300 Savage/Remington 722

rjm158

rjm158

Handloader
Oct 15, 2009
696
577
So, I stopped by the LGS the other day and on the shelf was a Remington 722 chambered in 300 Savage. It was topped with a Bausch and Lomb Balvar scope, I'm pretty sure a 4x. The rifle was made in August, 1951, and has some honest hunting marks along with a chip in the stock's toe that was filled with putty and shaped.

I'm not going to ask if I should get it because the enablers here will be on that like a pack of dogs on a crippled cat. I WILL ask, however, for any input on the round, reloading it, and effectiveness on deer sized critters. I've researched the background of the cartridge, just looking for some real world experience and feedback.

Thanks in advance.

Ron
 
I have one in 300 Savage. It is a nice little round, not far behind the 308. I used Rem factory 150s to take a cougar with it many years ago. Center chest, exit was size of a nickel and he was finished before he hit the ground. Both daughter's took their first deer with it. 125 BTs over a starting load of IMR4895. Shoots into 1 hole and very effective on deer. The youngest put down her doe with on shot, slightly quartering away, uphill, and the doe never too a step. I would buy another.

Non hinged floor plate, but that's no big deal really. Also takes a different mount than a 700 IIRC, but they are readily available.
 
rjm158":3hf6brbf said:
So, I stopped by the LGS the other day and on the shelf was a Remington 722 chambered in 300 Savage. It was topped with a Bausch and Lomb Balvar scope, I'm pretty sure a 4x. The rifle was made in August, 1951, and has some honest hunting marks along with a chip in the stock's toe that was filled with putty and shaped.

I'm not going to ask if I should get it because the enablers here will be on that like a pack of dogs on a crippled cat. I WILL ask, however, for any input on the round, reloading it, and effectiveness on deer sized critters. I've researched the background of the cartridge, just looking for some real world experience and feedback.

Thanks in advance.

Ron
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I have a Savage 99 lever action in .300 Savage, and I can tell you it shoots bigger than its paper ballistics will show. If you can get the 150 gr bullets moving at 2700 fps, it is outstanding on regular to small deer. It's not hard to do that, by hand loading. Now , for bigger deer, use the 180 gr bullets, and you won't be disappointed either.
Anything shot has died right there, or passes within a few yards.

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk
 
The 300 Savage is nipping at the heel of the .308, which is pretty good commendation. It is pretty easy to find a good load for the cartridge. I worked with a young man a few years back who loaded 180 grain Hornady InterLocks and took a fair moose a couple of days later. One shot, and the beast was down. I was most favourably impressed. His little brother since that time has used that rifle to take a moose. Generally speaking, Canadian moose are somewhat larger than Missouri whitetails.

Wait? Did I just hear a crippled cat? Sic 'em, boys! :mrgreen:
 
The 300SAV is the ballistic near equivalent of the .308WIN- a little milder...more on par with 7.62x51NATO loads.

Still capable of taking nearly anything you'd want to hunt and certainly capable of taking any deer that walks. I see them from time to time up here in Savage 99s- enough so that I believe they were fairly popular in the North back in the day.
 
hodgeman":1q5ip44y said:
The 300SAV is the ballistic near equivalent of the .308WIN- a little milder...more on par with 7.62x51NATO loads.

Still capable of taking nearly anything you'd want to hunt and certainly capable of taking any deer that walks. I see them from time to time up here in Savage 99s- enough so that I believe they were fairly popular in the North back in the day.
Click to expand...
The .300 Savage was very popular up until 1955-1956, when the .308 came on the market. It's an outstanding cartridge. Shoots soft. Hits hard.

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk
 
DrMike":1996wgx5 said:
The 300 Savage is nipping at the heel of the .308, which is pretty good commendation. It is pretty easy to find a good load for the cartridge. I worked with a young man a few years back who loaded 180 grain Hornady InterLocks and took a fair moose a couple of days later. One shot, and the beast was down. I was most favourably impressed. His little brother since that time has used that rifle to take a moose. Generally speaking, Canadian moose are somewhat larger than Missouri whitetails.

Wait? Did I just hear a crippled cat? Sic 'em, boys! :mrgreen:
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I’m just waiting for him to list the LGS that has this rifle.

722 and 300 Savage..... done deal. If you’d do it with a 308 you’d do it with the 300 Savage!
 
The 300 Savage is actually the parent cartridge of the 308Win.

