Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors suggested Handloads for 300 Savage

I would like any of the forum members loading data/preferences/advice on working up handloads for my 1954 EG. I think I will stay in the 150-165 grain bullet weight range for Whitetail/hogs. Already have the new dies, new unprimed R-P brass.
Your expertise would be appreciated. I haven't shot the rifle yet because I haven't mounted the scope I got from Drew. I will try it out with R-P 150 gr. factory loads.
Thanks!
Tony

What powders do you have on hand?

H 4831, IMR 4350, RL15, IMR 4064, IMR 4320

You'll probably find something your rifle likes with the last three you mentioned.

Be careful if you look at Hornady's 4064 data. Their top loads with that powder are pretty hot.

4320 is an old and often overlooked powder that deserves more attention. It's fine grains meter very well and settle nicely into the case. When I first started loading the little 300 for my 700 Classic I tried some 4320 from an old lot and got nice accuracy right away with 150 grain Speer Mag Tips. It's been a while and I'm away from my notes so I can't quote the charges I tried.

RL15 is very good with 165 grain bullets. Start at 40 grains and work up a half grain at a time topping out at 42. You should find a good load pretty quick.

I also favor RL15 with the 150, but I don't think my charge is '99 approved.

Thanks! I noted that in Alliant's site they listed a load of 44 gr. of RL15, at 2,614 fps in a 20" barrel. I question this and I emailed them about it in a M99(safe, etc.)and if they had any other loads for 150-165. haven't heard back but the 44 grains might be a bit much for a M99?

Any other Savage collectors please chime in and send me your favorite recipes.
thanks..Tony

mathman hit the nail on the head. When using 4064 with 150's my max is 41 grains and I find the best accuracy around 40. I've used 4320 but, never had much success as it seems to like higher pressure than I want to load in my 99's. Never used any RL15 but, RL12 is a very fine powder if you run across any. My all-time favorite in the .300, and also the .250-3000, is H-4895.

I'm thinking 44 gr. of RL15 would be pretty stiff under a 165. It's a crisp (and very accurate) charge under a 150 in my 700 Classic.

I like it a lot too, but the OP didn't list it.

I use 41gr of IMR4064 , CCI primmers and 150gr Rem. Corelok bullets with WW brass. Velocity out of my Rem 760 with 22" barrel is 2560fps. I settled on this load because both my 99 and 760 rifles like it (the 99 is less fussy than the Rem.)

Lee

A very accurate load in my 1899F is 37gr of 4064 with a 165gr Hornady InterBond using WLR primers.

nash

I'm partial to the load described in the first post. 150 gr, core-lokt's.

Knocks em dead everytime.

My favorite load is a 165 grain Partition over 42 grains of RL 15, WLR primer and a Remington case at 2,600 fps. I use this same loading with 165 grain Speer HotCors as well. If you are interested in this load work up to it. I feel that it's on the verge of pushing the Savage 99 envelope a little. I use the Partitions simply because I've accumulated a couple boxes of them over the years and might as well burn 'em up. HotCors or Sierras work just as well especially for deer.

Another 165 grain Speer HotCor load I've used is 41 grains of IMR 4064, a Remington 9 1/2 primer in a Remington case for a velocity of 2,560.

With 150 grain Sierra bullets I load 43 grains of RL15, with the Remington case and primer. That load pushes the bullet to about 2,700 fps.

H4895 works well for me for accuracy with 165gr Partitions, though I use a milder load. Just start low and work your way up looking for a sweet spot.

Has the added benefit of being pretty insensitive to temperatures. So whether it's 0 or 60, it'll shoot pretty much the same. And either is possible in Nebraska for mid-November.


One thing I've noticed is that most reloading manuals just repeat Hodgdon's min/max loads of H4895 to be 35/38 grains and a max of about 2340fps. Except, Hornady shows a max of 41.3 and 2600fps. Considering those are 308 velocities, anybody tried it? I've never seen pressure signs at 38gr, but I've always stopped there.

