Seeking 250 Savage information

[86er]

Does anyone have first hand experience with this cartridge?

I am specifically interested in: light loads with 100 gr bullets (2300 fps range), 20" barrel performance, terminal performance on deer sized game, recoil.

Thanks

[Old Savage]

I suppose the experience you would be looking for here is 25-35 experience with those ballistics.

[86er]

Well OS, I am seeking all info but would appreciate any low velocity info is important to me to.

[JerryB]

86er, if you mean the old 250/3000 Savage I can tell that I had an uncle in Michigan that hunted with one back in the Early 1950's. He killed some nice big deer with that rifle, I am sure he was using factory ammo. I had a friend that hunted with a 25-35 94 Winchester that killed deer too. Another uncle used a 1873 Winchester 38-40 and killed a couple every year. My uncle that sold me his Winchester 92 rifle in 32wcf killed some nice deer too, this was all done with the factory ammo of the day. The 30-30 and 300 Savage was about the biggest deer guns I knew about back then, no Magnumitis.

[Mescalero]

Come on guys,
He's looking for light loads for the boys to learn on.

[3leggedturtle]

Specialty Pistol Forumn has a topic on this subject. At 260 yards he said the 100gr bullet was going 1965fps and "mushroomed classically and retained 86.2 grains of the original 100grs. It was a Sierra Pro Hunter. topic is labeled "KY doe with 257Raptor" in the Handgun Hunting section.

[Old Savage]

86 - got you and understand your point. Just seemed more likely to find use a of a 25 cal at that load level in the 25-35. I know some 250 Savage fans but they all have loaded them to their potential.

[BigSky56]

Buy a box of factory 87 gr let the youngens try it, theres not much kick with a 250. My Dad has taken deer and elk with the 250 uses the 117 Hdy RN and a 87 speer hp for varmints both bullets pushed by RL-15. Your 100gr bullets should work fine and with the new powders you can get 2900+ the original 100grn factory load has taken alot of deer elk and the occasional moose. danny
Heres a good read on the 250
http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowled ... avage.html

[Hobie]

I don't think there's much kick to worry about. It seems less than the .243 to me. If you use a starting load from the manual you should be just where you want to be.

[BenT]

Just get the right bullets for low velocity. Most of the 25 cal bullets are build for the 25-06 and 25 weatherby mag. I don't remember the bullet my friend used but it was designed for the 25-06. He shot a deer broad side with his 257 Roberts and the bullet never expanded. He recovered the deer but it ran along ways before dying.

Sorry I don't have any experience with the 250 savage. But I do know William Iorg is a big 25 caliber guy. He uses the speer 100gr hollow point on Texas deer with good results in his 25-35. On the shooters forum he has alot of posts of his experiences with 25 cal bullet performance and loads. I've done alot of research on this over the years because I want to build a 25-35 AI on a Winchester 94 for varmits and deer. Good Luck!

[Mainehunter]

I know of an older gentlemen (87) at my gun club uses a custom Remington 600 in 250 Savage when he goes deer hunting. He shoots the RCBS 120 grain cast bullet (can't recall the mold number) and have harvested a few deer with it over the years. I do recall him saying he's getting around 2,000 f.p.s out of the 22" barrel. I'm thinking with that bullet weight and length, the twist rate would have to be at least 1:9 or 1:10 to stabilize. A few year back I played with a Savage 99G TD 250-3000 but the darn thing wouldn't stabilize anything over 75 grains due to the slow twist rate (1:14).

Mainehunter

[Pete44ru]

.

Sorry - While I hunted a .250-3000 Ruger 77RSI (18" bbl) for several years, a decade or so ago, all I ever fired through it were commercial loads.

The factory ammo did a fine job on the pretty-good-sized Maine whitetail bucks I shot with it, so I would presume any handload/upgrades would make them deader.



.

[pdentrem]

I can not help much either.

My Sav 99 in my avatar is 250-3000. It has the slow twist. The ammo that I was using is old vintage stuff. I still have a box left which I set aside. These 100 gr PSP shot just fine. The reason being is that they are short bullets. These work fine as the shorter squat bullets will stabilize with the slow twist. The center of mass is closer to the middle of the bullet while longer/heavier versions, are more sleek but their center of mass is more towards the rear if I understood what one of the ballistic guys was saying years ago. That is why they need a faster twist to stablize. On a modern barrel with the quicker twist, one has a larger selection of bullets and if using cast there are even more to look at.
Pierre

[M. M. Wright]

86er,
I was lucky enough to have owned a 99F in 250/3000 for several years when I was feeding a large family with a lot of venison so I killed a lot of whitetail with it. It had the slow twist, 1 in 14 so I used the 87 grain bullets in it. Really wanted to use 100 grain but could not get the groups I wanted and the 117 was out of the question. Best powder I found was IMR 4064 for both velocity and group size. I'll go look up the load a little later. I kept working up 'til the cases got sticky then backed off just a little. That's where I got the best groups too. The bullets were Sierra, 87 grain Gameking and I assume made for that caliber as they performed very well at those velocities. I had no cronograph then, it was the mid 60s so almost no one did. I'm confident I was getting close to the advertised 3000 fps. Made a 500 yard shot in front of witnesses but I sorta cheated as I had been practicing the week before on an old ice chest that was laying about 40 yards from the where the deer was when I shot him.
I still really like the cartridge and rifle and if you have the 1:10 twist think the 100 grain bullet is the way to go. The lighter constructed flat or round nosed 117 grain bullets for the 25-35 should be great at around 2200 to 2500 fps as they work pretty good on does and fawns out of the 25-35.
Looked through my notes and the load I was using was 38-39 grains of IMR 4064. For goodness sake don't start anywhere close to that and work up slowly as I remember on hot days my load was "sticky" in the 99.

[86er]

Thanks for all the great info. I am looking at the Ruger Intl but have also called my rifle guy and talked about making a custom rifle. Wouln not rule out Sav 99 with 20 in barrel and tang safety 1:10 twist.

[Old Savage]

A friend of mine had one made up in a Model 7 Remington for his wife. She has done very well with it. I have a 7-08 Model 7. I think one would be great in .250 Savage which is one of my favorite cartridges. BTW, my experience with my 99 parallels M.M.s with powder and accuracy with the caveat that mine has the faster twist and is great with 100s. I also use 4064.

[Rusty]

Joe, my brother in law has a 99 in .250 Savage he has had for about 60 years. Ever since a lady gave it to his dad because he pulled her out of a snowbank one night.
I listen to Guntalk via podcast every week and Tom has hinted that a new .25 cal cartridge is about to be put on the market that will be like a short .257 Roberts. You might want to wait a bit to see what that's all a
bout.

[Canuck Bob]

90 Lead RNGC Accurate AAC-5744 15.0 1929
Remarks: low start load; COL: 2.230"
90 Lead RNGC Accurate AAC-5744 19.0 2291
Remarks: mid range load; COL: 2.230"; 30,600 psi
105 Lead RNGC Accurate AAC-5744 15.0 1840
Remarks: low start load; COL: 2.325"
105 Lead RNGC Accurate AAC-5744 19.0 2204
Remarks: mid range load; COL: 2.325"; 32,900 psi



Read more: http://www.loaddata.com/members/search_ ... z2kqFgcePy

This is a capture from my Load Data account for reduced/youth loads. I can search for bullet weight and powder if you want, just let me know.

I can only relate experience with recoil with a 243 BLR. 100 grain Nosler partitions were very reasonable loaded full power.

The Beartooth calculator rates a 100 gr at 2300 in a 7 pound rifle as 6 ft. lbs. of recoil. A 30-30 150 grain calculates at 9-10 ft. lbs. depending on a 94 or 336 for weight, 6.5 or 7.

[hfcable]

Thanks for all the great info. I am looking at the Ruger Intl but have also called my rifle guy and talked about making a custom rifle. Wouln not rule out Sav 99 with 20 in barrel and tang safety 1:10 twist.

the 99 would be classy, and very well balanced and handy !

[3leggedturtle]

Thanks for all the great info. I am looking at the Ruger Intl but have also called my rifle guy and talked about making a custom rifle. Wouln not rule out Sav 99 with 20 in barrel and tang safety 1:10 twist.

the 99 would be classy, and very well balanced and handy !

+1. I have a 24" barreled EG in 250 that was made in the early 50's. More recoil than I thought it would have, but the steel buttplate has a lot to do with that.. BTW he R-P 100gr Spp's chronoed at 2690fps, not the 2800fps that the factory ballistics show.

Still think your .25Rem lever would be more desirable to have. 3leg

[KWK]

... light loads with 100 gr bullets (2300 fps range)...

Sorry, I've no experience with the .250 to offer, but if you have the old IMR booklet, it lists 20 gn 4759 for 2290 from 24" -- that can't have much recoil to it. Hodgdon still lists this load in their on-line data, but they don't mention the 4227 and 4198 loads, which would also work for the speed you seek.

[457121]

one of my personal favorite rounds. i shoot a lot of 100gr. cast bullets from my Savage 99's @ 2400 fps. i use a LBT 100gr. LFN with either 22.0gr. RL-7 or 21.0gr. IMR 4198. With a jacketed 100gr. you will have to use about a grain more of the above powders for 2300-2350 fps because of the increased friction over cast. Recoil is very light. I have only shot deer with full power loads using 100gr. Sierra & Hornady spitzers and the Hornady 117gr. RN. My favorite powders for full power loads are RL-15 and H4350. I want to try some RL-17 in the future.

[bubba15301]

i would reccomend full power loads for deer

[2ndovc]

Joe,

The .250 Savage and .257 Roberts were two of my grandfather's favorites for white tail and antelope.

The .250-3000 load he used the most was 34 Grains of IMR 4064 and an 87 Gr. Sierra.
His .250 Model 70 will still shoot 1/2" at 100 yds quite easily, and like the others have said recoil is very light.

I have a lot of lead .258 RNGC bullets in 70 and 100 grains. I'd be happy to send a some along if you decide to experiment.


jb

[rangerider7]

86er, I have a Savage 99 TD in 3000-250 and it is great on white tail. My grandson may get a chance to use it this year if he keeps his nose clean. I like to use it on coyotes. RR7