Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 300 Savage for elk

Back in 1959 at age 19, I was trying to put myself through college in Missouri and ran out of money. I headed to my sister's in a little California mountain town in Plumas County (Quincy) and got hired on with the USFS as engineering tech on the Plumas National Forest. When deer season came around a Forest Service buddy asked me to go deer hunting with him. I borrowed a rifle from a offered by my sister's neighbor; an old octagon barreled 1894 32 Winchester. My forest service buddy carried his family's deer/elk rifle the Savage 99 in 300 Savage. I remember the details vividly; it was my first time deer hunting. Most of my hunting in my home state of Iowa had been for squirrels, rabbits, pheasant, quail and duck I didn't score on that first deer hunt, but my buddy dropped a nice 6 point (3 point western count). Later in 1968, when I was looking to buy new deer rifle, I read about the 308 Winchester cartridge being a nice mild round a little hotter that the 300 Savage and settled on that in a first year production Ruger 77 (tang safety model). That decision was influenced greatly by the stories I had heard from my buddy's family members about their deer hunts; and elk hunts in Idaho with the old 300 Savage. I have never regretted buying my Ruger 77 308 Win rifle; but at the time would probably of been equally happy with a Savage 99 in 300 Savage.

CJ