H4895 should be good with a 165. I just got out the records for a development session from Feb. 2008. Please note that I load for a Rem. 700 Classic, so the OAL and probably the bullet are not going to work in a '99. The rifle has a 24" barrel, and it's mounted with a 6x42 Leupold.

Once fired RP brass, FL sized for just a little drag when closing the bolt on a round

Federal 210M primers

41 gr. H4895

168 Berger VLD seated to 2.735" overall, 3.055" in a Sinclair nut

I was quickly shooting a string of them over the chrono and I noticed they were grouping pretty well on the 100 yard target. So for the last three shots of the nine shot string I aimed at a different 1" dot and with a pretty warm barrel I shot them into a 0.72" group. I switched to the 300 yard board and put three into 1.95".

To close out I let the rifle cool and fired the last three shots on a clean 100 yard target at 30 second intervals. The group is one oblong hole just over 1/2" edge to edge.

The load averaged 2545 fps. The cases extracted easily, the faces of the primers just started to flatten and their edges were still quite round.


Edit: If you think about it H4895 with a 165/168 loaded to the mid 2500s in a case about this size ought to be a sure thing. It's pretty much a ballistic duplicate of a classic high power match load for the M1A in 308, and that load is much milder than commercial hunting ammo or full strength handloads for a 308.

I appreciate all the advice and information. Since I will be hunting deer/hogs with this rifle I am leaning to using 150 grain bullets. Any comments?
Thanks...Tony

Put the bullet where it counts, and it will kill the critter.

I like to load from a powder measure so I'd start with the RL15 and 4320 you said you have. My Model 700 (factory original other than a trigger adjustment) in 300 Savage equipped with a 6x hunting scope shoots 2" groups at 300 yards with thrown charges so once I decide on a load I only use a scale to verify the measure setting.

A 308 I have will hold about MOA to 300 with charges of 4064 thrown crunch crunch straight from the measure into the cases. This was with a rather arbitrary load. So don't dismiss the 4064 you have either.

Get some 150 grain Interlocks and go to town. Both the flat base and boat tail versions have been quite effective on deer for me and my hunting buddy.

On TX white tail... no problem... the pigs I don't have experience with but would think you would be okay up to 300 lbs or so...the 150s are great on MO whitetail and they are bit larger than the average TX deer.

FYI
The below is the question I sent to Alliant and below it the answer given. They didn't address my question regarding if they had other loads. In a big hurry I guess but am still skeptical of the 44 grains but I found it interesting they used a 20" barrel for the MV figure.

I have a 1954 M99 300 Savage. Is the load data listed in your website
of 44 Gr. RL15 w/165Gr. Speer within the CUP max. and safe for this
rifle. The rifle is in excellent mechanical condition. Also if you
have any other load data in 150-165 gr.I would appreciate it for this
rifle.

The loads on our website are safe in your rifle. The listed load is
maximum and should be reduced by 10% for a starting load. We do not
suggest that you start with the maximum load. Thanks for your note and
have a nice day.

Ben Amonette
Consumer Service Manager
Alliant Powder Company

USMCvet69:
That load of 44 gr RL-15 with 165 grain bullet for 2614 fps is straight out of the Speer Manual #13. According to the manual it is within the 46 Kcup ceiling for the .300 Savage and was fired from a 99E with 20" Barrel.

In my opinion, that is too hot for the RL-15 in my cabinet. I would not exceed 42 grains. And in working up to it, I would start at 40 grains and use a chronograph. 2600fps for a 165 grain bullet is a lot to ask of the little .300 Sav., especially in a Savage 99.

42 grains is accurate in my 99 R. Velocity is right at 2500 fps from a 24" barrel. My bullet is the 165 gr Rem PSPCL. This is plenty for deer at 200yds.
Use caution and watch for pressure signs.