Howdy CF amigos,

On the advice of some CF partners on this forum, I loaded up some Varget with 87 gr. Speer Hot-core bullets in my original 250-3000 EG. What an improvement over WW 748, AA2520 and IMR 4064! Velocities were:

35/Varg. 3012
36/Varg. 3072
37/Varg. 3163

That is screaming for a round that was developed when Pancho Villa was terrorizing the citizens of Columbus, NM. Extraction was normal, but recoil was right up there with the 37 gr. load. Primer pockets were not as tight as new brass for all loads, but were not noticeably looser with the 37 gr. load. All were still usable.

Best of all was accuracy with the 36 gr. load - 4 shots in 0.307". Of course that was a fluke, as that rifle is not that accurate (especially with the factory trigger), but indicates there may be some potential with this powder. I've loaded some more with 35.5 and I'll see how those do. My plan is to use my .25-06 for a buck pronghorn this fall, then use the .250-3000 to fill a doe license - well, maybe.

forepaw

FP,

I will print off the loads you have posted and probably try them myself.

At present I am waiting for Ben Forkin - gunsmith in White Sulpher Springs, Montana - to finish rebarreling my Ruger 77 .250 Savage with a PacNor #2 sporter barrel with a 9" twist. I'm looking forward to trying the heavier end bullets with this twist.

I wore out the previous barrel with mostly 100 grain Hornady bullets and 38.5 grains of H380 powder. This load shot really well and did a good job on varmints (fox, rockchucks, and prairie dogs) and pronghorns. This load ran about 2950fps in a 24" Douglas barrel.

In the new barrel I plan to work up loads using Varget and IMR4007 (this burns at about the same rate as H380 but is much cleaner burning) with 100 grain bullets and H4350 with bullets that are heavier than that. I hope these powders perform as well as I think they will!

I also hope my rifle, with its new barrel, shoots as well as yours seems to!

Thanks for an interesting post on one of my really favorite cartridges!

M Bell

Ten Sleep,

Thanks for your post too! The Sav. is a wonderful classic caliber. With its 14 twist, mine won't stabilize anything but 87 gr. Speer. Still trying 75 gr., and have also tried some reduced loads with SR4759 but mostly disappointed in those. Looking forward to a bolt action with a faster twist someday. It is an accurate, efficient cartridge.

forepaw

My 250-3000 with 90 grain Sierra HPBT's and Varget. Varget is the best powder I've found for this particular rifle.
I have another 250 that shoots Win 760 best, same bullet.

With the 75 Sierra hp my old 99R does well with H4895 and IMR4320. Pretty much have settled on the 87 Speer Hot Core with 36 RL-15 as an all around in this one. For those of you with strong bolt guns, give 35 grains of H4895 with a 100 Hornady a try. Gets 2900 in my Ruger and is listed in a couple of the reloading manuals as max.

That's a winner with 100 grain Sierras and Ballistic Tips too.

I think I just found my deer load today. I'm shooting a 50's 99F 250-3000 with the 1 in 14 twist. I've tried a few combinations of powder and bullet (100 grainers) to see what would work. Nothing very good was what I found. Until today. I loaded up 10 rounds with 33.7g RE 15, 100 g Winc Silvertips, WLR primers and WW cases. Four shoots down range and the group size was nearing two inches at 50 yards, with a Leupy 3X 9 set at 9X.

Then I tried the 9 rounds with everything as above except the powder charge was 34 grains. Hard to believe 3 tenths of a grain could make this much difference. Velocity as measured once about a foot from the muzzle was 2875. That number might be questionable that close. Two pics attached with the two groups.

Hey .250 Fans, I was just at the range yesterday with my 700 classic in .250 Savage. Tried 36.3 gr Varget under a 87 gr Hornady. 3 shots measures .5" at 100 and velocity is right around 2850 fps. Then shot some RL 15 (35.2 grains) with 100 grain speer flat base. (5) shots in an inch at 100 and also running 2850 fps. These loads also proved accurate in a 99EG at an earlier date with 14 twist and similar velocities. That 700 classic looks to have some really good accuracy potential. As always, work up from below and use caution. Long Live the .250-3000!!!

I have been totally sold on the 250 Savage since I was 11 years old. It was my dads Mule deer and elk rifle. It became my deer and elk rifle before I found out it couldn't kill elk!! If my memory serves me well, I think I shot about a 8 or ten elk with it, all with 100 gr. factory WW Silvertips or Rem. corelokts, and a smattering of Peters ammo (Rem)... That old gun still resides in my gun case and I still hunt with it on ocassion, particularly if I am hunting horseback..

