4985 37.8gr "" , 39.7max (2400fps)
C.O.L. 2.565

Plus one on Water's two volume set...one caveat though, he compiled that data and wrote that article 25 years ago, or so, and today's powder and primers may well be hotter than what he tested. Examples in my own experience, while not rifle powders but still indicative of some sort of change, would be Unique and 2400. Unique being slower than it used to be, and 2400 a bit hotter. Too, Winchester Large Rifle primers give me higher velocities today, than they did 10-15 years ago.

Of interest too, and maybe germane to your testing with 180 gr bullets, is Water's method of pressure testing using the micrometer readings taken from the expanded portion of the case, just above the web, in comparison with a factory round fired in the same chamber. I've used that method before when working up loads and found it useful when combined with chronograph readings.

One other thought...and that is that today's lighter bullets, 150 and 165 grains, (both the old stand-bys, and the newer controlled expansion premium types) may allow good penetration and expansion where needed on heavier game, and still keep the flatter trajectories inherent to their weights. The thought being that 180 grainers may not be needed. Best regards, JMHO, Rodfac

I have switched to premium bullets of lighter weights to lower recoil, flatten trajectory, and they give almost 100% weight retention.

Confused about this statement. The 300 Savage was originally available in 150gr - one of the marketing ploys for it was that it duplicated the standard 30-06 loads for 150gr at that time.

Or are you saying that the old 150gr bullets didn't work on heavier game, and the newer 150gr bullets do? I'll agree that new premium bullets are far better than the 1920's versions, but most north american game isn't that hard to kill with cup and core bullets at 2700fps.

Rory, I understand this question wasn't intended for me, but in my experience the new mono-metal bullets perform beyond their weight due to the high weight retention. If you lose a percentage of your cup and core to fragmentation, you can shoot a mono-metal like BARNES TTSX or Hornady GMX of a lighter weight and get equal or better penetration. For me it's about less recoil since I shoot light rifles. If you don't care about recoil, especially when you're practicing, then shoot whatever. I like to practice with the exact load I hunt with, although it's expensive. I combat that by shooting Marlin model 56 and 57 lever action rifles in .22 and .22 mag, which even have lever safeties like the 99. Going this route I don't have to sight in my hunting rifles every fall since I've switched from practice bullets to hunting bullets, I just check the zero and go hunt. This system works for me.

I shoot monometal bullets too. Cast lead ones. I shoot low velocity plain base bullets all year for practice, then switch to gas checked heavier ones at factory velocity to hunt with. Cheap, effective, my hundred year old barrels aren't sustaining a lick of wear, and deer get dead.

I have a strong aversion to screwing with my rifles scopes several times a year, or remembering to aim "2 inches high, 1 inch right" when I switch loads. But, shooting cast bullets is an excellent way to practice. I love practicing with the Marlin 56/57 .22's since they are modeled after the 99, and are extremely accurate.
That's what's great about this game, lots of ways to get to Point B from Point A.

Mr. Cal...not saying the older types of jacketed bullets didn't do the job...they've killed four elk over the years for me with good penetration and none moved beyond 50 yds. But I do think that bullet technology has come a long ways, some of it most recently, and that todays updated designs probably offer a wider sample for choice. As in all aspects of hunting, placement of the shot is everything, and a better controlled expansion bullet can make up for a less than perfect shot...

For me, I like through and through shots...two blood trails, an additional hole to allow cold air into the chest cavity, and the better chance to break a cpl of ribs as the bullet exits. Of the 4 elk mentioned above (not a lot of experience I know); one was through the neck above the whithers (through and through), one was through the front shoulders (broke the near side, destroyed the top of the lungs, but did not exit-.35 Whelen with 250's), and the other two were through the ribs (through and through). All were shot with cup and core. As to my deer experience, fifty years and at least that many white tails and muleys has taught me that they're just not that hard to kill with any reasonable shot fwd of the diaphragm. (?Sp?) Any current cup and core should be adequate as were the offerings when I started in the early 60's.

I think we're on the same page, here. But I do think there are some modern bullet types available that improve the odds on heavier game. But at a buck a piece, who's got the bread to experiment extensively with them. Best regards, Rod

Interesting exercise to run those numbers thru Quickload. All the loads are predicted to be faster by the program. That Hornady data is quite different from what QL gives, QL says the max Hornady manual listed loads are way overpressure. The Varget is also an overpressure load in the computer as is the 4064. The RL 15 load looks very nice, high velocity with acceptable pressure.
But man, those big 180s up the recoil! By like 20% or so.

