After trying many combinations I have been getting good results with the following. 43grs. I.M.R. SR 4759 300gr. TC Shock wave bullet MMP short black sabot and Win. primer.I have been getting groups of 1.5" at 100y. My velocities have been 2022 fps. This A.M. I shot a group at 330y that measured 6" wide 2" in Height I think if it would have been dead calm I might have shot into a M.O.A. I used a comeup of 11 min. I now feel very confident on deer out to 200y and with ideal conditions 300y.Until I swapped out the sabots that TC,s came with I was getting really poor results the MMP sabots made the difference.
Finally found a load for my Savage ML.
- Thread starter matdan2
- Start date
tactical870
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Buckhorn, Ontario
43gr SR4759 with 250 gr XTP HP in an MMP black sabot gives me 1" at 100 yards. Never shat a deer over 100 with it yet though....
I've been shooting my savage for a few years now. The loads you mentioned are pretty much the same thing I'm using. However, as they apply to shooting big game I would be very leery shooting past 200 yards. Those bullets lose speed very fast and their killing power drops off quite a bit. I ( and friends using savages) have shot deer at ranges of 12 yards to about 250 yards. You can tell the difference. At under 125 yards the animal buckle at the force of the shot and if hit well fall and die quickly. Once you get out there past 150 or so they just don't seem to show that they have been hit and very often travel quite a bit before folding up. Not too big a concern in open country but if you are in the bush finding them can be concern as blood trails can be next to impossible to find unless they are hit low enough to leak out blood.
Use care as muzzle loaders even the savages are not high powered center fires and should be used accordingly. Just my two cents worth after hunting with smokepoles of various types for the last 25 years.
Use care as muzzle loaders even the savages are not high powered center fires and should be used accordingly. Just my two cents worth after hunting with smokepoles of various types for the last 25 years.
Well like most rifle buffs I am always looking at increasing my range.But I agree that at 300y unless you were in very open country recovering the animal would be difficult.I took the Savage to one of my hunting blinds yesterday the longest shot would be 235y at that location.Having made some hits at 330y earlier in the day made me feel I was ready for any Deer that may happen along.Has anyone tried Hornady,s new FCP bullets they are a modernized Mini ball concept? I did not get good results with my rifle until I found a bullet, sabot combo. that gave a great deal of resistance to seating them.Hornaday claims only 25lbs. force required to seat this new bullet.
My personal favourites are the Hornady XTP's in 300 gr or 240 gr. Accuracy is well within acceptable ranges for hunting and they hit like the hammer of Thor and turn the heart and lungs into pudding. I shoot them exclusively now after trying a couple of others types.
This last Monday I shot at a deer and made a very bad shot . He was facing me and because of the light he seemed broadside so I aimed behind the front leg. I hit where I aimed but it was his hip I hit and not his chest.
The deer was rolled right over and did not get up. It took a second shot to the neck to finish things but the animal wasn't going anywhere. In no way am I saying this bullet compensates for a bad shot but the fact that the animal dropped and never moved is due in part to the bullet performance.
I find that the XTP's in an MMP black sabot work awesome in not only mine but in other Savages owned by friends. PS: avoid using IMR 4227 even though it is recommended in the older manuals. I have had misfires with that powder and it even cost me a 5X5 buck 4 years ago. I love the IMR 4759
This last Monday I shot at a deer and made a very bad shot . He was facing me and because of the light he seemed broadside so I aimed behind the front leg. I hit where I aimed but it was his hip I hit and not his chest.
The deer was rolled right over and did not get up. It took a second shot to the neck to finish things but the animal wasn't going anywhere. In no way am I saying this bullet compensates for a bad shot but the fact that the animal dropped and never moved is due in part to the bullet performance.
I find that the XTP's in an MMP black sabot work awesome in not only mine but in other Savages owned by friends. PS: avoid using IMR 4227 even though it is recommended in the older manuals. I have had misfires with that powder and it even cost me a 5X5 buck 4 years ago. I love the IMR 4759
tactical870
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Buckhorn, Ontario
Very good advice. I had 2 misfires with deer in front of me with 4227. I told my dad about my issues and told him to got to 4759 ASAP. I had to go to a christmas party the last day of the hunt so I sent him and his friend out to one of my hunting spots. 5 does came out at dusk and my dad's friend fired his savage and it went "pop" (4227). My dad shouldered his gun as the deer stared at them and squeezed off and got another "pop" and actually watched the bullet hit at the deer's feet. Needless to say, none of us has ever shot 4227 since and we have never had another misfire.