My Dad has had one in a 722 for longer than I've been alive. A few years ago I worked up a load with Speer 150 grain bullets and some LVR powder. Very accurate, and very deadly on deer. He never even shot it before going out and shooting one DRT that season. (I had shot it a lot).

Where I got data:
http://ataleoftwothirties.com/?p=1026

I've toyed with getting one, but there's a limit...
 
"but there's a limit..."

I have heard of this "limit"......it lives in or near the same place as "need" :grin: :grin:

Thanks for the input, guys. I will probably go back to the shop this week and see if I can make a deal. The tag said $400 but they will likely do better.


I have to go throw a crippled cat out of my back yard now so the dogs will quit barking. (y)

Ron
 
Poor cat! Lucky dogs!

I believe you'd be pleased with the 300 Savage. I wouldn't turn down an opportunity to own one if it appeared in the right platform (one that shoots, for instance).
 
Well, the pack of dogs pulled me back to the shop and I bought it. I got it for $375 OTD and they threw in a soft case, too. On looking at it further, it has Leupold rings on Redfield bases. I picked up a box of Federal 180 SP ammo, the only kind in town. I hope to take it to the range tomorrow and will shoot it with the B&L scope on it first and decide if I want to swap it for something else or leave it as is.

Ron
 
Good move, Ron. I believe you'll enjoy the cartridge; it does punch above its weight.

So, who's the crippled cat in this instance? :?
 
If it doesn't work for you or your wife tries to beat you with it PM me and we might work out a deal to relieve your pain. (=>)
 
People are giving a lot of money (if Cabelas actually sells 'em) for a 722 in anything. One of the few rifles that has really appreciated in value over the years. in .30 cal I don't see where you could go wrong. So many bullet options in a rifle now respect for its accuracy, and a safe if decent trigger. CL

Edit- I was not aware that there might be trigger issues with the 722. As Elkman suggests do your research. Still, the couple that I have had experience with seemed to be good rifles for the initial price. I should learn not to talk about things I don't have sufficient knowledge on. CL
 
rjm158":17iw1r4b said:
Well, the pack of dogs pulled me back to the shop and I bought it. I got it for $375 OTD and they threw in a soft case, too. On looking at it further, it has Leupold rings on Redfield bases. I picked up a box of Federal 180 SP ammo, the only kind in town. I hope to take it to the range tomorrow and will shoot it with the B&L scope on it first and decide if I want to swap it for something else or leave it as is.

Ron
Click to expand...

You stole it. Jealous! Can't wait to hear about it's range report.

Any pictures of it?
 
Ron
The 722 is a great rifle, my family had two of them over the years. My sister still has hers. One caution is that they were involved in the trigger recall (rifle firing when bolt or safety is used) so just as a precaution you might want to go online and find recall serial numbers , and check yours against them.
"Phil700's post on safety has some valuable information on this topic "
 
When you get around to reloading for the rifle try 125 grain NBT and Reloader 7. The 125 NBT is a great deer bullet, especially at 3000 fps. It's pretty easy on the shoulder when compared to 180 grains, and it's a much tougher bullet than you'd think. My daughter has killed a pile of deer with that bullet in her 700 Classic .300 Savage.
 
Well, I took this rifle and others to the range yesterday. It shot 1.5-2.0 groups with the factory ammo but the reticle in the B&L scope didn't help much either. I found it hard to be very precise with the narrowing crosshairs compared to my "normal" duplex ones.


I have a set of dies coming and hop to try it more with 125 and 150 BT's and will put a different scope on it, probably a 3-9x Redfield I have lying around.

All in all however, I was pleased with the rifle. I've always had a soft spot for the classic Remingtons. It has a decent trigger and it's accuracy was plenty good to shoot a deer as is but, like most here, I would like to see better.

Ron
 
rjm158":27ei0wiq said:
Well, I took this rifle and others to the range yesterday. It shot 1.5-2.0 groups with the factory ammo but the reticle in the B&L scope didn't help much either. I found it hard to be very precise with the narrowing crosshairs compared to my "normal" duplex ones.


I have a set of dies coming and hop to try it more with 125 and 150 BT's and will put a different scope on it, probably a 3-9x Redfield I have lying around.

All in all however, I was pleased with the rifle. I've always had a soft spot for the classic Remingtons. It has a decent trigger and it's accuracy was plenty good to shoot a deer as is but, like most here, I would like to see better.

Ron
Click to expand...

I think it’s a great score. Those older 722’s are darned cool. The 300 Savage is too cool.
 
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