Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .300 Savage Question for Mule Deer

I am developing a load for my brother's Remington 722 bolt action in .300 Savage. I used your load of 42.0 gr of Reloder 15, but with a 165 gr. Hornady Interlok. Velocities were comparable to what you have published, around 2,620 fps. This rifle has a 24" barrel and outside temperature was in the 80's. The Speer manual that I have lists a maximum load of 44.0 grs. of Reloder 15 with their 165 gr. bullet, for a little over 2,600 in a 20" barreled Savage Model 99. I tried this load (with the Hornady bullet), and it chronographed around 2,750 fps. I didn't detect any pressure signs, and accuracy was 1.25" to 1.5" for three shot groups. The 42 gr. load shot a little more accurately. My question: Is 2,750 fps. reasonable as a safe load in this caliber? It seems so much faster than any loads I read about, but it was listed as safe (maximum load) in the Speer manual, but their velocity was far less. I want to stay safe, but a little extra velocity would be kind of nice. Thanks for your advice!

Not Mule Deer, but if you are using Speer bullets, by all means use Speer data. The Hornady and Speer bullets (even though of the same weight) may be significantly different in other ways. I'd think that velocities higher than one can achieve in a .308 would have pressures higher than one can tolerate in a 308.

I'm not MD but I load for both the 300 Savage and 308 Win., and based on my experience with the two if the 42 grain load is getting you good accuracy and 2600 fps with the 165s on your 300 Savage that's where I'd recommend that you stop. Full loads with 165s in a 308 generally show me about 2750 fps from a 24" barrel, so pressure signs or not I'd bet you're pushing that 300 pretty hard.

mathman

IDCPA,

I'm not a gun writer either, but I do have a comment or two.

1st: the .300 Sav was originally intended to duplicate the .30-06. (Which it did in 1920...)

2nd: With modern powders.... Ain't gonna happen!!!

3rd: Anything you are likely to hunt with the .300 Sav ain't gonna know the difference in 100 f.p.s.

4th: If you need a .30-06, then for Goodness sakes, go buy one. Because if you continue to try to make an '06 out of a .300 Sav, some day you'll wind up with the bolt sticking out of your ear.... And that's definitely not a comfortable place for it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

5th: What Rocky Said! The folks who write the manuals have highly developed technical equipment that you and I don't have. [color:"red"]The maximum load in the newest Hornady manual is 42.7 grs.
of Rel-15 [/color]

I rest my case....

Grasshopper