In the various 99s in 300 Savage I've owned over the years, have played around with 150 and 180 grain projectiles, few different powders. It just occurred to me I have never tried 165 grain anything in my 300s. Nine times out of ten, they like 150 best, but wonder if I'm missing something by overlooking the 165s. Feedback would be appreciated on subject.

I have only shoot 150 grain bullets in my 300 but I wish
165 gr round nose bullets were still offered by Speer.

Doc

My main hunting EG really, really prefers 180gr over 150gr bullets. But I prefer the velocity on the 150's. 165gr made a nice compromise on that gun and worked quite well.

Hornady 165 flat base shoot great out of my 300 EG. I load them on top of imr 3031>

I've always wanted to experiment with 165-grainers in the .300. Give em a try and let us know how they work.

oldotter,

When I was shooting the .300 Savage a lot, probably my favorite load was the 165 Nosler Partition and, as I recall, 42 grains of Reloder 15. I chose the Partition because of elk here in Montana, and RL-15 because my Speer manual listed it as producing the highest velocities with 165's.

Their present manual lists 44.0 grains as maximum, at 2614 fps from a 20" barrel. In the 99EG I used the load in, 42 grains got around 2650 fps with excellent accuracy, which I figured was fast enough--and was.

Might find a bullet your rifle really likes, then it'd be worth it. After reading about actual performance capabilities of individual .30 cal bullets http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.300+Savage.html I figure the 165gr Speer BTSP should be a good place to start for mine and I've recently picked up a box.

At present, 165 gr Partitions are on my shelf. That report sounds encouraging enough to give it a trial run. Thanks MD and other enablers.

I've thought about trying something 'heavier' than 130gr Barnes, but then I realized that I'm under 60.

yea, I remember when I knew it all to. My opinions were the ONLY ones that conuted and meant something.......then I grew up, and realized opinions are like azzholes... everybody has one

Some people think that only the most expensive bullet on the market can kill a deer. Free country.

Man, you girls are so sensitive.

Maybe I'll switch to those inexpensive Nosler Partitions. Thanks for adding humor.

Here in the heavily wooded East, I load 180 round nose bullets. My rifles like 41 grains of WW748 with about any round nose 180. I still have some Remington Core-Lokt 180s saved away. The Sierras shoot especially well in my 99s.

$13.50 for a 50 count box of 150gr Nosler 2nds.

$33 for a box of 50 Barnes?

For a retired guy, you have so many opportunities still to learn useful things in life once you figure out how much you don't know.

While I am enjoying the general tone of the discussion and the direction it's headed, I'll +1 on the 130 Barnes. There's no downside for as few hunting bullets as a guy shoots in a year. Less recoil, more speed, great penetration. If you want to practice alot there are 125 Nosler ballistic tips 2nds or even lead slugs.

Steelie and I have been arguing the 130gr Barnes battle for years now. I don't care what he uses, I'm glad he has something that works for him and he's confident with. But I personally have no urge to use a long for weight bullet whose downrange ballistics don't do better than a 150gr. The one thing that Steelie doesn't do is change, so I'm sure this bantering will continue for years to come. My go to is the Partition, but I'm not dead set on it. Used a Hornady 150gr a couple years ago, deer took 2 steps and keeled over. Used a 165gr Ballistic Tip this last fall - deer don't go far when the bullet goes through the heart. The 300 Savage velocities are practically perfect for standard cup and core, it's not rocket science.

I ain't 60 yet but am getting much closer than I care too....

Don't particularly like change either though.

I know one thing...about my 99F. It loves the 180 grain silvertips, I don't notice the recoil and my 2 longest shots at 230 yards each, the deer didn't seem to notice the lack of speed. Both ended up tasting mighty fine.

There's no wrong answers, only some better-n others. I also shoot some old 150 gr semi-roundnose in one 300...

Heck, where I hunt whitetail in the NE Minnesota woods any hunting bullet between 150-180 is going to do the job. My longest shot over 50 yrs was only 165yds with the vast majority under 75. l just want accuracy of 2.5" or better at 100 yards = dead deer.

Are these what you're referring to, Doc? I got 2 1/2 boxes of them and hoard them jealously for use in .300's.

Went to the range Sunday. RL-15 and 165 Noz Partitions were a success all around. The 22' barrel on the T gave up only a few FPS, but nothing in the accuracy department. The EG which showed favoritism for 150 gr Sierra Pro Hunters had equal love for the 165s. All in all was a good day. Don't have to worry bout a pet load. Have multiple loads which can scratch the itch. This way I don't necessarily need to loose sleep over obtaining specific components when shortages occur. Nice to have options.

Yep, they'll work really well for ya.

The Original Short Magnum .....

Gnoahhh,

You really know how to hurt a fellow reloader. If you reload the Savage 303 I have a box or two of the Remington .30 170 gr HPcore-lokt for trade stock........just sayin.

Doc

All the rest of my .30 reloading is done mainly with cast bullets. With 30+ molds on hand, my boundaries are nigh limitless. The .300's are the only rifles I feed a lot of jacketed bullets, because that short neck is a bit of a PIA for cast bullets.

Tell ya what, Doc. If you're going to the Fest I'll bring a box of them along for you. If not, PM me your address and I'll mail them. On the other hand, I wonder how the 170 Core-Lokt would work in the .300 for deer...

A good friend recently passed and left me about 700 loaded .308 with what appears to be the 150 grain version of that bullet. I unloaded all of them, and now use them in a 300.

Firball2,

A Texas campfire member PM'd a while back telling a story of a couple of kids shooting a buck on his ranch many years ago using the Remington 150 gr core-lokt hollow point. He said the the bullet made a heck of an exit hole.

Sweet!

Doc

I have found the 160 ftx marlin express with lever lotion powder exhibits a maintanence of higher velocities with shorter barrels. 20 inch or 22 inch. Using a 24 inch barrel the h 4895 with 165 grain speer or Sierra boat tail catches up to the ftx somewhat. I would suggest using the 308 marlin express load data if you want to try lever lotion and ftx bullets. I am still on the road not near my man cave library data base.

I need to try me some of that lever lotion powder. It sounds pretty slippery.

You had some in your Rosy palms....but you gave them back.

I ain't arguing sheit, but once again you are FAR too stupid to follow.

The first post was a JOKE, stupid can never follow that. Not change? I'll bet you that I've shot more shiet with more different bullets than you can list.

I'll bet you have shot more sheit with more different rifles/types than you ever thunk.

Just saw this thread. I don't pretend to have the experience and knowledge you guys have but I have been loading 30-30 bullets in my 99F. Light loads for the caliber and good for a lot of practice. I figure it's probably easier on the gun.

Sierra 150 and 170s and Speer 170s at about only 150-200 fps faster than 30-30 velocities. The Speer 170s are supposed to have a BC of .301 but here in Pa. where the bush is thick, I don't worry about BC.

My Sierra manual states that there is no reason not to use their 30-30 bullets in any 30 cal rifle and are very effective on game as long as velocities are kept at no more than 2500-2600 FPS. My loads are lighter than that.

They kill deer about like any other .300S or 30-30 load.