I have a 300 Savage 99 and an opportunity to hunt elk on a Montana ranch this November.

I�m looking through the Elk forum but wanted to ask the 300 Savage experts here if I have enough gun. The general word I�m hearing is yes so long as shots are no more than 200-250 yards.

I�m an eastern guy so am accustomed to hunting whitetail in the woods at not much more than 100 yards. For me, hunting west will be a new experience and require a fair amount of effort and $$. I�d be lying if I said I don�t cringe a bit when envisioning standing in �the great expanse� a few hundred yards away looking at a whitetail on steroids wondering if the cartridge will be adequate.

Should I step up to a 30-06 for extra insurance? Do western ranch owners generally frown on the less powerful cartridges? I'd like to make a decision sooner than later to begin practicing with a higher recoil/blast cartridge if need be. (i.e. flinch control).

You will get a lot of advice both pro and con but I would challenge you to look in the mirror and have a conversation with yourself. If you are comfortable with the .300 Sav on this kind of hunt you should do it. If in doubt...

I know guys that have hunted moose with 300 savage. I don't know if that answers your question, but it does instill confidence in the chambering for me...

I've hunted elk in the Gunnison Mountains in southern Colorado and moose on a fly-in trip in northern Canada. Elk seem tougher than moose... and elk seem to hang onto life harder as well.

Elk are tough customers and will travel long distances over the roughest terrain if only wounded... and in rough terrain, you'll have a difficult time getting them out if they die 'way back in the "boonies". So you need to get close enough to insure you put the bullet in the elk's "kill zone". If you do that, the elk will be your's!

I suggest you use a premium 165 grain bullet for good penetration without stealing needed powder space out of the cartridge case. You should be able to get about 2550 to 2600 fps with a bullet like the 165 grain Nosler Partition Bullet or a similar quality bullet and, of course, you need to place it in the elk's "kill zone" at no more than 150 yards or closer if you are able to stalk closer.

While the .300 Savage truly is a 250 yard cartridge for deer, I wouldn't take on elk at that range with it. Many an elk has been killed with a lowly .30/30, so your .300 Savage will get the job done if you do YOUR part.

Good luck on your elk hunt and bring home those elk steaks and roasts.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

the last post is very true, but what you hit them with is not as important as where you hit them, lots of elk have been killed with lesser cartridges

Excellent question. I've hunted elk successfully in both New Mexico and Colorado. My biggest 6x6 bull was in Colorado near Delores area. My first two were both taken with a 30-06, Fed nosler partition 180gr at about 200 yards each. They both were hit well and traveled no more than about 50 yds from where the bullet hit. My second two were shot with a 300 Win Mag 180gr nosler ballistic tip, one at 300+ yards and one at 270+ yds. All one shot kills and but the latter two fell right where they were standing. I agree that bullet placement and confidence in your firearm, yourself and ammo are extremely imporatant and certainly I'm one of the bigger fans of the 300 savage in either 150gr or 180gr as I took a good black bear a couple of years ago with my M99 EG in 300Svg. However, since this could be a once in a lifetime event, I would take a bigger caliber everytime to help give insurance. There is no comparison between the toughness of elk and whitetail...JMHO

Only elk hunted once, but I probably wouldn't take a 300 Savage just because of the distances that be involved in elk hunting. If I knew I'd be 200 yards or closer then I'd load up some Nosler Partitions in a minute and head out.

I do think a lot of outfitters and ranchers might frown on a first time hunter bringing in a medium cartridge like a 300 Savage, maybe you can call them up and ask how far you'll likely have to shoot? Course, some guides would be thrilled with any reasonable cartridge if the shooter is comfortable and accurate and doesn't flinch so bad he's in danger standing next to ya.
I used a 30-06 the one time I went, and would likely use one again - lowest I'd go would probably be a premium bullet in a 308 or 284.

I have as well as a LOT of other hunters killed elk with an arrow. Many others with muzzleloaders. So, your 300 Savage will do just fine. Its not the gun (weapon) but the hunter! Have I wished I had a Savage 300 instead of my bow on occasion, absolutely, even more so while mule deer hunting. Yet to arrow one... So, while you can have a successful elk hunt with the 300 Savage you may find yourself wishing you had that 300 magnum? Your choice, make the hunt what you want. And because guides encounter ALL levels of hunter abilities, the guides prefer bigger guns so the critters go down even if just "winged". Then there is all that TV hype - won't go there...

