Picked one of these up at a local gun shop today. It has been hunted and has scratches but has a sweet trigger and was wearing a Leupold 3-9x33 compact. It is one handy little setup. This is the first of these that I have seen. Any one else have one? What are your experiences with it?

i have an RSI in 250 sav. one of my all time favorites, though perhaps not the most precise. do you handload? wonderful whitetail cartridge. if i have a gripe about the ruger, its that they run a little muzzle-light if it isnt a standard m77.

Sounds like a good find. The 250s were very rare. I have one in 257 and love it. They just feel right to me.

I've had two RLs in .250 Savage in the last thirty years or so; still have one that's on its second barrel. I bought this rifle used more than ten years ago. It didn't shoot well, but a new barrel solved that. The 20" barrel is a handicap to velocity, but I get very good accuracy with 100 grain Sierras at about 2,700 fps muzzle velocity. Plenty adequate for whitetail deer.

I never had an RL, but did own a Mannlicher-stocked version with 18-1/2" barrel. Velocity was slow due to the short barrel, so I sold it. I really liked the RL models. A friend has one in 270 and it shoots very nicely.

Like others, I only owned the 250 in the 77 RSI. I did have a few RL's in other chamberings including the 257 Rob, but I could never get them to shoot well. I think the barrel contour and quality is a problem. However, the 250 is the most desirable and valuable of all the RL's, and it will likely shoot good enough with a little work.

I have one and it is the only one I have seen in Australia ever. I got it second hand and it has been well used. It is an accurate gun and will put three 100gn Hornadys or Ballistic Tips under an inch at 100m. I have had it bedded, barrel floated and trigger worked. The thin barrel shoots well floated whereas my Ultralight .308 likes a bit of pressure under the fore end. I guess the .250 has more meat in the barrel. I think it was made around 1981 so was in the period where some of the barrels were a bit dodgy but obviously I got a good one. The bloke I bought it off regretted selling it and ended up buying one of the Savage .250s that came out a few years back.

i guess the advantage to my RSI is that ive never chrono’d it. so when i kill stuff with it i dont know how slow the bullet was going. i actually tend to think a 20” barrel is about ideal for the cartridge in terms of portability vs performance. the 24” 700 classic is definitely overkill on barrel length, although its noticeably less barky than the RSI.

always thought savage should have chambered their lightweight hunter in the 250 savage, back when they still made a blued walnut model.

I've had a 77 RSI IN 250-3000 since they came out in 1984. I've never had any trouble killing whitetails or coyotes with it, but think that the 77 RSIs would have had better balance with a 20" barrel than with the 18.5" barrel design that Ruger decided on.

I like everything about the Winchester/USRA 70 Lightweight Carbines that were made in 1986/1987 except for their 1-14" ROT. I restocked one of mine with a featherweight style stock as a means by which to upgrade the aesthetics, now it looks sort of like an updated version of the Savage 1920.

I never really cared for the 77 RL/RLS design. If I wanted a short handy Ruger 77, I preferred the shorter, handier, 77 RSI style.

definitely agree on the RSI barrel length. ive always had an eye out for one of the winchester carbines for a reasonable price. figure i could shoot 87 g hot cors out of it, at least.

re: the 1920, savage had a thingy on their instagram showcasing a very nice example. they opened the post up for questions and i asked what the equivalent of the 1920 would be in their current lineup. the response was NOTHING, haha

I already had a Ruger M77 MKII ultralight 257 Roberts, so I did a side by side comparison of the two rifles last night. Some things that struck me:

I greatly prefer the safety of the MKII. The Tang safety is sharp, noisy and sticks me right in the palm when holding the rifle as I would sitting on a stand or tree stump.

The floor plate on the M77 is made of cheaper material and does not fit nearly as well as the MKII. The MKII fits flush when closed and does not click each time you barely touch it like the M77 does.

The trigger on the M77 is better than the MKII even after the MKII has been worked by a smith

The action of the M77 is smoother than the MKII

The profile of the stocks appears to be identical and both handle very well.

