Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game .308 Savage 99

I have a .308 Savage 99 that I have never shot. I want to become accurate and proficient shooting it. Generally I shoot at an indoor range with a pistol or outdoors shooting clay pigeons. With practice I am interested to see what I can do at 100 & 200 yards. The range I have in mind is reported to have helpful instructors. The question I have for this group is what grain cartridge would you suggest I show up with? I have no knowledge in this area but I would like to hear from people who actually shoot with a Savage 99 for advice & expertise. Thanks in advance for any information and suggestions you have! Mark

I have a Savage 99 that I received when I graduated eighth grade in 1969. It was the economy model with a birch stock if that makes any difference. My rifle seems to shoot 150 grain bullets best. Mine is a 308 also.

Do you know the twist?

It would seem I have the same rifle. I keep mine as my GOTO rifle for Opening Day. I use 165 grain Hornady Interlokt. I tried to get mine to shoot 150 grainers, but for some reason, I could not get a good group. I would bring both and see what works best.

These days it 's buy what you can get. Fortunately the 308 with 150's are more likely found than other bullet weights. Your lucky it's a 308 , 300 sav shells are a bout $50 a box instead of 25 like 308's. Mb

I don't bother with anything other than 150 gr. in my Savage 99s in 308 and 300. If I need a different bullet I use a different rifle.

It should be a 1 in 12" twist.

My 300Sav M99 loves 165gr Speers. Deer/hogs, not so much.

I have several Savage 99's in .308 and have tried bullets ranging from 130 to 180 grains. 150's have provided the best accuracy. Take care not to use hot loads in the 99, the design allows a bit of flex and can cause issues with extraction and even locking up of the action which can be quite annoying.
Nosler Ballistic Tips and Accubonds have been the most accurate of the bullets I have tested.

The Savage Collectors will have a lot to say and im surprised none have chimed in yet...they will. I have 2 99s in 308. They are like any other rifle in that each is it's own in terms of what it likes to shoot. I have had very good luck with all bullet weights from 180 to 130. I settled on 150g Accubonds because of recoil and my wife and sons mostly use the 99s for deer and antelope so i didn't feel the need to for anything else. If you reload, you have almost unlimited options. If you are using factory, it's just a matter of finding what the rifle likes.

They are great rifles, i hope yours brings you a lot of enjoyment.

My 99 308 seems to be more consistent with 180's. It's a very finicky rifle but it has sentimental value since it belonged to my grandfather.

I've owned one Savage 99, the 99C in .308. Afte4r I played with relieving some wood in the forearm, It shoot extremely well with the then available Hornady "Frontier" Ammo with the Hornady 150sp, a very good bullet even for handloading. I traded mine for a Rockchucker Reloading Kit and still use it!

I load 150 Sierra GameKings for mine. They shoot well in two 99’s and several bolt rifles.

My 99e 308 shoots federal blue box 150's and 180's about the same. I generally shoot the 150's at deer and get great results. And they are available right now online, and occasionally in person.

Get yourself a box of 150 grain, 165 grain , and 180 grain and let the rifle tell you which ones it likes. Are you using a scope or open sights?

Question for you guys who have/had them. I had a 99E in .308. It was very accurate and nice to shoot. The problem was that I could only reload a case once before it stretched around the base. If I tried a 2d time, it would split and sometimes break off. A gunsmith couldn't figure out what the problem was. The headspace was fine. Is that a common problem with them or did I have a bad rifle?

Ask Calhoun.

I have a couple of Savage lever guns, including a couple in 308. If you're shooting factory ammo, I'd suggest trying the Winchester/Olin Deer Season XP 150 grains if you're going to shoot deer with this rifle. I load 165 grain ABs over 45 grains of Varget as it was a close match for the old 165 grain plastic tipped Remington factory loads.

I have only experienced incipient case separations on cases loaded more than six times in my 99E .308. I only sized them enough to go in both the 99e's chamber and my dad's .308 M88.

I kept my hand loads two grains under max in my manual of the time though I used BallC2-39gr or 748-40gr most of the time. Those now appear to be max loads FWIW. I loaded 150 gr Hornady Flat Base.

I bought one someone had wacked to 16 1/4", it was a deer killing machine. 180gr RN's killed them from any direction. I gave it to my nephew 30 yrs ago and it is still killing deer.

Max in a 308? Those loads would be very mild with a 165 grain bullet, never mind the 150 you mentioned.