Load up some 30-30 Leverevolution in your 300 savage cases with IMR 4064 an have a ball hunting .These realy work great

Elk are tough critters and die much harder than moose in my experience.

But they aren't bullet proof either.

I wouldn't hesitate to hunt elk with a 300 savage and 180 grain bullets.

In fact that is exactly what I intend to do in 2015.

I have never really understood the mentality that it is OK to hunt elk with a bow or muzzle loader, but why would anybody in their right mind want to hunt elk with a medium caliber?

I have heard of guys killing elk with 35 Rem, 300 Savage, etc.
If your comfortable with it I see no problem.

One of my friends in this part of Montana has been using a .300 Savage for elk hunting for 25-30 years now, and has a freezer full of elk meat every year.

The toughness of elk is highly exaggerated. The ability of people to misplace shots on elk is highly underrated.

.Jericho:

. Man I met at an Xmas party last Dec. said he used a .300 Savage on an 853lb moose last Oct.'13. Just over 300 yds using some sort of a range finder, aimed at top of spine, hit, dropped. Then a finishing shot.
.
. I asked what kind of Savage, he showed me. An EG his late dad had, #446,000 range. D&T, rubber butt pad, sling swivels, worn, just a shooter. He did get another moose some years before with that .300. Don't know what grain he was using.
Also several deer that he didn't go into.
.
. 99 LL .

Highly exaggerated relative to what?

Brownies, mt. goat, cape buf?

Or deer, sheep, antelope, caribou?

Should be fine with a 300. I prefer Savages more for the comfort of the gun than the choice of calibers. If you shoot it well, you'll do fine. If I plan on shooting 300 yards, I chrongraph my loads and check my ballistic coefficient so as to ascertain trajectory, then I DOUBLE CHECK it at the range. I want to KNOW, not suppose, not guess, where my bullet is at 300 yards.

'Bout the only thing on this continent that I wouldn't hunt with a .300 Savage is Grizz. Elk should be no problem. See Mule Deer's post. It is conditional though. Are you comfortable with the .300 Savage and are your shooting skills up to the task? Not trying to belittle you. Just asking to find out your own level of confidence.

For what it's worth, I took a 6x6 at 110 yards with my 30-30 and a Hornady LE round. He dropped where he stood. I come from the school of shot placement and would not hesitate to use my Savage 99 with some 165 grain loads. I'll qualify that by stating I have never taken a shot which would exceed my comfort zone of 200 yards.

Do you have more information about the ranch hunt? If you will be hunting in the timber above the ranch in October or November, you will likely be able to get a less than 150 yard shot, and 300 Savage with a tough 165-180 grain bullet will be fine.
If its a late season hunt when the elk are pushed down to open ranch land by deep snow in the timber, you will likely have long shots across open fields, take your 30-06 and a range finder.
Shot placement is the key, look for a shot that will drill the heart and lungs without having to blow through the near side shoulder bones.
Enjoy your hunt!

People regularly take elk with bows. I would vastly prefer the 300 Savage. What model do you have? I might have a 30-06 to trade you if it made you feel better.

I'm envious of you guys who have hunted, or will hunt elk. All my life it was "maybe next year", but next year never came, and now I'm too gimpy to take part. (If anybody has a way of putting me in .22HP range of an elk, I'm your huckleberry! Heck, I would even upgrade to a .303 Savage or .30/40 Krag if need be! For that matter, the M1920 .300 would get a crack at it if someone wanted to drag a arthritis-wracked guy with a dodgy ticker up to within a couple hundred yards of an elk! Ha ha!)

I was told the worlds largest elk was harvested with a 30 40 krag. Please look up 300 savage ballistics on google. What I researched was 180 grain Speer BTSP with H4895 is proper elk medicine. The 165 grain premium type bullet should also be adequate especially since more powder will fit behind it.just come off the range and I believe my limiting factor for accuracy on the 99's is the incredible amount of trigger creep mine seem to all have. (Any suggestions?) For elk harvest look for a sectional density of above .25 and 1500 foot pounds of energy at point of impact in your bullet. Therefore a 30/06 would remove all doubt. Goodluck!

