I've owned at least a couple of Savages, one in .223 Rem and the other in .300 Win Mag -- which was slightly used and an M111 with a cheap Readfield scope that didn't quite last through my first session with it at the range shooting handloads. I replaced that with a Bushnell 3 - 9 x 40.
That was my last of eight .300 Win Mags, and the most accurate. It didn't fall apart though it digested max Nosler loads at about their recorded fps. I recommended a similar used one to a young friend who wanted to hunt bear with me. It was his first BIG rifle at age 19 and he shot the handloads very well that I made for it, killing his first bear with a single shot through the lungs. A bang flop. But he was 6'-5" and 300 lbs. I was 5'-9" and 190 lbs.
I could easily live with a .300 Win Mag in a Savage as my only big game rifle. But my favorite rifles are quite a bit larger in bore size. My favorite today is a Ruger No.1 in .458 Win Mag shooting handloads of anything from 300gr TSX's to 450gr TSX's, at 2944 fps/5773 ft-lbs (avg.) for the 300s to 2400 fps/5755 ft-lbs for the 450s. Yes, and it will do 2300 fps easily from 500s, all seated long. My second favorite is a 9.3 x 62 handloaded with either the 286 Nosler Part. or the 250gr AccuBond.
I turned 84 a few days before 2020.
Bob
www.bigbores.ca
