300 Savage Bullet For Model 99

D

drew_

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
GTA (Southern Ontario)
My M99 did not like the Hornady 30303 SST bullet, what is everybody's favourite hunting bullet for their 300 savage/model 99?

I'm looking at:
Interlock sp 150gn
Interlock sp 165gn
Speer Hot-Cor 150gn Flat Nose #2011
Speer Hot-Cor 150gn Spitzer #2023
Speer Hot-Cor 165gn Spitzer #2035
Speer Grand Slam 150gn
Speer Grand Slam 165gn #2038

I had 0.165" jump to lands in my test, longest I could try seating the 30303 bullet in my M99 gives me 0.114" jump.

My current theory is that a flat base bullet will have more neck support than a boat tail.
The flat nose bullet I could probably get really close to the lands at the sacrifice of BC, the rest are probably limited by my personal practical max COAL of 2.625"

Any other suggestions? Share your M99 favourites!

(For deer hunting)
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20260823_132850046.jpg
    PXL_20260823_132850046.jpg
    51.9 KB · Views: 29
  • PXL_20260823_132838741.jpg
    PXL_20260823_132838741.jpg
    76.7 KB · Views: 30
  • PXL_20260823_131819298~2.jpg
    PXL_20260823_131819298~2.jpg
    117.9 KB · Views: 28
  • PXL_20260822_140817088.jpg
    PXL_20260822_140817088.jpg
    102.1 KB · Views: 30
Not what you want to know, but the 150gr Hornady SST (for 300 Savage) works great in my Model 99. 41.0 gr Varget, Remington brass, Federal LR primers, OAL 66.0 mm.

Shot my first bear with that load.

YMMV
 
A friend has had good results with Speer 150s flat base in his 99 300Savage. We found a good deal on those bullets so bought the lot. They are also shooting well in my 308 loaded down for my grandson.
 
I loaded Winchester 150 psp bullets for years but recently switched to 165 Speer flat base bullets as the 150s didn’t always exit and my brother who uses the rifles now wanted a bit stouter bullet. Speer hot-cor are good bullets and very affordable. Suggest you load up a few different bullets and loads and listen to what your rifle tells you. Any of those listed should work fine at normal .300 savage ranges.
 
Speer Hot Core 150 gr work very well in my 1899H Featherweight 303 Savage. I have 165gr but haven't shot any yet in the 303.

The 165gr Hot Core loaded in a 300 Savage M99 worked perfectly on a big mulie with a pass thru lung shot, which isn't a hard test to pass.
 
Last edited:
In the 2 .300 99 Savages I had I used 42gr of Win 748 /150gr Hornady SP /win brass and Fed or CCI large rifle mag primers
same components for 165gr Hornady SP /41gr and 40gr for a Hornady 180SP. All shot under MOA at 100 yards. Last inch of forend tip glass bedded and tweaked with forend screw to provide upwards pressure. Same can be done with a oiled cardboard shim from an ammunition box flap.Work your own loads up these were safe in my guns perhaps not in yours.
 
Myself, I would not burn anymore H4895 under those SST’s. If you still want to use them try a different powder for sure.

If you’re not set on the SST’s then it looks like your gun likes 180gr cup and core bullets so I would try some of them. Hornady, Sierra, Speer whatever suits you and you can find at decent price.

If the bullets you listed are what you have on hand then I would lean towards the 165’s. See what works.
 
dan belisle said:
Mine prefers 180 gr Win Silvertips. When I can find them. - dan
Click to expand...
Wouldn't that bullet be a bit stout at 300 Savage velocities? I'm currently getting ready to load for a Henry 30-30 single shot but need to be mindful of using spire point bullets designed for higher speeds.
 
SuperCub said:
Wouldn't that bullet be a bit stout at 300 Savage velocities? I'm currently getting ready to load for a Henry 30-30 single shot but need to be mindful of using spire point bullets designed for higher speeds.
Click to expand...
The originals were about the same as a Nosler Ballistic Tip in that regard. Used to be able to buy them from most places in bags of 100 or 250. They worked well though, shot quite a few MB moose with that bullet from the 99. - dan
 
OP, every Savage 99, chambered for the 300 Savage had 1-12 twist rate barrels.

Usually, they will stabilize up to 165 grain bullets with or without boat tails, reasonably well.

Not all of them will, from what I've seen, will stabilize bullets with boat tails.

If memory serves, the 300 Savage bullet was originally intended to be offered to the military, and was considered in a slightly modified form when the US was looking for another cartridge to replace the venerable 30-06.

It was intitially introduced with a 150 grain, flat base, spire point bullet at 2600fps.

One thing I always found with my rifles, was if nothing else worked, revert to the original load and start from there.

Trying to hot rod the Savage 99 is not a great idea. It's a good action and strong, able to handle some pretty stout loads, but the 1-12 twist rate and the lock up system can allow things to go awry at the top of its design performance range.

Your loads are well within the best performance range, so now go back to basics and use 150 grain, FBSP bullets.

There may be other issues with things such as the fore end properly fitted, or it just might be your rifle is shooting as well as it can shoot.

Before the eighties, Savage 99s had very nice triggers, as they were usually very smooth, with just a bit of creep and a surprise let off.

They increased the drag/creep and let off weight, likely because of the legal issues Remington was starting to have.

It's a pretty simple fix, but not something to attempt if you aren't familiar with the procedure.
 
Last edited:
struff55 said:
a 300 savage has 300 to 400 fps on a 30-30 mot apples to apples
Click to expand...
My point wasn't so much about the 30-30 vs the 300Savage, it was about using bullets designed for faster cartridges and if those bullets will expand properly at lower velocities.

I'd bet that almost every 180gr 30cal C&C bullet is made with the 30-06 in mind and to a lesser extent the 308.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom