Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors .300 Savage Loads

It would be a toss up between 4895 and Varget for my one powder do-it-all. Well, that and Bullseye, and Unique, and 4759, and 4831, and....

When I was a young kid our home had only one center-fire rifle, my Dad's M99 300 Savage. When I turned 12 I got my own rifle, a M70 Winchester in 270 and then I got a full reloading set up from Herders about 4 months later. So I started loading for my rifle and my Dad said "well we may as well make ammo for mine too", and bough a set of dies for the 300 Sav.

I remember I used war surplus H4831 in my 270 which could be had for just over $1 a pound back then. The 300 Savage used 4064 and thought paying around $5 was painful. But we bit the bullet and paid the high price for 4064 and I loaded ammo for that rifle too for a short time.

About 4-5 years ago I came full-circle and got a Savage M99 in 300, and very soon thereafter I got a Remington M81 also in 300. So I am back the the 300 Savage ammo-making gig. I want back to 4064 for most of my loads.

Here are some of my notes -------re-typed for those that are interested.

In the M99

Reformed 1974 Lake City machine gun brass, trimmed to length and neck turned to make the new neck bottom the same thickness as the case mouth.

CCI Large Rifle Primers.

150 grain bullets used are Remington C.Ls,
150 grain Nosler B.Ts.
and 150 grain Winchester Power Points.

All used with 39.7Gr 4064. The Noslet BTs shoot the best, followed by the C.Ls and the W.P.Ps. coming in last place, but the difference between best and worst on targets is 1.125" with the Noslers and 1.390 with the power Points. (less than a bullet width) The rifle has a fine bead and a Williams peep, so all come in under 1.5MOA. Certainly good enough to kill game with. My Chronograph shows be slight differences between the differing makes of 150 grain bullets, but the average for them all is 2532 FPS

I have killed antelope and deer with the Remington CLs and also 2 deer with the Nosler BTs

I did load some 140 grain Hornady Mono-Flex bullets and I killed 2 antelope with them. Worked great, but I can't say they are any better then the Remington's in how they kill. 41 grains of 4064 and they shoot VERY well with an average of about 1.1 MOA and 2 groups I shot with then gave me around 3/4 at 100. I was VERY pleased to do that with an iron sighted gun at my age. The Chronograph says 2658 FPS. Hard to find, and quite expensive, but in my Savage 99 they have been the most accurate so far.

I have also tried three 180 grains bullets in the Savage 99:

Sierra Pro-Hunters with 37.9 Gr of Accurate 2495 3.3 MOA

180 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip Hunting 37.8 4064. 3.3 MOA

180 grain Winchester Power Points 37.2 of 4064. 2.233" That's the best I have got so far with 180s from my M99. Velocity averages 2328 FPS. So far I have not killed any game with the 180s from either my M99 or from my M81, and the last game I killed with 180 grain loads from a 300 Savage was my Dad's gun even before I got my 270 when I was 12. So I think that would have been around 1966-1967. They were factory loads, (before I got my rifle and my reloader) but I can't remember for sure what brand.

In my Remington M81 I use 39 grains of 4064. The slight drop in the load made the gun shoot a bit better with 150 grain bullets than it does with the 39.7 listed above that I use in the lever action. I get groups with this auto-loader running from around 3 MOA down to about 1.8 MOA, but it has only the original open sights on it, and I am pretty sure the gun would do batter then I can with a flat bladed open rear and a 1/16" brass bead in the front being used with 65 year old eyes. Nevertheless, I have killed 4 deer with it now and with the 150 grain load and the Nosler BT bullets I can hit a small apple with it from a make-shift rest at 100 yards, so it's good enough to fill my freezer. The Rem CLs shoot almost as well with the same load of 4064. My average from my Remington is 2377 FPS

Just last year I decided to re-sight it for 180 grain bullets. I figure I can't reach out very far because of the coarse sights and old eyes, so I may as well see what I can do with the 180s. I loaded some factory Winchester 300 Save brass instead of the reformed machine gun brass with 37.8 of 4064. The groups go about 2.5 to 3", so they are not far behind what I got with the 150 grain bullets and for hunting in the brush or trees, I figure to use the rifle at ranges that may go out to 200, but most shots will be 100 or less. My load in this rifle surprised me, being faster than I thought it would be. The Chronograph says 2385 FPS so with the loads I am using my 180s are slightly faster then my 150s. Weird. But the gun works perfectly with both loads and shoots well enough to suit any task I'd ask of it. If I want longer range or better accuracy I have many scoped rifles that shoot sub-MOA. But the fun of using the old classic makes for more fun. (for me anyway)

I may kill an elk with it so I think I'll leave it as my "180 grain shooter" from now on. I tried 180 grain Nosler BTs and got my best at around 2.5" and then I tried the Winchester Power Points of the same weight and they shot just as well. It's been a long time since I killed an elk or deer with a 180 grain bullet from a 300 Savage, but I may get another chance. We'll see..............

I've been shooting the 125 Gr Nosler BT over 44.0 grains Varget for about 2850 FPS. Flat shooter and a stunner on deer and antelope. This load is sub MOA in my 99 FWT. Savages shouldn't shoot that good!

Is anyone using a Vihtavuori powder in the 300? Results - good/bad?

Sierra Manual Edition V claims a max load of 44.5 grains of Varget with their 150 grain bullets....This in a Savage 112 bolt gun (this was mentioned above)...That has got to be somewhat compressed with their recommended 2.600 OAL.

I loaded 42.3 behind a Hornady 150 Spire Point, OAL 2.620, CCI 200S, Hornady case and it would not group better than about 3.5 inches for three shots and several groups. I did put a slight crimp for no other reason than the bullet has a cannelure. This in a 1960 99F, Burris 2.5X20 Full Field scope in low Weaver mounts.

Dropped to 42 grains and a Sierra 150 grain Round Nose Pro hunter at 2.350 OAL (no crimp) and can put three shots into less than an inch at 100 yards regularly. The Hornady load chronographed average 2650 and I haven't chronoed the Sierra but probably around 2600 or a little less. This will be my Whitetail, Black Bear load.