In my experience there is a wide range of trigger quality in the 99 family. Each gun is different. I've owned some that are pretty darn good and some that were useless... and everything in between.

Hate to ambush the sight about triggers but it seems to me field shooting creeping triggers severly affect my groups past 200 yards, I seem to get along a lot better with accutriggers and Marlin triggers. My 99's that are post mill and therefore less desirable seem to group way better at longer ranges than the ol timers.(These triggers seem crisper) Remember for elk with a 300 savage you are dealing with lower bullet velocity compared to bigger cartidges. Therefore bullets designed to be less frangible will, or may not perform to their optimum. More conventional lead based bullets with enhanced sectional density may out do the fancy curly bullets due to lower terminal velocity of the 300 sav.

A good rifleman doesn't blame his tools.

This may be an apples to oranges comparison, but the logic is still there. My buddy booked us a wild pig hunt in S.C., the first couple guides he talked to said my 250 was too small, get something 30 or bigger. So, I started working up loads for my DL in 308, but was having scope problems. Got my Dads 06 Rem pump, but it was having trigger problems. Just a little dirty, hasn't been touched since Dad passed. The guide we wound up using said he took pigs all the time with a 243, just shoot them behind the ear. Grabbed my 250 R and never looked back. It took almost 20 minutes for the pig to turn so I could put one behind his ear, but he went down like Thor hit on the head with his hammer. This year I joked about having to wait so long for the pig to turn and Rick said "well, just shoot him in the eye". So, I shot this years pig in the left eye, came out behind the right eye, dead pig. It seems like if I, at 100 yards, aim at a bull the size of a cup saucer, I can keep every shot in the black. But, the groups can be 3". If I shoot at a 2" bull, all of the shots will be in the black, but much tighter. If I aim at a little target, I can hit a little target. If I aim at a big target, I can hit it too, somewhere. Learn your target, so you are not just shooting at a big brown spot. If I ever go West, my 250 is coming with me. Might take bigger stuff too. But if I have to shoot him in the eye or ear to put him down, I know I can do it, Joe.

There's a precision rifleman. And as far as triggers go, everybody knows a lighter, crisper trigger makes it possoble to shoot the rifle better.

Get a 284, win in the cool factor and plenty of horsepower

What I am trying to say in a roundabout way: The 300 savage with a 180 grain bullet will fall shy of 1500 foot pounds of energy somewhere around 300 yds. My sorry ass cannot group my ol 99"s better than that anyway. So I believe the 300 savage is plenty of elk medicine, because I am not going to shoot at elk with my 99's further than the 300 savage cartridge would be effective at harvesting elk. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and sadly me and my 99's are weaker than the 300 savage. Lots of practice and trigger work next.

Thanks for your responses guys. Sure has generated alot of interest!

The hunt will be in early November and I'll be contacting the ranch to hear more about the terrain. At this point, I don't even know the name of the ranch as someone else is lining the place up. All I've heard thus far is that its about 50 miles south of Bozeman.

I did find a deal on a 30-06 the other day so went ahead and picked it up. Since this may very well be a once in a lifetime event, I'm going to take both the 300 Savage and the 30-06. Having either option available will be nice and also provides a backup gun should one decide to go south for whatever reason.

Recruit, every thing already said is good.But, montana is a wide open state and ranges can be distant.your 300 will kill elk no doubt about it But, you have to hit them first. if you hold off shots over 200 yrds you will be fine But,if you see a 7x7 royal at 300+yrds across the canyon or up the mountain you will wish you had more horsepower. 30-06 is grand, 7mm mag is slightly grander, and 338 will get you up the mountain. have killed elk with each plus some with 45-70 and 250-3000. they are all graveyard dead and digested. call your ranch personal and ask what the conditions will be, aspen stands or open pasture settings. they can steer you in the right direction better than we can. good luck and welcome to the west.

Back in the olden days, before elk hides turned into Class III Kevlar and moose bones started to be made out of AR500 armor steel, requiring bullets to have at least 4,000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy for hunting them, things were simpler.

When I first became interested in hunting during the late 50's and early 60's, the .30/30 was considered "OK" for elk and the .35 Remington was "better", but real honest to God elk and moose guns started at the .30/40 Krag, .300 Savage and .303 British. The .270 was "more" and the .30/06 was a "big gun".

