Savage 99 in 250-3000 help

[HTDUCK]

So the other day my ace compadre pulls his grandmother's rifle out of the safe for me to see.
What a dream woods gun for whitetails!
1950 Mdl 99 in 250 with a 24 inch barrel.The ol gal has spent alot of time sitting idle,not a scratch,knick or a ding I can find. Bore is bright, clean and shiny.Trigger is like a two stage,has some take up but it breaks crisp and clean.Schanbel fore grip,good crisp checkering and the prettiest case hardening you can imagine.

I'm in love.Makes my 99 in 300 Savage feel like a 2x4 and imine is a 1951 model.


Odd part is it has a 1 in 14 twist barrel which I understand was pretty common/normal.Designed to launch an 87 gr bullet at 3000 fps.

Looking at the bench I have some 90 gr Sierra HPBT Gamekings and some 100 gr NBTs.Also have some 115 NPs and some 120 NPs but I don't think they are even candidates due to the twist rate.
In the powder cabinet I have BLC-2,H380,RL17,RL19,RL22,IMR4350,H4831
H1000.
Where to start?

BLC2 and H380 look good velocity wise?
IMR 3031 would be good if I had any......

Thanks in advance and good night gents.
I gotta go put this rifle away or I'll have all the bluing rubbed off before Novemeber gets here.

Howard

 

[cloverleaf]

Ah, ..... here we go. On rare occasion some one will talk about THE calibre. Can you tell I have a 250 Sav. too? I have a 1:10 twist though.
Below you should find a link that might be helpful. The twist question is one that comes up often with you rifle. If I have my thinking straight that 1:14 twist should like the lighter versions better. If you can find 'em the 75 grain hornady v-max could potentially really shoot. I have also had pretty good luck with the 85 grain CT. Nice thing about the 250 (there are lots of good things ) Is that it was pretty forgiving.
My new load not fully wrung out yet is 35 grains of IMR 4064 under a 100 gr. BT. Accurate and quick.

As I said that rifle has so much potential. Dont let anybody kid you. That thing will most likely be fun too shoot and therefore you will shoot it well. Thats a 200 plus yard deer gun if you can shoot a 100grain BT out of it. Experiment. It is too nice a rifle and cal. to give up on. Let me know whaat works! CL

http://noslerreloading.com/phpBB2/viewt ... highlight=

 

[chet]

I'd try the 100 gr BT first , probably with the h380, just to see if they stabilize.

And of course a 75g vmax with the blc2, though I think it'd be a tad light for deer.

the 85g BT would work on deer if kept around 2800 fps.

 

[Pickles]

I've got a 99 TD in 250.

The only 100 grain bullet I've had group decently is the bulk Rem CoreLocts. 1.5" at 100m with an old Redfield 4x.

85 Noslers and 75 V-Max's shoot good as well but IMO I think they're too lightly constructed for deer.

 

[cloverleaf]

Just to follow up- I would agree that the 75 and 85 grain loads are asking for trouble on a deer. No doubt they will do the job if put in the right spot. However that may be a small spot with an even smaller margin for error. Mave you tried the 87 gr? That is marginal as well, IMHO and how the 250 got a rep as a wounder of game.....maybe a 90 grain x-bullet or sierra. Im not goood enough with the twist issue. could you lower the velocity enough to negate some of the affect. A 110 AB would be longer but substantially slower out of the 250. Never tried it. CL

 

[HTDUCK]

Thanks for the help guys.
Looks like I'm gonna try the 100 BT and a Sierra 90 Gameking HPBT.
I'll keep ya posted.

 

[baltz526]

I think the 100gr Partition would be the first bullet to buy. Looking at the nosler book, H4895. But the book says 1-14" twist barrels will not stabilize any nosler bullet.

 

[cloverleaf]

You can sure use the Partition. Its been my experience that the 250 dosent generate enough velocity to blow up a 100 gr. BT. Come to think of it, thats very limited experience though. One BT through an antelope's ribs at 264 yards is hardly a scientific sampling. All the way through though with a good sized exit. I have toyed with the idea of the 90 gr Sierra myself. Never tried it though.
Just an aside, everything Ive read. and the little experince Ive had leads me to believe that the 250 kills better than its "numbers" wo9uld make you think. CL

 

[HTDUCK]

Just an aside, everything Ive read. and the little experince Ive had leads me to believe that the 250 kills better than its "numbers" wo9uld make you think. CL

I've read of that myself here in the past couple of days as well.
This caliber seems to have a cult following.

We'll see what the old gal can do.

