Looks like Hornady now has a 150 grained Interlock SST specifically designed for the 300 Sav.:
http://www.hornady.com/store/30-CAL-308-150-GR-SST-300-Savage/
LOTS cheaper price at Midway than quoted as MSRP, 31 cents a round.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/11...ge-308-diameter-150-grain-sst-box-of-100

Interesting.. wonder what their thinking on it is? Normal 150gr SST has ballistic coefficient of 0.415, the 300 Savage version has a .370. Looks like they shortened it a bit, maybe to make it easier to keep to COAL?


I like penetration rather than "Super Shock", so I'll stick with my Partitions. But might work out nice by giving a bit more room for powder in the case.

Interesting... Just getting the components together to try the 130 TTSX Barnes loads recommended by Steelhead and others. Shooting is GOOOOOOOD

Ive shot 2 sambar deer with the standard 150grn SST, always thought they were a bit long for the short savage 33 neck. I think these will be great

Johno

Those flex tip for the 30-30 work great

Yeah they look to be a bit shorter, with cannelure moved some. Interlock design means they allegedly penetrate better, without coming apart. I've just ordered some, and some 125 Nosler Ballistic Tips and some 125 Sierra Pro Hunters (their SPs). The Noslers are some slippery fellers, their downrange performance retains the energy of the Hornady 150 gr flat base soft points. The users' reviews on the Noslers are pretty outstanding to boot. I have some of thos Barnes, and what i am seeing is what i saw with them in another caliber: they are so long for weight class that they end up going slower than other bullets. For what that is worth.
I like SHOOTING them, and I also like RESEARCHING them too! Keeps me humming between hunts and range trips. Darned Curiosity gene ya know. Gets me into all sortsa trouble.
-Zooka

The Barnes are long for their weight. Are they longer than the 150's people usually shoot I wonder?

I wish Hornady, or somebody, would break the ice and produce a 165-grain load for the .300 Savage. I think that would be the ideal weight for that cartridge for about anything that you're likely to hunt with it.

I use a Hornady 165gr IB loaded with 37grs of 4064. Very accurate load in my early F model.

I'm with you. Horn is getting 2740 from the 150 SST. I think they could get 165 SP IL at 2550-2600.

Expat

Fireball, here are some relative bullet lengths from QL's data - and some I have modified to fit the ones on hand. I have gotten to where when a box of bullets arrives, first thing i do is take the calipers and the computer and compare QL presets to actual lengths, boattail dimensions, and such.

A few .308 caliber bullet lengths, possibly suited to the 300 Savage:
BARNES:
130 gr. TSX : 1.083"
130 gr. TTSX: 1.175"
150 gr. TSX : 1.283
150 gr. TTSX: 1.288"
150 gr. MRX : 1.310"
165 gr. TSX : 1.295
165 gr. MRX : 1.320

HORNADY:
130 gr. Spire Point (SP) #3020: 0.925"
150 gr. BTSP # 3033 : 1.044"
(150 gr. SST Interbond for 300 Savage # 30303: Unknown so far. Less than the regular 150 SST.)
150 gr. SST Interbond # 30302: 1.170"
150 gr. GMX "no lead" gilding metal bullet, #30370 : 1.350"
165 BTSP # 3045: 1.191"
165 gr. Interbond #30459 : 1.300"
165 gr. GMX : 1.370"
165 gr. SST Interlock: 1.270"
180 gr. Interbond #30709: 1.408"

NOSLER BULLETS:
125 gr. Ballistic Tip # 30125: 1.072
150 Accubond # 56719: 1.230"
150 Partition #16329 1.100"
150 Ballistic Tip #30150: 1.280"
165 Ballistic Tip #30165: 1.29"
165 Accubond #55602 : 1.308"
165 Partition #16330: 1.175"

SIERRA BULLETS
125 SP "Pro Hunter" # 2120: 0.885"
150 SP "Pro Hunter" # 2130: 1.065"
150 SBT "game King" # 2125: 1.096"
165 SPBT "Game King" # 2145: 1.170"

These are of course just a few, and don't take into account such things as boat tails, BCs, etc. But lots of food for thought!