I have not decided whether I will keep the 250 as I do not load for the cartridge any more and I already load for the 257 and know it is a tack driver. I just could not pass up the 250 as I had never seen one in person and the price was right.

yeah my m77 had an aluminum floorplate that fit imprecisely. it was literally the only rifle ive ever had that i couldnt get to shoot worth a darn with literally anything i fed it.

my RSI is a hawkeye vintage (lipseys) and, while it isnt the most accurate, it at least shoots groups. the m77 wouldnt even group.

sorry for being so “literal,” haha

Never had a RL, but love my M77 Tang Safe standard. Heavier than I'd like but it works fine from a stand or shorter still hunts.
Passed up a new M77RSI Tanger way back in the day when I was poorer, dumber and had a young family. Been kicking myself ever since.

What is your accuracy load for your 257 and have you done any bedding and such?

I would have to look it up in my load book, but it was made to duplicate the Hornady 117 grain Super performance as close as possible. It really likes the factory load as well. Shoots less than 1/2" groups of three at 100 yds. Once the barrel heats up it starts stringing shots, so I keep it to three shot groups usually.

I don't have the RL, but do have the RSI with a Leupold straight 4 power on it. Love it! It will hold a 90 gr. Sierra at 5/8" or under all day (chronos 2820 fps out of the 18 1/2" barrel). Unfortunately, living and hunting in Kalifornia I now have to use either a Barnes 80 gr or 100 gr bullet and I haven't found a load the 80 likes. The 100 gr best grouping is with 40, yes 40 gr I4350 that averages 2812 fps, but on a good day will barely be under 1 1/4". Still good enough for 'yotes and deer, but I would like to see smaller groups like that of the Sierra bullet.

I think you have a very nice rifle there!

I have a tang safety RL in .308, to me they have a perfect feel. I prefer the tang safety to the safety of the newer models.

For a bolt action 250 I highly recommend 35 gr. H4895 under a 100 grain Ballistic Tip.

Mine wear's a 2x7 Kahles a put's 5 117gr Sierra's in 1".Perfect Northeast deer load.

I tried H4895, Varget and H4350 with 100gn bullets and H4350 gave the higher velocity in my 20 inch barrel on the Ultralight. I also had a 24 inch barrelled Model 54 in .250 Savage and H4350 gave the highest velocity as well. I loaded 39gn H4350 which was max but the latest data shows 40.5gn now so H4350 may have got a tad slower, or they may have loaded to a bit higher pressure.

What is the ROT in the Winchester 54?

I measured it with a cleaning rod at 1:12. It was an aftermarket barrel and was 26 inches when I got it and my gunsmith lopped it to 24". I think I only ever loaded 100gn Remington CLs in it and they shot into just under an inch at 100m at about 2900 fps. I sold it to my brother a few years ago as I kept using my Ruger instead. I'd like to find an original Model 54 in .250/3000.

I don't think that I've seen more than 10, probably fewer, and only a couple that hadn't been reworked in some way.

Back in 1985/86 when Bearrr264 and I were going to school in the Boston metro area, we made a road trip to Taylor's in China, ME, to see a "original" 54 in 250-3000 that was advertised in either GUNLIST or SHOTGUN NEWS. When we got there, we found a rifle with non-factory modifications to the bolt handle, to the Mauser-style safety, to the stock, and several extra holes, nowhere close to being factory original. The seller's comment was that it was in the original condition that they had received it in. That experience made me distrust Taylor's under both the Taylor's and Wildwood Guns names.

Which Leupold is that you have mounted? Regular 2-7 or 2-7 compact? Looks about perfect for the rifle.

I watched one of these with box sell on GB yesterday. $1184.99. I was interested in it, but it went out of my price range early on.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/845057751

thats a nifty 250. im no collector, though ...

That's just idiotic. It's a Ruger (Where's The Beef). The RL's were utterly mediocre accuracy-wise.

Sometimes the "cool factor" of owning a desirable firearm is more important than any of the more useful or practical aspects that might be considered during the decision making process.

Every rifle looney has done it once or twice or more times, otherwise we wouldn't be card carrying rifle loonies.

Not a 250 but it is a M77RL in 270.
Shot my best buck with it.

I have owned a few. Still own 2, and that describes them pretty well. They are accurate enough for 90% of what 90% of hunters hunt. They are a pleasure in the hand while still hunting and stand hunting.

Oh. CDNN still has some Hawkeye Ultralights in 30-06. I had one prior to my shoulder replacement surgery.