Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 250-3000 for predators....

Well I was thinking of a 22-250 ,22 Hornet or 243 , Then said to my self whats the matter with your 250-3000 or 25-06 no need for a nother gun . An that s not all I just like the 99 in 250-3000 with a 2x7x40 Swift scope

I used a Savage M99 in 250 Savage for varmints and predators back in the day and it was my all time favorite. I hunted a lot at night and thought the lever action would be great for a quick follow up shot. As it turned out, nothing I ever shot with the .250 ever needed a second shot. For a cartridge that doesn't kick and doesn't make a lot of noise, it sure is deadly on game.

My brother uses a 250 AI as a truck gun. I think he uses 75 grain vmax's. A nephew uses a 99, same bullet.

You know, you could always just buy a 6.5 Creedmoor and be done with it. Just say'n.

Nah... Don't want to go above .257... besides I like cartridges that are older than me!

And I want to keep muzzle blast, recoil and powder use to a minimum.

I am familiar with the ballistics of 87 and 100 grain bullets... Don't know much about velocities etc. with lighter bullets. What kind of speeds do folks get with 75 gr bullets?

I also see Sierra has a 70 gr Blitzking. Anyone use these? I am wondering what speeds you could get with those?

...and you want to shoot bears...

lol... If it's in season and there's one in front of me! yes.

25's have killed bears before I think.

The way I see it if I need a 6.5 I might as well use a .30! And I have a couple of those.

I did take a look at the 6.8spc and 6.5 Grendel though, and like those, but wanted to go smaller in bore diameter and I do like 25's.

Yes, .25's have killed bears, but shoot enough of them with a .25 and you'll learn the hard way why it's not the worlds best idea. Heck, lots of deer die with a 22 rimfire, but it's certainly not a top choice.

This stupid ass statement should have been retired some time ago.

Tiresome....

Savage M14 250-3000 American Classic topped off with a Leupold VXII 6x18.

Sierra 90 gr. HPBTs and Blitzkings, 34.-34.5 gr. H4895



This one a just over 325 paces just at dusk:

Anyone doubting the lethality of the .250 savage should read the exploits of Roy Chapman Andrews.

The .243 Winchester wiped the old .250 Sav. off the map back in the 50's.

It's dead now except for the fun of internet talk. The 250 got off to a bad start with it's 1-14" twist.

Okay ,I say go ahead and shoot bears all you want with .25 or smaller caliber rifles. Ignore the obvious, but don't start whining when a bear, you know you hit, runs away and there is no blood trail.

So some say. I've owned afew 243's over the years but there aren't any in the safe just 250-3000 and a clone or two. Never found the 243 to do anything better and some not as good. But I can actually remember the days when there were no 243's and the 250/257R were the king of the small bores, the 243 was just a sales gimick to sell new rifles.

If it weren't for the fact it was based on millitary brass it would have died a long time ago it had a lot of theathing problems.

Dead.... Hardly, less popular than it once was, yeah.The 243 is a good cartridge but I see em as two peas in a pod. The slightly higher velocity of the .243 is balanced out by slightly bigger bore size, heavier hunting bullets, and slightly lower recoil and report of the .250-3000 in my opinion... Not to mention the "cool" factor of the .250-3000. And it seems plenty of folks around here use it!

@ Big Sky- I think a Nosler Partition, Swift A-Frame or Barnes TSX premium bullet should do in any black bear. If I was just out for bear I would use one of my .30 cal rifles but this will be for varmints and smaller big game. It'll do fine if called upon.

@ olgrouser- Fine shootin there sir! 325 paces on a little target like that shows me all I need to see about the accuracy and trajectory the little .250 is capable of!

99Lover, I've killed a number of bears and the .25 using those bullets will penetrate and likely kill a bear just fine. However some bears die easier than others. If you get one that decides it doesn't want to die right away, and he takes off, that itty bitty .257 hole you put in him isn't going to leave much of a blood trail. Granted if it exits that will help, but if doesn't your odds for recovery will be pretty low. With a dink sized bear it's not going to matter, but with bears 300 lbs and up methinks you'll wish you had a bigger gun. Then again most of the bears you are likely to encounter in WA will probably be shy of 300 lbs. Sure would suck to lose one bigger than that though. Bottom line I've killed hundreds of coyotes and plenty of bears. If there is a really good dual rifle for both I've yet to find it and I keep on looking. The 6.5 Creedmore comes close, but it's still a little over-gunned for coyotes and a little under gunned for big bears. Same can be said for the 250-3000.

All of the sudden black bears have become harder to kill...

Of the 36 black bears I've killed and the 100+ I've seen killed, I've never thought they were any harder to put down that a deer.

Nothing personal Troy.....you and I will remain friends regardless of our opinion on this.

I like my 99 250 Savage with 75g plastic points a lot, but if I was gonna chance an encounter with something that might chew on me if it was wounded at close quarters I'd pick the 25-06...hell, I'd pick the 35-06!

Pat, I'm not necessarily talking about killing. I'm talking about the bears that don't die right away and wander off. They are extremely hard to track if there isn't a good hole leaking blood out of them. I would say deer and bears are pretty close to equal to kill, but I will not agree that they are equally easy to track when things go wrong. Deer just don't have all that thick fur to soak up the blood, or the fat to close up the wound like bears do. I like a big entry hole and bigger exit hole on bears, especially on big bears.