Dude, you are a walking encyclopedia.

In case you need a visual


L to R: 150gr Hornady, 130gr TTSX, 150gr Win Power Point




Five ready for my 1924 99F takedown with 130gr TTSX,

Them's purty.......

We just got some 130 TTSX loaded last night. Scoped up the 1959-60 E with Leupold 2.5-8. Shoot Monday. Didn't try to fit them specifically to the rifle, but kept the OAL factory. Thought we'd see if we got lucky and found one load that shoots in all our 300's. We're not benchresting here after all. Thanks for the visual. That helps. Even though the 130's are 20 grains lighter they're longer than the 150's. Interesting tidbit to factor in when loading the short 300.
We also found the brand new RCBS 300 dies bullet seater sucked the bullet back out of the case partway when seating. In close examination it seems the short Savage neck combined with wide Barnes bullet grooves leaves little surface area holding friction on the bullet in the case neck, and it sticks in the bullet seater enough to partially extract the bullet upon exit. Switched seaters from a 270 die to finish, but that seater doesn't like the 130 Barnes profile.

Got the Hornady 150 SST "Savage" bullets today. Here are some specs according to my caliper and old shaking paws:
OAL: 1.100"
Small diameter of boattail's taper: 0.260"
Large diameter of taper: .308"
Length of taper: 0.2"
The boattail section is very long for the bullet length, though the bullet sits sort of "weight forward" compared to say a Nosler BT. Hornady has not published a BC yet.

I hate how no vendors will show you side by sides, so here are a few:

1. Ordered by weight/length. THe Savage has a small red tip:

L to R : Sierra 125 SP 2120, Nosler BT 125 gr. 30125, Barnes 130 gr. TTSX, Hornady 150 gr. SP 3031, Hornady 150 gr FMJBT 3037, Hornady 150 Gr SST Savage 30303, Sierra 165 gr. Game KIng HP 2140, Sierra 165 gr. SP 2145, Nosler 168 gr. BT 30168, Speer 180 gr. Mag Tip 2059, Nosler 180 gr. Partition Protected Point 25396


2. Ordered by length only:

L to R : Sierra 125 SP 2120, Nosler BT 125 gr. 30125, Barnes 130 gr. TTSX, Hornady 150 gr. SP 3031, Hornady 150 gr FMJBT 3037, Hornady 150 Gr SST Savage 30303, Sierra 165 gr. Game KIng HP 2140, Sierra 165 gr. SP 2145, Nosler 168 gr. BT 30168, Speer 180 gr. Mag Tip 2059, Nosler 180 gr. Partition Protected Point 25396


3. Smaller weights side by side:

L to R Comparison 150 Hornady SST Savage 30303 vs. Sierra 125 gr. SP, Nosler 125 gr. Ballistic Tip, 150 gr. Hornady SP flat base, 150 gr. FMJBT, Barnes 130 gr. TTSX


4. Larger weights side by side:

L to R comparison 150 Hornady SSA Savage vs. : 1. Speer 180 gr Mag Tip, 180 gr. Nosler Protected Point Partition, Sierra 165 gr. Game King HP, Sierra 165 gr. Game KIng SP, Nosler 168 gr. Ballistic Tip

Forgot, when seated in a case with the cannelure almost totally exposed, it is 2.6" right on the button, and with cannelure almost obscured it was 2.56".

You don't have a standard 30 150grn SST to compare it agaist I surpose?

Johno

Johno, nope but this page has them side by side and the OAL of the regular 150 is 1.17 or .07 longer:
http://www.hornady.com/store/SST-bullets/?sort=title

Zooka Zooka Zooka. I've said it before and here I go again. YOU ARE THE MAN! Nice work my friend! Now that's some useful information for 300 Savage shooters with our puny little short necked cases. A visual (cuz guys are visual) lesson in bullets reality 101. Nice nice nice.