 

[SJB358]

My Grandpa on my Mothers side has a M99 250 Savage. Very sweet rifle. He isn't ready to give it up just yet, but man, what a nice rifle it is. My Stepfathers, father carried a M99 300 Savage for a long time, and he killed a whole lot of deer with it. It is getting harder and harder to find decent Savages, but when I find one I can afford, I am pretty sure I will be bringing it home. I would take a 250 or 300 Savage! Scotty

 

[cloverleaf]

Just to keep the thread going....... You boys know you can buy a brand new Savage model 14 American classic in 250 dont you...??? For that matter, last I heard the custom shop ant Savage will build you a brand new model 99. All it takes is MONEY CL

 

[SJB358]

CL, I heard that you could get a bolt gun in 250, but I have not heard about the custom option of having them build a M99! That would be pretty awesome if that was true. I would call them, but it is hard to get them on the line from overseas. Scotty

 

[Cariboo]

The Ruger M77 RSI is also available in 250 Savage

Mine is a Stainless & Walnut special edition. I have only had this one a couple of months but it shoots sub 1 1/2" 3 shot 100 m groups with 100 grain Speers and 115 grain Nosler BT

 

[SJB358]

Cariboo, if I happened to run across one of those RSI's, I am thinking it would be too much to resist. I wanted one in the 6.5 when they were chambering them. That is a very nice 250! I like it, probably would make a nice candidate for an AI too. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

Caribou,

A handsome rifle, indeed. Just have to love the Mannlicher stock, and teamed with stainless ... it is just handsome.

 

[cloverleaf]

Carribou-
I posted a whole thread on how I passed on an RSI in 250 years ago. 200 bucks with a K-4, Like new. Couldnt sleep for two days after I passed on it. Went back and it was gone.... Still get a sick feeling when I see one. What year was yours made?

 

[SJB358]

Just seeing that rifle drove me a quick flurry of Guns of America, Gun Broker and Ruger! Had to see what they were going for. Again, that is a very sharp rifle. Can't see enough pictures of that. I love the big boomers, but that would have a spot in my hands I am sure. Scotty

 

[Cariboo]

What year was yours made?

I believe it was made in 2008 or 2009 for Lipseys as a special run. I don't know what the total run was but I was told by the dealer I bought mine from only 30 were imported into Canada.

It is indeed a very sweet little rifle and as it pushes a 115 Ballistic Tip at just over 2600 fps I have the feeling it will make a very handy deer rifle even for the 350 pound mulies we can see around here.

Many years ago I had a Savage 99 in 250-3000 that put down a lot of coyotes back when they were worth skinning. Too soon old and too late smart seems to be the story of my life and I traded the M99 off when something shiny caught my eye.

Here is another picture of the RSI along 2 other rifles. The High Wall is chambered in 270 Win while the A-Bolt is a 300 WSM

 

[SJB358]

Cariboo, that is a nice trio of rifles! My grandfather has an M99 250 Savage, very sweet rifle. Haven't ever had the chance to fire it, but he assures me it is very accurate and handles deer with ease.

I like those SS/RSI's alot. I eyeballed one a year ago in 6.5 Swede. I kinda wished I would have gotten it, but I think that 250 RSI would make a perfect rifle for my daughter to use for her first big game rifle! I will keep my eyes out for one. I know Savage is chambering their rifles in 250 again, so that is always an option too. Probably a perfect rifle for deer out to 300 yards for grown adults or smaller youngins alike! Scotty

 

[Idriflenut]

I know this is an older thread but I couln't help but chime in.

I thought I was the only one who loved the old 250-3000.! Its great to hear that it still has some fans.
I have 2 rifles in 250 Sav. The first one was of course a Savage 99. Mine also has the older 1-14 twist. In the course of reloading for it I found that any boattail bullet would not stabilize, even the 85 gr BT. My rifle does OK with 100 gr. bullets that are flat base such as the sierra, speer, or hornady. With the 100 gr. Sierra over 33 gr of H-4895 I get about 2820 fps and accuracy in the 2-2.5 in range. What my Savage 99 really likes are the 75 and 87 gr bullets.
with the 87 gr Speer sp over H-380 I can get .75 in groups at 100 yards and 3000 fps velocity. ( I can't remember the charge weight). With the 75 gr Sierra hp over H-380 (once again I can't remember the weight) My 99 will average .75 to 1 inch all day long. Velocity is around 3100 fps. That load is deadly on jack rabbits and rock chucks. Don't ever let anyone tell you that a lever-action won't shoot straight! I love my Savage 99!

My other 250 Savage rifle is a Ruger 77 with a 22 in barrel standard grade. What a sweet rifle! It has the faster 1 in 10 twist and will shoot any bullet just fine. It's favorite load is 34 gr of H-4895 behind a 100 gr Nosler BT for about 2900 fps. Accuracy is around 1 in. and that load is deadly on deer. My other favorite load with that gun is 38.5 gr H-380 behind the 85 gr Nosler BT. That load will group around .7 in and literally explodes jack rabbits!

As much as I love my Sav 99, I must admit that I usually take the Ruger 77 out hunting. The slow 1 in 14 twist limits your bullet choice with 100 gr bullets that are needed for deer with that caliber. I love the old 250 Sav caliber because it is easy to load for and it doesn't blow your ears or shoulder out. It is nice to see that Savage is chambering some in their short action bolt gun. Long live the 250-3000.!!