Talyn
SAINT
The .300 Savage
The .300 Savage cartridge is a rimless, .30 caliber rifle cartridge developed by Savage Arms in 1920. It was designed to replace the less powerful .303 Savage in their popular Model 99 hammerless lever-action, and intended to duplicate the performance of the original U.S. Ball Cartridge, caliber .30, Model of 1906. Until the introduction of the .308 Winchester, the .300 Savage was the most powerful .30-caliber cartridge suitable for use in short-action rifles.
At the time, the .300 Savage was a truly new .300 cartridge, with barrels rifled 1-in-12 (later, 1-in-10). By some accounts, the .300 Savage was developed to provide similar velocities to early .30-06 loads from the short-lever mechanism yet because of its stubby 0.221″ neck, the 1.871″ Savage case fell well shy of matching the capacity of the 30-06’s 2.494″ hull.
The .300 Savage cartridge is an extremely versatile round. Despite having a short case and a rather stumpy neck, the cartridge is capable of propelling a 150-grain (9.7 g) bullet at over 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) with an effective range of over 300 yd (270 m). It handles bullets as light as 110 grains for varmint hunting equally as well as it does the heavier numbers for larger game.
The original factory load used a 150-grain bullet and matched the "original" .30-06 sporting load at 2,700 fps, but subsequent 30-06 loads gained a 250 fps advantage. Hunters didn’t seem to mind the 250 fps gap. In the M99, the .300 Savage was popular, and remained the rifle’s most potent chambering for 30 years, as well as being chambered in other manufacturers rifles.
In the early 1950s, the U.S. armed forces considered the .300 Savage as a stand-in for the .30-06 but its 30-degree shoulder balked in some self-loading mechanisms. A slightly bigger case, with a 20-degree shoulder, evolved as the T-65. This became the .308 in 1952, the 7.62 NATO in 1955.
A side-by-side size comparison between the .308 Winchester (left) and the .300 Savage (right)
.While the development of the .308 Winchester resulted in the decline of the .300 Savage, and fewer offering in the cartridge. However, Remington offered their bolt-action Model 700 Classic in .300 Savage in 2003.
While not recommended for large bear, the .300 Savage has proven its effectiveness on all other large game in North America under most conditions. In the Savage Model 99, shooters shouldn’t attempt to squeeze out the last bit of velocity possible due to the weaker action, compared to bolt action rifles. The SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure for the .300 Savage is 46,000 C.U.P. due to the action strength of the Model 99.
The .300 Savage cartridge is a rimless, .30 caliber rifle cartridge developed by Savage Arms in 1920. It was designed to replace the less powerful .303 Savage in their popular Model 99 hammerless lever-action, and intended to duplicate the performance of the original U.S. Ball Cartridge, caliber .30, Model of 1906. Until the introduction of the .308 Winchester, the .300 Savage was the most powerful .30-caliber cartridge suitable for use in short-action rifles.
At the time, the .300 Savage was a truly new .300 cartridge, with barrels rifled 1-in-12 (later, 1-in-10). By some accounts, the .300 Savage was developed to provide similar velocities to early .30-06 loads from the short-lever mechanism yet because of its stubby 0.221″ neck, the 1.871″ Savage case fell well shy of matching the capacity of the 30-06’s 2.494″ hull.
The .300 Savage cartridge is an extremely versatile round. Despite having a short case and a rather stumpy neck, the cartridge is capable of propelling a 150-grain (9.7 g) bullet at over 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) with an effective range of over 300 yd (270 m). It handles bullets as light as 110 grains for varmint hunting equally as well as it does the heavier numbers for larger game.
The original factory load used a 150-grain bullet and matched the "original" .30-06 sporting load at 2,700 fps, but subsequent 30-06 loads gained a 250 fps advantage. Hunters didn’t seem to mind the 250 fps gap. In the M99, the .300 Savage was popular, and remained the rifle’s most potent chambering for 30 years, as well as being chambered in other manufacturers rifles.
In the early 1950s, the U.S. armed forces considered the .300 Savage as a stand-in for the .30-06 but its 30-degree shoulder balked in some self-loading mechanisms. A slightly bigger case, with a 20-degree shoulder, evolved as the T-65. This became the .308 in 1952, the 7.62 NATO in 1955.
A side-by-side size comparison between the .308 Winchester (left) and the .300 Savage (right)
.While the development of the .308 Winchester resulted in the decline of the .300 Savage, and fewer offering in the cartridge. However, Remington offered their bolt-action Model 700 Classic in .300 Savage in 2003.
While not recommended for large bear, the .300 Savage has proven its effectiveness on all other large game in North America under most conditions. In the Savage Model 99, shooters shouldn’t attempt to squeeze out the last bit of velocity possible due to the weaker action, compared to bolt action rifles. The SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure for the .300 Savage is 46,000 C.U.P. due to the action strength of the Model 99.
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