Roy

Zook, great info appreciated by all i'm sure. Looks to me on the side by side pics, not is it shorter, but the ogive will be closer to the lands. Has to be a plus for 99 owners, throat normally being fairly long.

Ive said in other threads ive taken 2 sambar deer with one shot kills from the 150 SST at over 120yds. Sambar are rated as one of the toughest of all deer, it seems the SST works well on this heavy framed animal. I will have to organize to get some sent over

Johno

Well if I had had this set of pics a couple of years ago I would have saved a bunch of $$ and maybe even learned some stuff myself. Turns out that I had been seeking a "short" .308 bullet for the wildcat I was playing with, and so ended up with a nice collection of shorter overall length 308 caliber bullets, perfect for those two beautiful .300 Savages (and a third inbound) I now own!
I love how that "old school" recently-discontinued Speer 180 grain Mag Tip is shorter than a bunch of the 150s and the Barnes 130. I just bought a bunch I cant wait to load up, I guess they were designed with scallops in the copper to aid in low speed expansion but also hold together in the tough stuff. Or so says the Speer factory ads, LOL! I bet there are a ton of elk and moose and mulies who would agree with the factory, if they could. I know there are some pigs nearby that need to help me test their terminal performance out of a .300 Savage in a large, hard critter.

Johno, this one sort of reminds me of the Leverrevolution profile that Hornady came up with. Shaped more like a rugby ball, sort of short and fat, with its broad forward shoulder and long boattail. I wonder if that isnt a better shape for bullets going in that 2700 fps MV range than the long VLD shape or the flat base Spire Point shape.
Not that it makes a ton of difference in the field for most; the most important thing about these for the hunter (IMHO) is that they have two interlock ribs to them (according to the diagrams) so should hold together well in bone etc.

Good data. Wonder how my EG would like 'em..

How about the leverlution bullets, anyone have them on their bench? How do they compare length for same weight to the Savage SST?

The new Hornady 150 SST tip bullet / load sounds like it would be great for deer!!

Personally I like the Remington 180 grn jacketed round nose factory load. Worked great on the first Alaska moose I ever shot, when I was about 12 years old.

A lot of people live in areas that in addition to deer they have black bear and possibly hogs. Personally I want to carry a tougher and/or heavier bullet for the chance I run into that big bear or hog!

Wish Federal would put out a 165 grn Partition load! Like Jocko suggests, that would be a great all-around load for the good ol' .300 Savage!!

I've taken to loading up the 165gr Partitions for most of my hunting. My EG definitely prefers the 180gr, but finally found a load that shoots close to MOA with the 165gr.

Works very well, though the 150gr Partition is probably still better if you're shooting farther.

Bump on this.

I purchased my first 99EG about a month ago. I'm thinking about trying these Hornady 150gr SST (300 Savage) out.

Anyone have actual reloading data and whitetail results with this newer Hornady 150gr SST (300 Savage), #30303?
thanks in advance, Keith

I don't have my data handy but it was RL-15 from memory.
Over 20 BIG sambar deer down to the post mil 99F. The bullet in my opinion is a huge winner, I keep saying this and sound like a broken record. But it really well and sambar are noted as perhaps the toughest of all deer to to bring down. I would not bother trying any other projectile, hornady has done themselves proud with this one

Johno

I have found the lever rution ftx bullet set up for the 308 marlin express fits the 300 savage to a T. Their point of impact at 100 and 200 yards is superior to my other loads. I believe I used 43 grains leverloution powder, Have not shot any big game yet.
I found the 130 barnes and me and reloading to be a struggle but very accurate if I did not crush the necks trying to crimp. {This load had an even higher point of impact than the hornady ftx.} I hopefully will get to try both projectiles on wild boar within the month. I will post actual load data next post.....it is in the horse trailer. And hopefully some necropsy reports!

John,

Isn't that the bullet that was part of the shipment that I sent you a while back? Can't remember all the details but seems that you'd gotten a small supply down there and they were no longer available so you found a couple of boxes here.

