I put out the word that I needed some .308 heavy bullets for black bear. I got some 180gr and 250gr RN Hornady's. Has anyone tried to load the 250g for use in a 99 savage? They look V E R Y L O N G.

Charlie

Do you mean 220?

220 or 250, you're wasting your time.

The 180 is fine in the 300 Savage.

I meant to type 250, but I checked the box and bingo ... 220gr. Us guys that think things are bigger than they really are.


Charlie

Yeah, too long. I even avoid the 180's unless the gun really likes them. 165's are my preference.

But the 180's kill things very well.

The rate of twist of your rifle will dictate how well they shoot, for the most part. Those Hornady bullets need 1-10" or better for optimal stability. I used them for years in .30/40 Krags, 1-10" twists, driven at 1900 or so fps (before I wised up and switched entirely to 210 grain cast in them). I would at least try them in the Savage for sh*ts and giggles, you never know. Only down side is they will intrude waaaay down into the case past the neck, dramatically reducing powder capacity. I got decent accuracy in my M1920 .300 with the 210 cast bullets, but not as good as with 160-180's so I dropped the heavies before devoting too much time to the experiment.

If you're looking for a bullet that'll rake through a Mastodon from end-to-end and stay together in the process, that Hornady 220 is your huckleberry!

While being a superb round, the .300 does have a few limitations.

I drew an area 7 mastadon tag this year. It should be perfect for the 22 HP.

Let me know if you don't fill that tag. I might want to borrow it.

I use the 180's on black bears with no problems. The farthest one has ever went after being hit was 35 yards.

Roy the 22HP is for Tigers! a mastadon probly just Flinch if hit by a 22hp! Id go with the 220s in the 300. grin

Factory ammo shooter here. The old 180 gr. Remington Core-Lokts were the most accurate loads I found for my 99. Every guns different though. They hit like a sledgehammer and deer don't run away. That being said, I switched to handloads from a buddy of mine with Barnes TTSX bullets and my 99 shoots sub 1" groups off the bench, and this with a very tired old K4 Weaver.

Shortly before WWII Peters loaded some .300 Savage ammo with 200 grain belted bullets but that didn't last very long. For black bears my choice would be the 180 grain Hornady round nose in the .300 Savage. Or the 180 grain Core Lokt round nose. Yes, I do like those round nose bullets.

Yup. The 180s hit hard and take game down fast. Anything heavier in .300 Savage doesn't make sense. The somewhat small case of the .300 Savage can't contain enough go juice to push a heavier bullet fast enough to make it hit harder than the 180.

"Skid" makes a good point.

Even the 180 grain bullets "intrude" far enough into the limited .300 Savage's powder chamber to "limit" a reloader's ability to put enough powder in the .300's case to push the 180 grain bullets with enough muzzle velocity to make their use "reasonable" when the 165 grain .308 bullets CAN be driven with enough muzzle velocity to "make-a-difference" with the bullet's energy.

I.E., if you hand-load, take a "hard look" at some of the excellent 165 grain bullets now available in .308 diameter.

Since it's been 45+ years since I bought any factory rounds, I'm not sure what 165 grain bullets are available in factory loads.

Jus' my 2�...


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

Sorry guys, but you're all wrong. You need the 250 Savage with an 87gr bullet for those types of critters. Here's proof.



yooper

Hmmm... I wonder if a 200 grain bullet would work in the .250? I bet that sucker would penetrate to a fare-thee-well! Probably need about a 1-4" twist to stabilize it.

I loaded another handful of .300's with 210 grain cast bullets. Too long to run through the magazine of my 1920 but still curious to see if I can get them to work. The last time I got 2" groups which is just fine for hunting. If I can squeeze 1800 fps with decent accuracy I'm good to go (considering the .303 with factory 190s don't get much past that out of a 20" barrel). Magazine feeding is the biggest bugabear to solve. Too slow of a terminal velocity for reliable expansion with a 220 grain jacketed bullet, but a soft cast lead bullet is a horse of another color, with helacious penetration to boot. I can't remember the last time I bought a .30 jacketed bullet, let alone a round of factory ammo, and I shoot thousands of shots a year.

So Savage still hadn't learned their lesson as of 1924. I wonder how many people got their asses in a sling from using .22HP's and .250's on stuff that can bite back after being so gullible as to believe Savage advertising?

Or getting stomped after popping an elephant with an 87 grain bullet at 30 feet.

Bullet construction matters more than weight.

I'd take a 130gr Barnes TTSX over a 180gr Core-lokt.

Same here. A 130TTSX pushing 3000 should take care of more than a little, although for Pa a 150 gr NBT wouldn't be all the bad for the majority.