Yep, I think we agree. Though I'm using a 60+ year old bullet design via the Nosler Partition which has always given me 2 holes per critter. I do think you can probably get most of the 150gr Nosler Partition penetration out of a 130gr Barnes or similar, but a good shot with either will kill.

It was your comment about 180gr bullets that I wanted to address. The 180gr were always available, but I don't think they were ever the "standard". I'd guess that the 150gr bullet was probably slightly preferred over the 180gr by most hunters, except the ones who thought that 180gr means the bullet has 180gr of powder behind it. Had a coworker tell me that once about a 308..

I don't pay a buck a piece for my premium bullets, but they do run 70 cents. For hunting, I can hand load premium bullets for less than the cost of factory ammo with cup and core, although I admittedly do not shop for factory ammo. Of course there are the loss leaders like 30/30, 30/06 Remington Corelokts, etc at about $15 a box... If you handload cast or cup and core, you're shooting as cheap as can be done, but you do have to re-sight your rifles as frequently as you switch ammo. I dedicate a rifle to a particular load that it likes, and that's it for me, no switching loads. Just me...

It's an interesting question, Cal...penetration of a standard cup and core 180 grainer vs a Nosler Partition 150 (or equivalent)... you'd get a cpl hundred fps less with the 180 vs the 150, but not enough to mean much I'd think. And at 200 yds or less, the trajectory difference is negligible I'd think..can't check as I'm on my wife's computer and it's not loaded with the Sierra Infinity that I use.

Given the choice, at the velocities offered in any sensible loading in the .300 Sav., I'd probably go with the 180 gr. if after elk, but that's just me. Back when I could still negotiate Kenosha Pass in Colorado at 10,500 ft, I used to take a Sako .308 with Speer's 180 gr Grand Slam as a back-up rifle (in case I pitched the other one down a skree slope), but hunted with a Remington .35 Whelen with 250's. I liked the add'l throw weight from the .35, but in reality, the .308 would in all probability have done as well. In college, c.1966, I killed a very big bull with that .308 and 150's...at a long 200 yds in pretty deep snow...and he didn't get 50 yds from where he was hit..lungs...through and through. Not a Savage, I know, but a good old sweet gun...and the 150 Sierra , as I recall, did the job. A little faster than a .300 Sav. most probably, a hundred fps or so, but not enough to make a difference, I suspect.

Next year, I'll be toting the new to me 99 EG after the KY whitetails that have become my "end of tour" hunting objects. I like its balance, the precision of the lever arrangement, and the subtle curves of the stock/action/barrel interface...wish I'd of taken notice earlier in my career! It's been a pleasure bantering back and forth with you guys on this forum these last few weeks regarding your beloved 99's. Best regards, Rod

Good points, Fire...I'm a shooter/reloader for the most part...and do like the load work up as much as using them in the field...it's the experimentation that's the fun...as to switching loads and impact points...for me, at some point in the process, I find "the load", the one that's going after deer for me, and I set my sights accordingly. At that point, barring some unusual need, I leave 'em alone and just shoot groups for practice. In reality, they're seldom more than a cpl inches apart all the way out to my 200 yd berm. (Not the cast ones however...for them, it's a re-sight, and a really thorough cleaning too...oddly enough, I've got a cpl rifles that shoot their best groups with jacketed bullets, after a run up with the cast variety and no cleaning in between either! I've never figured why, but it's the unvarnished truth.)

Best regards, Rod

I owned a Savage in 300 Savage … barreled was bobbed to 19.5 inches by the pervious … not as nice condition as this one . But .. with 180gr RN with the right amount IMR 3031 .. extremely accurate.. took a couple of Whitetails with this combo … absolutely perfect… balance
Im sure this would be the same .. with inflation.. this is a nice deal

I guess in this day and age of shortages and crazy prices, guys are shooting whatever they can get their hands on - and I bet they're still killing stuff.

The older I get the more I realize it just doesn't matter, unless you're trying to kill Russian tanks.....

This thread has been reincarnated after 10 years?

I was still in my 40's when it started.

Jeez.