I finally want to get a really good bolt action for deer, sometimes elk, occasionally for antelope. I don't want a lot of recoil or muzzle blast. I see a lot of Remington Classic 700s out there and I like that particular model; seems like a fine gun. Never shot the 300 Sav. but heard some good things about it..is it accurate? Other opinions? Thanx. Also should I get a 3 or 4 power Leupold scope?(thinking of the vx-2 model) I want to invest in a real quality outfit.
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Is the Remington 700 Classic in 300 Savage a good choice?
- Thread starter ruablond
- Start date
Nothing wrong with the 300 savage, I own one and really like it. I've never taken an elk with it but have friends that have used theirs and they have no complaints about its killing power on them. I don't know if you handload but if not buying ammunition could be a problem at smaller stores as not everyone carries them.
Pathfinder45
New member
Orphan Cartridge
Since the advent of the 308 Winchester the once fairly popular 300 Savage has faded into the background. The two cartridges are virtual twins with the biggest differences being availability, variety and price of ammo.
Since the advent of the 308 Winchester the once fairly popular 300 Savage has faded into the background. The two cartridges are virtual twins with the biggest differences being availability, variety and price of ammo.
Mike Irwin
Staff
The .300 Savage is a classic.
It was one of the first modern high-intensity cartridges designed specifically to take advantage of WW I driven advances in smokeless powder technology.
The original aim was to give .30-06 ballistics in a shorter cartridge that could be fired out of the Savage 99 lever gun.
It came close.
Over the years the round developed an excellent reputation as deer and black bear cartridge in the east. Part of that popularity was the 99, which gave the lever gunner a cartridge that was head and shoulders ahead performance wise over the traditional lever action rounds that were available at the time.
The round was popular enough that Savage also chambered it in the Models 20, 40, and 110 bolt action rifles, and Remington picked it up for the Model 81 autoloader, the 760 slide action and, over the years, the 700 and 722 bolt actions.
Winchester also chambered a few Model 70s in .300 Savage in the early 1930s. It is the second rarest chambering and one in good to excellent shape can bring close to 5 figures.
The biggest problems with the .300 come from the short neck and in reloading.
The short neck makes the cartridge impactical to use with heavier bullets, they simply occupy too much of the powder space and ballistics fall off rapidly. Fortunately, the .300 absolutely sings with 150 to 165 gr. bullets.
The other problem is the short neck combined with the extremely short, sharp shoulder. It can make adequate resizing, especially for lever and autos, a challenge.
As for accuracy, the .300 is as accurate as the .308 over the same distances as long as the rifle is up to it.
The only real problem you might have are finding an adequate supply of ammunition. Since the introduction of the .308 (the .300 Savage served as the original test bed for what became the .308) the .300 has been losing ground, but it's by no means dead yet.
Back in 1982 Charles Askins wrote an article for American Rifleman talking about which cartridges were on death's door. I need to find a copy, because 30 years on it would be interesting to see how close he's been to being right, but I know that the .300 was on his "soon to be an obit" list.
I'm very happy to say that he's wrong, and the round is still kicking.
I like it so much that I have three, a Savage 99, a Remington 81, and a Remington 722.
It was one of the first modern high-intensity cartridges designed specifically to take advantage of WW I driven advances in smokeless powder technology.
The original aim was to give .30-06 ballistics in a shorter cartridge that could be fired out of the Savage 99 lever gun.
It came close.
Over the years the round developed an excellent reputation as deer and black bear cartridge in the east. Part of that popularity was the 99, which gave the lever gunner a cartridge that was head and shoulders ahead performance wise over the traditional lever action rounds that were available at the time.
The round was popular enough that Savage also chambered it in the Models 20, 40, and 110 bolt action rifles, and Remington picked it up for the Model 81 autoloader, the 760 slide action and, over the years, the 700 and 722 bolt actions.
Winchester also chambered a few Model 70s in .300 Savage in the early 1930s. It is the second rarest chambering and one in good to excellent shape can bring close to 5 figures.
The biggest problems with the .300 come from the short neck and in reloading.
The short neck makes the cartridge impactical to use with heavier bullets, they simply occupy too much of the powder space and ballistics fall off rapidly. Fortunately, the .300 absolutely sings with 150 to 165 gr. bullets.
The other problem is the short neck combined with the extremely short, sharp shoulder. It can make adequate resizing, especially for lever and autos, a challenge.
As for accuracy, the .300 is as accurate as the .308 over the same distances as long as the rifle is up to it.
The only real problem you might have are finding an adequate supply of ammunition. Since the introduction of the .308 (the .300 Savage served as the original test bed for what became the .308) the .300 has been losing ground, but it's by no means dead yet.
Back in 1982 Charles Askins wrote an article for American Rifleman talking about which cartridges were on death's door. I need to find a copy, because 30 years on it would be interesting to see how close he's been to being right, but I know that the .300 was on his "soon to be an obit" list.
I'm very happy to say that he's wrong, and the round is still kicking.
I like it so much that I have three, a Savage 99, a Remington 81, and a Remington 722.
Rifle and scope choice is fine for your intended purposes. However, unless you are going to reload be prepared to pay more for ammunition. I can find green box Remington 150 grain PSP ammunition here locally at the Sportsman's Warehouse and it costs as much as premium ammunition for the .308 Win, .270 Win or .30-06. It runs about $15-20 more per box than the same mentioned cartridges in similar cheap Remington, Federal, or Winchester ammunition.
I've got a .300 Savage and while a neat round I wouldn't own one if I didn't reload. It just doesn't make since to buy a rifle in this chambering just to have it do nothing beter than a .270, .308, or .30-06 and cost almost twice as much to shoot. If you don't want a lot of recoil stick to lighter premium bullets for hunting, and for muzzle blast don't have a barrel shorter than 22" and it will solve most of the issues that you wanted addressed.
I've got a .300 Savage and while a neat round I wouldn't own one if I didn't reload. It just doesn't make since to buy a rifle in this chambering just to have it do nothing beter than a .270, .308, or .30-06 and cost almost twice as much to shoot. If you don't want a lot of recoil stick to lighter premium bullets for hunting, and for muzzle blast don't have a barrel shorter than 22" and it will solve most of the issues that you wanted addressed.