Cup and core bullets were king and big animals died easily if hit in the right spot. Your .300 Savage will cleanly take any elk at any range at which you can place your bullet properly.

Never had one go south until the other day until as I was sneaking down a dirt track and I hear the magazine fall out and hit the ground from the 99C. Before I turned around to look I started in on the "darn clip 99's" speech I was gunna give it. I was a little surprised to see my scope with rings laying in the dirt. I had just sighted it in three days before and was getting perfect groups. Drove to the happy hunting grounds and had that happen. I have no idea. No spare rifle.

My 99R 250 has taken several elk before I got it. Now ol Pete lived there, knew the area and liked to sneak up close but he fed his family.
The 300 Savage with a decent 165 or 180 wouldn't bother me a bit in some of the timbered areas you're likely to find elk in. At those velocities I'd not get too carried away about "premium" bullets either.
I've helped others clean and pack several elk on a horse over the years that were taken at distance with whatever cup and core that was on sale at Wal-mart out of a 308, 30-06 or 270. At the distance they were taken, velocities weren't above what a 300 Savage would be in the timber. None of them complained about the choice.

Perfect solution! Now you won't have to worry about what that guy in the mirror is thinking.

excellant choice! now some fusions or light mag loads for the 0six and you will be in tall cotton. hornady lite mag loads for the 30-06 get close to the 300 win mag and flatten the trajectory a little. used them in a six pound springfield custom i built and didn't notice any more recoil than my handloads. let us know how you do on your trip.

The last time I was in Colorado hunting was in 2001. I took both my 308 Mauser and my 1955 "F" model 99 in 300 Savage. AFter the first couple of days of lugging the 8.5 lb Mauser up and down the mountains from 9300' to 11000 ft I put it away and used my 6.5 lb 99"F" model. That extra 2 lbs is a real big deal for a flat lander when you are climbing at altitude. Every oz of weight is important. Your boots, binoculars, water bottles , etc. I would not hesitate hunting with my 99 in 300 Savage.

This is the fascinating thing to me about western hunting.....Sure you can see the elk at 750 yards. They happen to be on the next hogsback and there is 650 feet of elevation drop and climb between you and it, there is no snow and it is 3:30 in the afternoon on a early October afternoon you have no spotter... Your lazzoroni thurty thurty can easily shoot a two inch group at that distance.....after you hit it how in the heck do you begin to find it? I know it was hit right over there by that sagebrush next to the rock that was laying by the tree just over there.

Best shot I ever made was just short of 900 meters in the PI with a .308 Win. With just a little more hold over I could have made that same shot with a .300 Savage. Might have clashed with my gillie suit though.

+1!!! That is what I always wondered about those long shots. Being an Eastern hunter, long for me would be 200 yards. Finding right where the silly thing was when I shot it, can be challenging sometimes. I imagine things get REALLY interesting if the animal is 500 yards away!

I am always getting fooled by how "distinctive" a certain sagebrush,tree, or rock look. After I get out of breath moving over there and with the elevation and angle of the sun changing those "distinctive" landmarks are not distinguishable. I have come to the conclusion most sagebrush are the same color!

Recruit, yes the .300 Savage is fine for elk hunting. I've settled on 165 grain Nosler Partitions for my handloads. I've hunted elk in the mountains of southwest Montana since I was a kid, mostly with an "ought six". Not much difference between it and the .300 Savage really. My experience has been that long shots, say over 200 yards, are the exception not the norm. The last few years I've been packin' a 1899 G in .300 Savage looking for a nice bull. Took it to BC as well but never had a chance at a 6 point. I'll keep biding my time, holding out for that big bull. Although, I haven't been opposed to taking a cow or two with the old gun when the season was winding down.

When it comes to talk of long shots at elk here's the deal as I see it. Very few of us need to feed our starving kids so in reality, we don't actually "have" to get an elk. And just because someone writes a big check or the elk's a trophy doesn't justify taking shots that are risky. Be it long or at a running animal or for that matter, any shot that's outside one's comfort zone. We're shooting at living, breathing animals not inanimate objects. Does our "need" justify the increased risk of inflicting a wound, undo pain and possibly a long lingering death? I would hope the answer would be no.

AMEN, and well said. and well placed. finest eating right there! take a 2yr old cow or rag horn for eating.

Well said.