Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 .284 with Hornady 150 gr ELDX

Has anyone had any success reloading the 150 grain ELDX in a 99 .284? Would A Case Length Of 2.800" work?
what is the max OAL cartridge for proper cycling?

A 2.8" length shouldn't be a problem, that's the spec for a 284 cartridge.

Max COAL that will cycle in the action is probably best found for a specific gun, if you want to exceed 2.8". Just load up a few dummy rounds with no powder at a longer length, and then keep seating the bullets deeper until they dependably load in the mag and feed properly.

Never shot a 150gr, have stuck with 140gr myself shooting.

I load the 120 Barnes to factory length. They shoot a little less than an inch. I always start at factory length now. If it shoots an inch or better I’m done. I don’t shoot past 275 to 300 yards so that works for me. Roy shoots a 145 Speer I think.

I have done quite a bit of work on extending the overall length of numerous cartridges in the 99 action. Although there are differences rifle to rifle, my overall result is that most will cycle reliably at 2.815", some at 2.820", and almost none at 2.825" in post 900,000 receivers. I reduce the max by .010" for hunting because of the consequences of a jam in the field. Most of my work has been with 257 Roberts, 6.5 CM, 260 Rem and 284 Win. I did some with 358 Win, 7mm-08 and 243 Win. A little with 308 Win. Results very similar with all calibers tested. I did not get to do much work with bullet tip configuration, but I suspect round nose and flat tips will need to be a bit shorter than pointy ones. The limitation is always ejection clearance in Detachables, and may be either ejection clearance or bullet contact with the magazine carrier in Rotaries. Large bores may see bullet contact with the chamber during loading, but my experience is limited to 375 Win and 450 Bushmaster, and few of those. I do not allow bullet contact at any time during the cycle where accuracy is important.

I would be interested in hearing from others who have "tinkered" with this.

sam

Had 4 or more 284 Win in short actions, and Win 284 & Savage 99,s they best bullets were short for overall length bullets like the Speer 145 gr and some 150 gr bullets. Factory 284 Winchester loads used short for length bullets. In a longer 3.1" action length longer bullets work better! Which is why I left the 284 for the 7mm 08.

Might that overall length put the bullet ogive inside the case mouth?

I've encountered that. It wasn't in 284, but the 99 magazines and new super duper extreme mega whizbang streamlined bullets don't play well together a lot of times. By the time they'll fit and feed, the bullet is halfway back in the case.