250-3000

[James B]

When the talk of this gun comes along most think of the lever action Savage rifle and though it has been chambered in bolts and pumps as well, The majority of them were chambered in the Savage rifle.

On another forum I mentioned that my wife and I have taken quite a few deer with the 700 Remington classic which I bought for her back when it was the selected caliber for that year. I got a lot of the old " Don't you get tired of tracking wounded deer?" And thoughts that the 250 Savage just was not a real deer gun.

I wondered how many other folks have used the 250 Savage with the great success that we have? I recall about twenty or so Mule deer that we have taken with it and all but two were one shot kills. One was hit to far forward and just took a chunk out of the Brissket. It did not go to far but we did have to track it. Another was a front shoulder hit but to low and just took out the upper leg. That one ran a long way and was finished off my another member of our party.

I have used the 100 grain Ballistic tip almost 100 percent of the time. I have bought a few boxes of WW Silver Tips. The old kind. Even though the only chronogragh at 2605 FPS, they kill deer very well. Not quite like the ballistic tip, but pretty well.

So who else has used this oldy but goody?

[Slamfire]

Well I once had a Savage Model 30 in .250 Savage.It was a real deerslayer, with the 100 grain bullet, at 2850 or so. I never tried the 87-grainer. Modern powders have increased its effectivness quite a bit. You can now drive a 100 grain bullet at 3000 fps or more. When it was released you could only do that with an 87-grain bullet. When I lost the vision in my right eye I gave up all my right handed rifles. I'm now usin' an old Savage 110 rebored to .260 Rem, and it is even better'n the old .250. [8D]

[NVMIKE]

james - my older brother used his savage 99 (as did my grandma who gave it to him) on whitetails,mulies, and (I'm embarassed to admitt) carried it but never used it on elk. it worked great on deer. I find it curious that people will say how great the 270 is for ELK, then question the 250 (only slightly less powerfull) for deer, which are much smaller than elk.[8D] Anyways.....it is a really good deer rifle.

[James B]

I lost my right eye too. The head flew off a nail and went clear through it. When that happened I bought a LH Model 700 Rem. I also had a left hand 260 Savage. They made it for a couple years. I quess it was more the gun but I like the 250 a bit better. I can get 3100 FPS with the Barnes X bullet in 100 grains but I don't load it that hot.

[Virginia7]

ORIGINAL: James B
On another forum ..... I got a lot of the old " Don't you get tired of tracking wounded deer?" And thoughts that the 250 Savage just was not a real deer gun.
.....I recall about twenty or so Mule deer that we have taken with it .....

The 250 Savage is a good deer cartridge. I sure wouldn't worry much about what others
might think of it. Heck, proofs in the history of what you've done with it.
I have never used the 250 myself, but when I lived in Wyoming I knew a couple of folks who used the 250 Savage, and another that used the 257Roberts. They even used 'em
on elk, and I don't recall any complaints. With the right ammo/bullets it can do the job.
I personally wouldn't go so far as to use it on the larger game such as elk, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it on deer and antelope.

[James B]

I never tried it on game bigger than deer but it sure has worked well for Mule deer. The mule deer are pretty big where we hunt. I am sure that it will never again be widely used but I would like to see Savage do what Remington has done and bring back a caliber or two each year. The 99 has been chambered in many many cartridges. The 300 Savage being one of the best.

[Doe Dumper]

James..do you ever sleep? I never been around that 250..but I do know they are pretty tough next to impossible to find.

[James B]

Not very much and not very well.. I slept two hours last night and maybe three tonight. I can sleep in the daytime but not at night.

The 250 is the parent case of the 22-250. The recoil is almost non-existant for the punch it packs. I have had much better success with the 250 than I ever did with the 243. I know it shouldn't be that much better rifle for deer but you can't even compare the two from expierence in the field. Its a 100 fps behind the 257 Roberts and a couple hundred fps or a little more behind the 25-06. I am a big fan of the 25 caliber. I have thought about picking up a 257 Weatherby in the less expensive Weatherby. I heard that it would be out this year but I have not seen one as yet. I may skip the 25 WSM in order to stay married. My gun cabnet runnith over.

[Portage]

Back in the Spring of 1980, my father handed me a Ruger M77 with a Weaver K4, said practice, go forth and kill some deer. Not the most accurate rifle in the world but I shot it all summer long and then proceeded to kill deer here in Maine for the next 9 years as well as in CT and NH. During that same time I killed fox, coyotes, and 4 black bear. Yes, I'm knocking on wood but all were one shot kills and only 1 deer actually went out of sight. I shot my 3rd biggest deer, 204 lb dressed, and largest bear 240 dressed with the 250-3000 and plain jane 100 gr. Remington Core-Lokts.

We have since fooled around with 75 gr. Sierras and they are pure poison on coyotes. I have also killed deer, in CT, with 87 gr. bullets but strongly like 100s or better.

When my oldest son was ready to deer hunt, we began practicing with MY Ruger. He liked it so much that it was quickly becoming HIS Ruger. My youngest son soon followed. Seeing the hand writing on the wall, I looked around and found 2 NIB M77s at an estate sale. $500 later I owned a Liberty model and a RSI.

My father is going on a mountain lion hunt next February and will be taking the RSI topped with a Leupold VXII 1x4. Yes, the 250-3000 is my favorite. What's not to like?

[Superpig]

The 250 is no better or worse than the other deer calibers discussed on this forum. Shot placement and bullet construction kill animals. A deer shot poorly with a 300 Win Mag can go a good distance requiring another finishing shot. The 250 is equal to the factory loads today for the 257 Roberts if you handload. I choose the Roberts more than any other gun in my collection for hunting near home. If you handload you can achieve 3000 fps with the 250 and 100 gr bullets and 2750-2800 fps with 115 gr bullets. Remember the 243 in factory form fires a 100 gr pill at 2960 and it can't fire a 115-120 like the 250 can. So I can't see any reason the 250 with a 100 gr bullet would be any worse than the 243. The 243 will have a little higher sectional density but that is about it. I've taken alot of game with my Roberts using 100 gr. B-Tips and haven't had a problem as long as shot placement was good. Don't shoot deer in the shoulders with the B-Tip. I have although switched to the 117 gr Hornady Spire point for my deer load over the 100. You've had good success with the 250 so keep on pumping rounds through it and enjoying life.