That's it George, I think Zookatex found some and sent them on to you to come across with 35cal silvers

John

I've taken 3-4 deer with the .300, and found for deer a plain old cup & core 150gr soft point works well. Yes a Barnes works fine, but unless you want to stretch the range I'm not sure what it buys you. Unless you have a modern rifle the 99 or other old rifles really shouldn't be hot rodded anyway. For bigger game Speer also makes the Grand Slams in 150 and 165 gr, and they are fairly short, tough bullets.

I use 43 grains of lever whatever with the 160 FTX.

I use 42.7 H4895 with 130 Barnes ttsx. Worked up load in Idaho this winter. Here in Portland Or ar 50 plus degrees the primers are starting to get flat. No sticky lever and VERY ACCURATE. They say H powder is extruded and not temp sensitive but she looks like the load has warmed a little.

No one is talking hot rodding, a little confused by that comment.
The discussion centres around a 300 sav specific bullet that hornady produce. If you took the time and compared this projectile with other 150grn offererings you note that is shorter overall, the cannelure is set further back. It makes it perfect for crimping and meeting the 99 magazine length

Johno

No, I am saying I wish I had a little less powder in the 130 ttsx cases. But I am on the road heading to California wild boar hunting.

I am also suggesting the 160 FTX with the 308 marlin express cannulure is a most perfect hornady offering for the 300 savage

John,

So that's were those 358 Silvertips went. I was looking for them the other day and scratching my head and pulling out what little hair I still have left. Coulda sworn I still had a hundred. Good to know I'm not going mad and that I found them down in OZ.

Take care,
George

Johno, are you crimping your .300s for use in a 99? If so have you found that crimping increases accuracy? Reason I ask is most folks I know don't bother crimping their bullets for use in a 99 rotary magazine.

I have ordered a box of these [Hornady 150gr SST, (300 Savage), #30303]. I will work up some loads this spring, fire and chrono; I have H4895 on hand.

I miss ol' Zookatex. Good guy till you all ran him off. .

I did that very experiment, I thought the group was a little tighter. I think what you do get is more consistant presure therefore velocity. I do the same with the 7.62x39 in my little CZ carbine.

I know I bang on about this bullet, but hornady also do loaded ammo, I am a big fan of any company who comes out with a product for a calibre, dare I say it, that many seem to think is obsolete.
Tongue in check here, I know its still very popular in the US, you battle to find even cases for it down here.

Zooka was was a friendly and very helpful bloke. He went to a lot of trouble on my behalf. Plus sending the stuff to George helped in me getting those silvers from him LOL You can come ans shoot some off any time George

Johno

Hornady is a great company. About 90 miles down the interstate from me, if I remember right. Need to visit them sometime.

Now if only they would make something besides a varmint bullet in 87gr .257...

I'd like to see them make a .375 pointy leverevolution bullet. They could literally own the .375 Winchester market.

Bullets arrived today. Here's some caliper measurements I took of Hornady's 150gr SST 300 Savage, #30303

Bullet length 1.120"

Bearing surface is approximately 0.290" (extends below and above the cannula). I set the caliper at .306 (2 thousandths below bullet dia) and slid it from top and the base and rotated to scratch the bullet. Then I measured the distance between scratches.

Based on the measurements I took, assuming a case length of 1.871", calculated OAL would be:
2.608" if seated to bottom of cannula
2.565" is seating to top of cannula

I don't think it was a "hot roddimg" comment per say, I think it was a practicality comment. Factory Federal 150's and Rem Core-lok's have been filling freezers (mine included) for a good many years. The deer I've taken with "technicly" more gun weren't any "deader".

Bottom line, you do your part, and the freezer gets filled.

FWIW, here is pic of a commerical Remington Savage 300 150gr corelokt along side one of the Hornady 150gr SST Savage 300 bullets.

ttt

Just following up to share experience with this bullet. I fired it today from my 1950EG 300 Sav. 1.5" groups at 100 yards with average velocity 2616fps measured at 20ft from muzzle. I'm sure it could do better with load tweaking and younger eyes.