Here's a repost of a 2009 jewel from an old-timer, Ray Atkinson:
I feel a kinship to the 250-3000..I began life with a 25-35 shooting deer and elk, My dad used the 25-35 and later the 250 savage and he killed probably 40 or more elk with it..None of us ever lost one btw..
How dad came about the 250 Savage is a funny story...We hauled about 30 or so mules to Colorado every year from our Texas ranch and hunted elk then sold the mules at Chimney Rock when we came out. The Colorado packers would be waiting for us..One year the Game Warden was waiting for us and he took dad to the judge for using a 25-35, dad was mortified because he believed in obeying the law...He told the judge he had been hunting with that gun for many years and never gave it any thought..The judge dismissed the case and warned him to get a bigger gun..As soon as we pulled into our hometown he went into the Hardward store and bought the Savage 99EG in 250-3000 Sav. I said, "Dad, that gun ain't very big and not much bigger than the 25-35..Dad looked at me like I was nuts and told me I didn't know what I was talking about, so I shut up pronto..On the way to the ranch he also told me that he had checked every caliber in the store and most had 4 numbers but the Savage had 7 numbers, therefore anyone with any since at all would know it automatically was the most powerful rifle in the store! I kept real quite, I knew then that I had been outmatched! smile smile To top it off that little Savage killed elk like the hammer of Thor...all you had to do was stick one of those factory rounds in the heart lung area and they died..I shot a number of elk with that rifle, but elk hunting was different back then, the elk came out on side hills in the sagebrush. We shot at under 200 yards, got in close, only took broadside shots, so it worked..
As for deer, both whitetail and Muledeer, the 250-3000 is a match made in heaven.
Today I use a .338 Win with 300 gr. Woodleighs in the timber and the 210 noslers on the more open areas. todays elk are more skittish and head for the dark timber at the first shot of the season. Most of the elk I have shot in the last 30 years have been going away from me at a fast pace on a dark timber sidehill.
I had better edit this post to say that I still have that 99EG 250-3000 in fact I have two of them and I still use them from time to time..A great saddle gun and yes I would feel Ok hunting elk with it today but its not my pick..For deer I still use it and the 25-35
Last edited by czech1022; 08/08/20.
