Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 Load Question

I have a 300 Savage 99G Take Down 1934 vintage in good solid condition. I have been loading the 180 Hrndy RN over 38.5 grains of H4895 and getting 2350fps from it's 24" barrel. It shoots well through my tang sights about 2.5" groups at 100yds. Does this load seem too hot for this vintage rifle? The brass grows about .004-.005" after each resize. Just looking for your thoughts.

Are your primers flattened?

I have noticed only a slight flattening on some primers and other primers are more normal.

This is a maximum load using Speer No. 13. It shows IMR 4895 not the H version. Of course it has the Speer 180 gr RN so not exactly the same.

Your rifle and the brass will last longer with a slightly weaker load. For practice shooting for sure.

Your handle indicates you hunt near Ricketts Glen?

Yes, I think I will back down to 37 or 37.5 for practice at least. I would think that the poi would be the same at 100yds.

I do hunt near Ricketts Glen. It's beautiful and some decent sized deer and some bear as well.

www.hodgdon.com shows 37gr of H4895 as a max load for the 300 Savage with 180gr jacketed. If you aren't after elk, I'd back down to 35-36.

I use the exact same bullet (sadly now discontinued) and the exact same powder in my .300 Model 99 EG with 24-inch barrel. I tried 38 grs. of H4895 and it chronographed nearly 2400 fps from my rifle. I decided that was more of a good thing than I really needed.

I found that 36.0 grs of H4895 produced an average of 2250 fps with extremely good accuracy. I like the idea of a mild load in the 99, because it seems less likely to produce a cracked pistol grip or any noticeable wear and tear on the rifle. They aren't making any more of them, mine is really nice, and I'd like to keep it that way.

My 99 shoots like a varmint rifle with that load and I can't imagine a need for more power on anything a .300 Savage would be used to hunt.

Thank you all for your input. I agree it is a good idea to go easy on these older rifles.

Wildhobbybobby,

How do you find that load with the 180 Hornady RN performs on deer?

I have shot two whitetails with the 180 Hdy RN and they both traveled about 3 feet...straight down.