Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rem 721 in 300 Savage

Okay guys need some input. I have a chance to pick up a Rem 721 in 300 Savage. If my memory is correct (comes and goes with age) the 721 was know for very good accuracy and a strong action. The 300 Savage was one of the better deer calibers and still availible in factory ammo. Any input good or bad will be very helpful.

Thanks
Bill

Bill,

My first centerfire rifle was a Remington M721 in .30-'06. That was the long action, and it also came in .270 and .300 H&H, plus .280 I am told.

The short action M722 was the factory .300 Savage rifle.

I checked de Haas' book, and he also lists .222,.222 Mag, .244, .243, .257 R and .308 in the M722.

I still have my M721 action, but it is a .280 in a McMillan stock with a Canjar trigger.

jim

wmwise

A co-worker of mine has one with a faulty extractor. He took it out of the gun case and was going to snap the trigger to uncock the rifle before putting it up...it went off. Thanks...

basically the same action as a 700, can perhaps be rechambered to .308.

Extremely strong action amd capable of excellent acuracy. My 338 Win that Celt built me is on a 721. However, I used a 700 trigger (must use the 700 safety as well or file a flat on the side of the receiver) and added a BDL floorplate.

If it's a .300 Sav, it's probably a 722( a short 721. or is a 721 a long 722??). AT any rate, they're a fine action. I prefer them over the 700. I like the straight bolt handle and the fact that they lock the bolt while on safe. Coupled with a Shilen trigger and a NULA 3- position safety it's a real winner. My 721 300 H&H is a great shooting ever so practical hunting rifle. If it's priced right, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

Jeff

The cartridge is an excellent one. It's the rifle that is not of the best ideas. The stocks on those old 722's were made for iron sights and in general they are an economy gun.

As long as you don't pay too much it will be fine. By the way the caliber is a little rare in that gun. If it's in very good orginal condition and you get it cheap I bet someone collects those old Remingtons. So if it's nice don't cut it up. Instead mark it up and make some money.

About 25 years ago, I passed on one in a pawn shop outside Ft. Bragg, it was dirt cheap and I should have bought it then. I've been kicking myself in the pants ever since, for passing on that one, and the scads of Ruger 77s in .300 and .250 Savage that another gunshop had in stock. Young and foolish, I guess, but I had it bad for handguns at the time ( and sure bought a bunch of good ones at that time, too). Fayetteville, NC had (probably still does) a lot of fine gunshops with neat stuff, to sell to the paratroopers, and others. Neat town for the loonies!

I had one of those M722's in 300 Savage a number of years ago, and in a moment of weakness, sold it to an acquaintance. Immediately regretted it. Later located and bought another one with the barrel toasted from lack of care. Sold it later as well. But lately I bought a 700 Classic in 300 Savage, and I could not be happier. It is mild-mannered, kills like lightning, and is super accurate. I have yet to feed it any handload that shoots over 1" at 100 meters. Took two mulies last fall with it, both instant lights out. My pet load revolves around a good 150 grain bullet and Reloder 15 or Nobel 104, Regards, Eagleye.

It's most likely a 722. I've owned several in 300 Savage as I once collected 721's and 722's.
If it's in decent shape grab it.
they are well made, every bit as good as the 700. The stocks have a little more drop at the heel because we were just finding out that 'scopes worked.
They are a " short action" blind magazine and take thge same mounts as the equivilant 700. I had one of mine rechambered to .308 win. and with the 24" bbl 2900 fps with 150's was do-able.
I dont think that caliber in that gun is rare. At that time the 300 Savage was quite popular. In fact I have seen 300 Sav. in 722's and 30-06 in 721's in about equal no.s
I have a late 722 in 243 that has a 22" bbl with screwed on sights with factory lettering. Neat gun and not too common.

A couple of months ago, I shot in a match in Mission, B.C. One of the veteran competitors introduced his buddy to competitive shooting in the "Hunting Rifle" class by lending him his old Model 721 .300 Savage with some handloads.

The buddy shot some eye-opening groups at 300 yards with that rig, and this old rifle/cartridge combination definitely caught my attention.

If the rifle you're considering is in decent condition, you might be onto a great deal.

There are more 722s in .300 Savage around than you think,
more easily found than the 700 Classic in my opinion. 722s
seem to be higher in price depending on caliber, a couple of
years ago I was in the NW PA area and encountered two in
.257 Roberts, both in good condition, price was around 300
each. Now I see them on GUNSAMERICA, GUNBROKER, etc.
for much, much, more than that. The .300 Savages usually
run 250-300 when I see them. 06s, 270s, & 222s seem to be
the most common. The 300H&H seems to be hard to find,
most of the ones I encounter have been rechambered to
300WBY.

I have seen maybe half a dozen 722's in .300 Savage over the past couple years. Almost bought one, but then reminded myself that I have a Savage 99 .300 that shoots better than most bolt guns!

I have a local rancher friend who's had one since he was a kid and has killed not only lots of deer and antelope with it, but uncountable elk. There's no reason to rechamber it, even if you don't handload. All the Big Three ammo manufacturers make fine ammo for it. The stock isn't really a problem for scope sighting. I shot my grandmother's 722 in .257 Roberts for years without knowing that the stock was too low. Didn't miss anything that I recall. A wonderful cartridge that, like its little brother .250, kills all out of proportion to its kick.

MD

Bill�



That rifle/cartridge combination would make a GREAT deer rifle out to 260 yards� and, as long as you kept the range �reasonable� (150 yards or less), it would work on caribou, elk, black bear and moose as well with a good bullet like a 165 grain or a 180 grain Nosler Partition bullet.



The .308 Winchester was designed FROM the original �short cartridge�, the .300 Savage. The .308 Winchester has about a 10% greater powder capacity and is loaded to higher chamber pressures (50,800 CUP vs. 46,000 CUP) and, thus� it shoots a 150 grain bullet about 150 fps faster than a .300 Savage.



However, the deer on the receiving end of that 150 grain bullet won�t ever know the �difference�. With judicious handloading, you can get close to 2700 fps out of the .300 Savage using a 150 grain bullet which is perfect for deer hunting. When sighted in 2.75 inches high at 100 yards, it yields a �point-blank-range� of 260 yards which is the maximum range most hunters should attempt a shot on deer sized game.



You'll also not have to be concerned about the recoil of the .300 Savage round. Using a 150 grain bullet with maximum loads, the recoil is more of a gentle nudge... averaging about 14 ft/lbs with a 150 grain bulllet. It's a rifle you can stand to shoot all day off the bench-rest at the rifle range and walk away smiling.



The .300 Savage cartridge was introduced �way back in 1920 by Savage for use it their Model 99 lever-action rifles. The original .300 Savage offered the then-current .30/06 ballistics (150 grain bullet @ 2700 fps) in a shorter round capable of functioning through a lever-action rifle� namely the Savage Model 99.



My own Model 99 (a 1953 �late model" EG) with a 24� barrel consistently shoots 3-shot groups of �-inch at 100 yards using my handloads and yields a chronographed muzzle velocity which averages 2680 fps using a maximum load of 41.5 grains of IMR4895 behind a Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet sparked by Winchester standard large rifle primers in Winchester cartridge cases with no pressure signs. However, THIS IS A MAXIMUM LOAD, �WORK UP� TO IT WITH CAUTION!





Strength & Honor...



Ron T.

That low comb on the old 722 that I got new in 1953 was enough to throw me off some. From some positions I knew that I had not got the shot off as well as I should have. I did use that rifle for maybe fifteen years and shot some deer and at least a thousand pests with it. When the barrel wore or stopped shooting as well I replaced it with a new 700 in the same 222R caliber and that rifle was much easier to shoot well.

During this time I was very active in competition with fine target rifles. I shot as well or better than anyone.

My scope and mounts on that old 722 were Beuhler with low rings and a Lyman 6X Wolvorine. The rifle stock did not fit me, that's all. I have read that some cannot even use a new Kimber 84M as the combs are too high. Thus people vary. Those old Remington combs were made for irons. With the new high combs I cannot even use the irons in some cases as the combs are too high.

I have never seen a used 722 for sale in 300 Sav. On the other hand I don't pick up Rems in gun shops. I look at the tags however and don't recall one.

Rather than erase the above I will type that I have made way too much out of this. Just buy the gun if the price and condition are right.

What JB said . . . . . <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Heck, just buy it, and let us know how it shoots.

BMT

rat whacker,

just curious... 25 years ago i was running around fort bragg too... we probably saw each other in the pawn shops... (i was the good looking one)

i remember raingear joes just off post on murchison church road...??? did i get that road name right???... mcpherson church rd???

anothr pawn shop at the first stoplight off post on bragg blvd... it was in the same little shopping center as cumberland knife and gun.... john sumrell, of cumberland knife and gun, i counted as a friend, and i regret that i lost touch.....

a friend from 5th grp. worked at a gunshop in the little shopping center with the miniature eiffel tower, way out murchison church rd, and past the mall... almost to I95... i kept in touch with him, but he checked out early...

if i was the good looking one, ... which one were you ??? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> ..... john w

Well, I wasn't the good-looking one! I did spend a lot of time at Cumberland Knife and Gun, and most of the rest, but mainly Jim's Pawn Shop, right on Yadkin Road, from post (B Co. 2/325). He kept a lot of Colt and S&Ws, and Rugers, HKs (when they were cheap! I paid $399 for an HK91!) all kinds of stuff, fairly priced, as well. There was another place, down in a mall on the SW side of Fayetteville (Cross Creek Mall?) that had a fine shop in it, as well. Ah, memories of days gone by! Loads and loads of neat shops in that town, I wonder what it's like today? Almost worth the drive to find out, but Louisville, where I live now, has some pretty fair shops in it, as well.
Thanks for helping me dreg up those memories, though!

OOOps, almost forgot, it was MacPherson Church Road, (and Ranger Joe's) where lots of guys went to replace gear they had lost in the field. I bet I couldn't even find my way around there, now, though. 25 years is a long time to be gone from someplace. Thanks again for the memory overload!

i think that you're thinking about the same place that i was... if so they had a replica of the eiffel tower in the parking lot... was it called bordeaux shopping center...??? a ways past cross creek mall...

i think, too, that yadkin rd and mcpherson church were the same rd... it was called yadkin where it met reilly out on post, and i think it was called mcpherson church farther out...

and yes, i remember jim's pawn shop... i bought an h&k p9 there that i carried all over hells half acre for years, til i lost it.....

talk about draggin' the past up... !!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />