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I've been gone a while. But now I'm back. Just wanted to say how pleased I was to pop the cherry on my .300Sav M99 this fall, on a spike bull elk. The gory details: He came to a cow call, and I shot him with a 165gr Hornady handload at 30yds. broadside double-lunger, and he went about as far as he could in the 3-4 seconds he had left. Yummy. I have no complaints about the bullet's performance, but I might play with 180gr bullets before next fall, just in case the next one isn't broadside. -al

I'll bet those steaks taste mighty good! You used a great rifle and cartridge!!
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<br>Gary

EllieMae,
<br>That was fantastic!
<br> I've been playing with a .300/99 for about 3 years now and have yet to take game with it. I have only fiddled with 150 grain bullets so far, since all I've got any chance of shooting with it is whitetail deer. Maybe some day it'll go to Colorado, but I've got more rifles to use than I've got time or money to use them!
<br>Would you please post your handload combo that you used and what kind of groups you got with it out at 200 yards? If you chrono'd it how fast was it running?AW

I load a 165gr Hornady SP over 38gr IMR3031 (that is from memory, but I think it's right, all usual disclaimers apply) in winchester cases and fed primer. Chrono says a fuzz over 2500fps. It shoots 1.5-2" 3-shot groups at 200yds. The first two shots are always side by side and about an inch apart. The third is always lower. Sighted 2" high at 100, it's about 3" low at 200. -al

EllieMae,
<br>That is decent accuracy for the rifle, but it doesn't sound like top performance speed wise. No wonder that 165 did such a fine penetration job on that elk. It took it a while to realize it had actually bumped into something! I doubt that a 180 would show you any improvement if you are going to keep speeds that moderate. You should try some IMR4064. I think it will be enough slower burn to net you at least 2600 FPS with your current 165 grain bullet. I've been reading fantastic things about Reloader 15 in the .300 Savage as well. An honest 2600 FPS with 165 grain Nosler Partitions. The Hornady should do that with even less pressure. Great job on the elk. If only all of them could come so easy and under such perfect presentation.AW

I didn't do much experimenting at all to get this load. This was only the second or third thing I tried, and it was so accurate I just stuck with it. But you know, I've never been one to try and wring every last fps out of a cartridge anyway, especially in old guns that could probably use a little TLC. That load isn't max, but it's plenty fast enough and accurate, and I don't think a critter would know the difference from another 50 or 100fps anyway, so I just called it good enough and went hunting. I did pick up some 4064 to try in this cartridge and a couple others, though.
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<br>I'm the same way with my .45-70. While everybody else is beating themselves up, I just make some powderpuff loads that are easy to shoot and go kill elk. I get a real kick out of bucking convention and killing elk with rifles and loads that the experts out there will tell you are inadequate. I figure if you can kill one with a patched round ball, then you should be able to do it with anything that you can put into the right spot and back out the other side. And I don't push the distances. My last four were at ranges of 50yds or less. One of these days I'm going to kill one with my .30-30. It's just hard to get around to it with so many other things on the list. -al

EllieMae,
<br>You are of course right about there being no lack of killing power demonstrated in that moderate .300 Savage load. The results speak for themselves. Slight increases in MV wouldn't change the terminal ballistics or trajectory much. (certainly not @ 30 yards LOL) I plan to try some of those 165's just for fun, since I've read several favorable reports on their compatibility in the .300 Savage. I've even got a few 165 grain Partitions to test as well. You might want to try Sierra's 150 RN Pro Hunter bullet with the IMR4064. I think it has excellent accuracy potential, and one of the Sierra techs said it was probably their best expanding Sierra bullet for use on deer @ typical .300 Savage speed. My initial load seems mild and shows about 8" drop between 100 and 200 yards. I need to run it across the screens and see what it's doing for MV. That .300 Savage and the 99 are a real curiosity to me. Hopefully I'll get to take some game with it some day.AW

EllieMae-
<br>I agree with you - I'm more interested in putting the "hunt" back into hunting and using older cartridges. My last bull elk (a 4x5) went down with one shot from my .30-30. It was about a 40 yards in dark timber. He was facing uphill towards me - the bullet entered his chest from a quartering angle - he went down hard and never even twiched!! I haven't had that happen very often with bull elk!
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<br>Gary

Gary - Glad to hear it. I didn't have any doubt. I shot through a mulie buck lengthwise once with a 150gr Hornady in .30-30, and decided right then and there that it would kill an elk easy. I'll use a 170gr bullet just to make sure, though.
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<br>And if you're into the numbers games (I'm not), a .30-06 has about the same energy at 300yds as a .30-30 does at about 75yds. And who would try and tell you that a .30-06 isn't a 300yd elk rifle? So a .30-30 must be a 75yd elk rifle.
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<br>If you're shooting at an elk from 400yds and just hoping to hit it in the front half somewhere, which is the case most of the time I'm sure, then you'd better have a cannon and a big tough bullet. But putting one exactly where you want it is a no-brainer at 50 or 100, so you don't have to worry about breaking shoulders, etc., and if you're just putting one through the lungs, it doesn't take so much bullet.
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<br>I've also never understood the obsession with having them drop in their tracks. Most of mine haven't, but it's not a problem. They don't go far, especially when they don't even know for sure what just happened or where it came from. -al

Good point on "the obsession of dropping them in their tracks"- It's nice when it happens but isn't really necessary. If it dead, it's dead - even if you have to walk a few hards further to get to it. I've seen antelope with solid lung/heart shots run a few hundred yards quite regulary before dropping. Nothing wrong with the bullet or placement of the bullet - that's just the way it is sometimes!
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<br>If dropping them in their tracks were a total obsession with all hunters, then their wouldn't be an bow hunters!!
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Dead in their tracks has a lot to do with where you hunt. I've lost 2 deer to other folks, just because they were closer to where the deer did fall.

Wiley, I understand. I've heard the stories, and I just can't imagine hunting where other hunters are that close, but I understand that's how it is some places. Definitely not where the elk roam. -al