Because of my present elk hunting conditions I use a 338 with 300 gr. Woodleighs these days, but if I hunted where you got open country shots at up to 200 yards and pretty much broadside then I would still use my 250 Savage m-99 without hesitation..I still hunt Mule deer with it. I will have a cow tag in the desert this year and will use the 250 on that old girl, mostly out of nostalgia..

try 40 gr. H414 with 100 gr. bullet. Shoots 3/4" groups over my truck hood at 3050 fps in my 700.

300jimmy,

Is that RE 15 load a little warm in your EG? My primers were getting flat at 34g with the Silvertips in the 99F.

My 700 Rem Classic is unreal. My very first group/load was 37.5 Grains of Rx15 under a 75gr. V-MAX Hornady, Rem cases Fed 210M primer----One oblong hole. 38grains was just as nice and no pressure signs.

I don't currently have a 250 but i have had a couple. I was fortunate enough to know TC Kennon, a great gunsmith in his day. His favorite cartridge was the 250. The load i settled on ( and the load he recommended) was 36.5gr of 4064 with 100gr bullets. It may be a little warm in some rifles so start accordingly. I miss both of my 250s.
Bill

In my pre'64 250-3000 I use 34 gns of varget with 100 gn nosler solid base projectiles made in the 70s and get 1" groups all day long , cases seem to last forever.It seems like the right amount of the correct powder for the sweet little 250.

Steve:

I'd say it is max in my rifle, but not over the top. Speed matched up with book velocity for 34.6 grain load (2850) with 100 grain bullet. Reloaded cases 4 times without issue. But this is in my rifle with my lot of powder and other components. Yours may be different. Looks like you were getting more velocity with 34 grains than I am getting with 35.2. Maybe that silver tip versus my speer is the difference or maybe something else.

Could be the bullet but more inclined to think where your chrony was vs where the one I used was in relation to the muzzle. That single reading was taken a foot from the muzzzle or less.Wasn't my chrony but it was convenient. I usually measure 12ft from the muzzle. More testing required to confirm the fps but the group is good enough to go with.

That doesn't surprise me, I've seen you shoot birddog. Was that with open sights?

What a cool rifle to own - only a "wished for" item for most of us! How did this rifle perform with this load and bullet when used on game? I have an almost full box of these bullets and would like to try them myself in my .250. Do you think they are as good a game bullet as the Nosler BT in this weight? I have never used a solid base Nosler on any kind of game.

M Bell

I have a bullet question as well, do you feel those bullets(87g Speer/Hornady,etc) at .250 speeds are an adequate deer bullet for broadside shots under 200 yards?

They were on the several doe I've taken with the 87 Hot Core outmof my old M99R. Only 1 bullet recovered, and it was a textbook mushroom.

What kind of case life do you guys get out of your 250-3000 brass. I have an encore so chambered, and I get three bangs and they're letting go. I also load for some 99's with the same luck. It's WW brand, and no they aren't hot.

How much are you setting back the shoulders when you size them?

I am loading for a T/C custom shop 250-3000 sporter barrel and I am not having any W-W brass issues.

Doc

In the Encore you have to squash the hell out of the shell holder to get them to chamber. it won't close otherwise. The 99 I load so seldom for that I can't tell you. I do have it in my room now and will check the headspace and compare in the next few days. I think that the brass is just too thin, and so does Mike Bellm.

Here's some thinking out loud. In the Encore situation could it be that due to a chamber/die incompatibility issue there's another spot on the case that's needing the die screwed down that far, rather than the shoulder, and in the meantime the shoulder is being set back too much?

I shoot a Rem. 700 Classic with pretty crisp loads in both RP and WW brass. I'm not saying it can't be your brass, but I've had no durability problems with mine.

No, a 4.5 X 14 Simmons set on 14.

I do medium loads on 250's that get me about 2950fps with 87gr bullets. Haven't split or worn out any brass yet, and I've got some that have gone 6 reloadings.

Mathman,
I checked the headspace on the Savage 99, 250-3000 today, and the difference is .007-.008. But the same problem exists as the Encore, that if you don't take all the slack out of the press and go over center, the lever will not close easily. Their is a point that it closes with much diffuculty, and turning the die down 1/32 lets it close freely. Maybe I should try a different die?

It may well be a die/chamber mismatch where by the time one part of the case is getting sized enough to chamber another part is being sized too much. Another die may do the trick.

Another angle: Have you tried another shellholder with that die? If the shellholder is a little tall it may not be letting enough of the case get into the die before the press cams way over.

I'll try both options. Thanks for the insight.