What bullet for the 300 Savage?

Cord · Jul 2, 2009

I bought a Savage 99 in 300 Savage and am getting it ready to hunt deer and maybe a bear. I would like to shoot either 165 gr or 180 gr and I am wondering which bullet has the best expansion at the lower speeds of the 300 Savage. I am currently looking at the Speer Mag tip or Grand Slam. Any suggestions and reasons ?

Cord

Huntbear · Jul 2, 2009

Have you thought about a Ballistic Tip? How about an Accubond? Both are great bullets, for the 300 Savage. My dad shot nothing but 150 gr. Nosler Partitions in his Rem. 760 in 300 Savage. It was the only gun he carried for deer, or elk. Took tons of both too. He liked the 150 gr. bullet because it gave him slightly better ballistics, and the Partition would do its job, and anchor the game with a smaller bullet.

Grizzly_A · Jul 2, 2009

My brother-in-law has the exact same gun. I seem to remember that he was having problems with the Speer bullets and uses core-lokts instead. The pointier nose of the speer was causing jams in the internal rotary magazine. The Core-Lokt bullets had a less pointy nose and fed flawlessly.

This was mainly a problem on either the first round or the last round....

I can ask for specifics.

Cord · Jul 3, 2009

My reason for thinking I would go with the speer mag tip or grand slam was because they are both more rounded than the Nosler bullets, and I was thinking they might chamber more easily.

Cord

motoman98 · Jul 10, 2009

My reloading experience tells me to choose the bullet depending on your target, or game animal, and on what ranges you anticipate your shots. Then make sure it functions in your gun with a load you work up for accuracy. Don't just choose a load from the book and think your done. You might as well shoot factory loads. Customizing your load to your target and for accuracy is what reloading is best for.
Grand Slams are a tough bullet suitable for heavier game.
It won't break up when it hits a bone on elk, for example. You can surely kill a deer with one, but I use a standard bullet for deer and premium bullets for elk.
With the limited case capacity of a .300 savage and if your hunting out in the open eastern Oregon areas you might think about a 130-150 grain for deer, with better trajectory. If your hunt is heavy woods, your needs are quite different.
A good 165 will work for elk; 180's are more of a standard, but they are slower.
my $.02