Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors .250 Savage - what bullet for deer?

I bought my father in law's Savage 99 in .250-3000 from him and he passed away shortly after. I recall him telling me that it shot the 87gr and 90gr bullets best, so I think it is 1:14 twist.

He had one full box of ammo consisting of Winchester and Remington brass with the recipe written on the box - 90gr BTHP, 32gr IMR-4064, Fed 210. (He had another box with the same recipe and empty Remington and Winchester brass)

There is another box of 15 shells that appear to be factory ammo. The box says Winchester 87gr Pointed Soft Point.

Another box of mostly empty Remington brass except for 3 factory Remington shells. The box says Remington - 100gr Pointed Soft Point.

So, with all that background, my question is: Should I use the 90 gr HPBT reloads for blacktail deer? I'm assuming this load will shoot the best since he had this recipe written down for a reason.

I'd prefer to use 100gr bullets if they will shoot good groups, but since there is only 3 left, I'd have to buy more. And since he had a full box of reloaded 90gr HPBT, it would be nice if they are good enough for deer.

I'm assuming the 15 shells of 87gr Winchesters I should just plan on using on coyotes..........???

I did just get some .250 Savage dies the other day too, so I will be loading for it. What are some good bullets to try for deer?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

87 Grain will do a fine Job.

The key to finding good bullets to shoot out of a 1 in 14" twist 25 caliber barrel is short bullets, not light weight bullets. Considering you have only one box of each type of bullets, I'd use them both for shooting paper and then work up your own load for hunting.

I've had good luck with the 87gr Speer Hot Core myself both with accuracy and on antelope. Haven't had the luck to shoot at a deer with it yet, but I wouldn't hesitate. It's also made as a big game bullet, not a varmint bullet. I use H4895 which gets me to 3000fps pretty easily and is relatively insensitive to temp changes.

I have never laid eyes on a blacktail deer & probably never will.

How big do blacktail deer get ?


Mike

+1 on H4895.

A number of my 250-3000s liked a 34-34.5 grain load with Sierra 90 grain Gameking HPBT. Never used them on deer, but these bullets were deadly accurate on varmints.

I've had very good luck with the Speer 100gr. hot-cor and 33.0 gr. H4895 and the Sierra 90 gr. HPBT over 34.0 gr. H4895 in 14 twist model 99's.

200 pounds and some a bit over.

The 87 grain Speer Hot-Cor already mentioned on this thread is my favorite for deer. I should clarify...northern Whitetail deer. Should do equally well on Blacktail.

Thanks guys. Sounds like I should pick up some Speer Hot Cor and work up a load. I already have H4895 on hand for other cartridges, so that might be a good powder to start with. I was worried that 87 gr might be too light for deer, but maybe I'll start out with the 87gr since they are supposed to shoot better than the 100's.

My FIL used the rifle for antelope and I think he did shoot a muley or two with it too, I just never got all the details out of him........

The 100 grain Speer Hot-Cor is shorter than most 100 grain bullets and I tried them in a EG with a 1-14" twist barrel. Did not shoot as well as the 87 grain. I gave the remaining bullets to a couple of friends to try in their pre - 1960 rifles and they shot as good as the 87 grain Hot-Cors so they have been going with the heavier bullet.

They must build them bigger in Alaska. In WA if they go over 150 that's a monster. Big racks and small bodies.

Mike
1/2 the size of this Guy.

The deer around here are pretty small. I shot this little one a few years ago. He was a little smaller bodied than most 2 points. I've been holding out for bigger, passed on spikes the last couple years, and rattled in a "big" one last year, but he slipped away.

Here is one my pard killed (deer has been gutted). Pard is 6'5" and 270, just for reference.



I've never weighed one with guts in, but have weighed gutted deer that were 170 pounds and more than a few in the 150 range.

One of the problems of loading for older .250's is that even the 1-14 twists could vary. Usually they'll shoot the 100 Speer Hot-Cor pretty well, but I had an older 99 that simply would not. It turned out to have a rifling twist of about 1-15. (The barrel must have been rifled on a Monday.) It shot the 87's just fine, though.

The 117 Hornady roundnose Interlock was designed for slower twist .25 barrels. It will usually stabilize in a 1-14 twist and some people like it for woods hunting.

My 1921 takedown would shoot sub-MOA with Rem CoreLokt, Sierra 100 flat base or Speer 100 flat base, over Reloder 15.
It shot the 117 Hornady RN to about 2.5 inches at 100 yards.
My present .250 is a late-forties EG. I haven`t shot it too much, but it groups the Speer 100, Hornady 100 or Hornady 87 into about 1.4 inches, and the 117 RN to about 3.5 inches.
The 117 load is one recommended to me by Mule Deer some time back; 41.5 grains H4831SC, and that powder is a tight fit!

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The 1:14 twist barrel your rifle has tends to LIMIT the weight of the bullets your rifle will shoot without "key-holing" them in the target.

Later models of the .250 Savage have 1:10 twist barrels which more readily stabilize the heavier .25 caliber bullets.

The .250/3000 (aka ".250 Savage") made it's reputation for giving clean, quick kills on deer due in great part to it's high muzzle velocity (3,000 fps) which was attained with the heaviest bullet the 1:14 twist barrel would stabilize at the time... an 87 grain spitzer bullet. Heavier bullets tended to "key-hole" (aka "turn sideways") due to the slow twist of the barrel plus the additional LENGTH of the heavier-than-87 grain bullet.

The .250/3000 was the first commercial rifle cartridge to attain the then unbelievable velocity of 3,000 fps! As a result, the caliber's high velocity became part of it's name ".250/3000" with the "3,000" being the cartridge's muzzle velocity with the 87 grain bullet.

I recommend you stick with 90 grain or lighter bullets which will take deer-sized game just fine. In fact, the Savage .250/3000 developed it's fine reputation as an outstanding deer cartridge by making quick, consistent kills on deer and antelope with any reasonable bullet placement.

As far as suitable rifle powders are concerned, the .250/3000 isn't "picky" and will yield outstanding muzzle velocities, according to my reloading book, with IMR3031 (a MAXIMUM load of 35.0 grains = 3247 fps), IMR4895, IMR4064, IMR4320 or any of the Hodgdon EXTREME ("EXTREME" ='s not effected by air temperature) rifle powders that have similar designations to the IMR powders, but NOT necessarily similar amounts of powder... or any of the other powders in similar burning rate ranges.

Naturally, you should use good (aka "safe") reloading practices by starting out with loads seriously LOWER than the MAXIMUM loads given for the various rifle powders in various reloading books.

However, the IMR and Hodgdon powder loads are NOT inter-changeable, so check your reloading manual for the exact "numbers". You might also check out other powder manufacturer's powders of similar burning rates.

Naturally, you'll wanna find and use "THE" most accurate powder and the powder load for your rifle. That's all part of the "fun" of reloading.

Good hunting...


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

on Vancouver Island ,some of the blacktails reached 225 lbs ,in hidden away places ,but after the wolf infestation its harder to find the big ones.

norm

Yes it will.... Works for me...