Over the years, all the 99s in 300 Savage that passed thru my hands did not like 180 grainers of any sort. They all spit out 150gr just fine. My recently acquired T and I went to the range 2 weekends ago, and the old box of Winchester 180 gr silvertips that I use for foulers shot very impressive. So I figured I would give the Sierra 180 gr round nose with Varget a shot at the title. They out shot the 150 gr Sierra Pro Hunters by a little with one load, and quite a bit with the new go to load. So from here on out, the T will prolly get a diet of 180 gr RN. Wonder if the 22 inch tube has anything to do with this.
Jerry

Doubtful.

Can't think of a reason to pick 180's in the 300 Savage.

I can only think of one reason. They shoot flawless.

I was assuming you hunted with them, my bad.

So your 150's don't shoot flawlessly? Whatever the heck shooting flawless means.

Yes, I will hunt with them. Yes your bad. Who the hell are you to be so judgmental of those who dare not follow the Steelhead methodology? I shoot what my rifle likes best, weather or not it meets your approval.
By flawless I mean 6 shots, 4 holes, peep sighted at 50 yards.

I hunt with 180's in both my Model 26 and my 99's. They work, but so do the 150's....deer don't know the difference.
Here are two 180 kills and the pic in my sig line area was a 180 as well.

180s should be better for moose , elk , bear.

norm

Otter:

Would you share your load for the 180 grain and Varget? I have used 180's and 150's in my .300 S. The 180's always pass through deer on broadside shots. I have yet to have a 150 pass through. So when I want an exit I use the 180's. Both kill very well. A favorite load you might try is 43 grains of W760 with a 180 grain Power Point in Win Case with CCI BR2 primer. Not a fast load, but very very accurate in my 99 R in .300 S.

I know, I know, but I don't have those here......

The deer don't go far either.

300jimmy, My Lyman 48th edition has 41 grains as max for Varget. I started at 39 and worked up in .5 grain steps. I was using Remington brass, touched off with Winchester large rifle primers at 2.585" O.A.L. My best 6 shot groups (at 50 yards peep sight)was 1.0 inch flat with 40.5 grains of Varget. Six shots, 4 holes. Regret to say my forgetful self forgot to bring my chrony, so no FPS data. Development done.

Diamond Jim, is that Saddlerings K you got there? Nice to see a K still filling the freezer.
Jerry

My EG with a 24" barrel loves 180gr bullets, killed a lot of deer with that sucker. I would prefer 150gr or 165gr, but why fight the gun?

Be different if I was hunting open range, but with my shots at 150 yards or less it don't matter.

Hope too shoot my "T" tommorow, as I think the snow is about gone from my gun range, 2 weeks ago there was still 2 1/2 ft of the dam white stuff. going to try both 150s and 180s factory stuff for now tho.

[quote=oldotter]Yes, I will hunt with them. Yes your bad. Who the hell are you to be so judgmental of those who dare not follow the Steelhead methodology? I shoot what my rifle likes best, weather or not it meets your approval.
By flawless I mean 6 shots, 4 holes, peep sighted at 50 yards. [

Otter! Looks like you ran into a virus. GW

Jerry,

They may punch paper just fine. KILLING game animals may be a totally different story. However, it's YOUR game so play by the rules that make YOU happy. Good luck. Sounds like a great gun.

John, let us know how your T shoots. Our white stuff is pretty much history, FINALLY. I am lucky in the respect I can accurately shoot either, but the 180gr RN (which are all I have at the moment)are heads above the 150s. And I seriously doubt any whitetail will be able to tell the difference. Like Mr. C said, why fight the gun.

I'd shoot 130 Barnes if I was a 300 shooter. Less recoil. I'm a puss though.

Jerry
Good For You.
Both the Sierra 180 gr round and Especially the Hornandy Shoot Very Well on all My 300's

I've got several boxes of old Sear ammunition in 30 savage. They are 180 grain loads, and I believe loaded by Federal. They shoot pretty good, but I've yet to test one on a deer.

I swear by the 150 grain core-lokts in the green box.

I have a few boxes of Federal 180's handy though when it's time to hunt elk, moose or bear.

Just me...

There is no doubt in my mind a 180 grain load would be a VERY lethal hunting round in a 300 savage. I never heard of 200 or 220 grain bullets loaded in a 300 savage, although I have seen recipes for them in older reloading books. Personally, I have found I have better luck reloading 165 grain bullets. Therefore, I go that route for the 300 savage....but once again I firmly believe a heavier bullet is a way better deal for harvesting game (especially elk sized game).

Yup Jerry hit the range today snows about gone, made it to 67 today! T performed Great, only shot at 50 yrds s had a strong cross wind, Ill tell ya buddie the 180s did group a bit better, maybe cuz they make bigger holes also shot my 22hp, was doing pretty good at 50 yrds with it! alsp played with a marlin 32-20 a bit! was good to do some shooting!

I wish somebody (Federal, Winchester, Remington) would make a 165-grain factory load in the .300 Savage, but I guess the major manufacturers pretty much view it as a nearly-dead cartridge.

They've been dropping loads instead of adding them.

I think that weight would be the best of both worlds in the old .300 for both deer and the larger big game animals.

A long time ago I loaded Speer 165 Spitzers in .300 and they worked just fine. Sorry I can't post the load just know as it's buried under 35 years of notebooks out in the gun room.

Sierra Game Kings 165 37 grains H-4895. COAL 2.6 Federal primers.Gonna do the same for the Speer bullets today.

Rory, thanks for sharing that pic, doesn't get any better than that

I've never reloaded either the 165 grain or the 180 grain bullets for my .300 Savage since I only hunted deer with my Model 99 (EG).

However, if I were going for black bear, I'd use the 165 grain Nosler Partition Bullet since they seem to be the best-of-both-worlds velocity-wise for the 180 grainers & greater bullet weight for greater penetration using the 165 grain bullets rather than the 150 grainers.

To me, the 180 grain bullets, which extend down into the .300 cartridge's powder chamber a bit too far, tend to limit the amount of powder that can be used in the kinda "smallish" .300 Savage cartridge case.

Then, too... in general, the heavier-for-caliber-bullets tend to have thicker jackets and tend to not expand as quickly or as much as the lighter-weight bullets because they are designed for greater penetration than the lighter-weight bullets.

For elk or larger... or for dangerous game (Brown Bear or Polar Bear), I'd prefer to use my custom pre-'64 Model 70 with the 26-inch barrel in .338 Win. Magnum with hand-loaded 225 or 250 grain Nosler Partitions which has proven deadly on large Canadian moose for me.

Of course, the .300 Savage cartridge is capable of taking elk or even moose, but the hunter should limit the range to the game animal and use heavier bullets moreso than with deer.

Jus' my 2� worth...


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

Pretty much the same conclusions at which I've arrived. When I hunted elk, I used a .338 Win Mag with Nosler Partitions, mostly 250s.

I just built a .300 Savage on a Model 70 stainless short action and I'm anxious to see what it will do to deer.

If you do your part it will kill them DRT. Been there, done that.