A Remington 722 in 300 Savage is still a good choice for hunting
The 30 caliber is
the most popular rifle around. It is one of the earlier ones offered and there
were and are a lot of them around. These days it seems that a new one is
offered every other day. They come in all sizes and shapes. Are they better
then the 30’s from yesterday? That could be a matter of opinion. In truth
modern rifles are more accurate some capable of ¼ to ½” groups at 100 yards.
The rifles covered in this book are generally capable of 1 to 2” groups at the
same range but in woods hunting that isn’t important. In the 1890’s the 30-30
and 303 Savage did a fine job bringing down deer. These days deer and bear
haven’t grown body armor. A properly placed shot and decent bullet will do the
job and that is true from the 1890’s to today. Bullets and gunpowders are
better then ever today which benefits the oldies as well as the new
offerings.
The 303 Savage
By the early 1890’s
smokeless powder was becoming better known to the public as well as the gun makers.
The militaries of the world were all using the stuff for their small arms as
well as their machine guns. Of course the public wanted hunting arms chambered
for the new stuff as it gave higher velocities and longer ranges. At first
higher velocities brought out problems with bullet designs but that’s another
story. Anyway in 1895 Winchester
brought out the 94 in 30-30 and the race was on. The 30-30 is considered one of
the first civilian small bore smokeless cartridges. As far as I know the 30-40 Krag was brought
out in 1893 in the Winchester Hi Wall as the first American sporting cartridge
in smokeless powder. Unlike Remington and Winchester,
Savage never offered their rifle in 25 or 32 caliber.
The 30-30 with a Silvertip still popular
When Winchester brought out the
model 94 in 30-30 in 1895 Savage among others saw a good thing and wanted to
get in on it. The Savage model 99 was introduced in 1895 in a variety of
calibers including the 303. When first brought out it was developed as a
potential military cartridge but that never came about. An earlier version was
placed in the military trials against about 50 other designs but the Krag won
out. Also for a while it used .311 diameter bullets but at some point changed
to 308 early in production. Some factory loads can be found in the 311 diameter
and I have miked them as such. Also the factory offered a 190 grain bullet
which was liked by some hunters for its potential penetration. Most
manufacturing activity for Savage ammo ceased after WW ll though an occasional
lot was produced from time to time. While ballistically similar to the 30-30
they would not interchange. The Savage case was shorter and fatter then the
more successful 30-30. Unlike the 30 Remington the Savage round was never
necked up or down commercially. Some people have asked me if it’s ok to fire a
30-30 in a 303. In a word NO! The 30-30 base is .020 smaller then the 303 so
there would likely be a case rupture which could be disastrous. While the 99 is
a fine action capable of handling some high intensity calibers such as the 308 Winchester you still need
to make sure you are firing the correct cartridge. Happily the 99 is still
around and should be for a long time. I have several model 99 Savage rifles and
they function as they should. The magazine feeds in a flawless manner as long
as the ammo isn’t too long and the safety locks the lever in place and prevents
the gun from firing accidentally. For a hunting gun the trigger is pretty
decent breaking around 5 lbs or so depending on which rifle I use. I have a
friend who collects model 99 Savages and has an example that has 30 Savage
stamped on the barrel. Initially we thought that it was a 303 Savage but it
turned out to be a 30-30 Winchester.
Back in those days there was some hard feelings between Savage and Winchester and apparently
even though Savage chambered for the 30-30 they wouldn’t acknowledge it in
writing.
The 30 Remington was popular for some years
While the 30-30 still
flourishes the 303 and the other competitor the 30 Remington fell by the
wayside years back. Ammo for both is hard to find and cases for reloading,
especially for the 303 have pretty well dried up. Sometimes factory ammo can be
found at a gun show but don’t count on it. Making brass for the 303 is very
difficult unless you have special equipment. The 30-40 Krag and 303 British
cases can be swaged down and used if you have the tooling to do it. The rim on
both has to be cut down also in order to chamber in the 303. Norma recently
introduced brass for the 303 and Huntington Die sells it. Graff and Jamison
both list 303 Savage brass but as of this writing it’s not available on a
general scale. Loading data can be found in some of the older manuals and
Cartridges of the World. Also 30-30 loading data can be used if you are
careful. The factory at one time offered a 190 grain bullet which was liked by
hunters for its penetration. Another
thing is unlike the 30-30 or 30 Remington the Savage round was never offered in
25 ,32 or any other caliber based on the Savage case. While the 303 case could
be wildcatted I don’t see the point in such an exercise.
The model 99 is a
strong rifle as evidenced by some of its chamberings in calibers such as the
308 Winchester.
Having said that it doesn’t mean that you should try and make a 308 out of the
303 Savage round. There are many factors involved in reloading ammo and using
common sense and safety techniques is always a must.
The Savage rifle that
I shot gave good groups at 50 yards with open sights. I was able to keep them
in a 2” or less group which is good for me. Since the gun is older and original
I won’t drill or tap it for a scope despite the fact that it would be more
accurate. Feeding and function was flawless. The Savage has the ability to take
pointed bullets because it’s a rotary magazine as opposed to the model 94 Winchester or Marlin 336
tubular magazines. That would give it a slightly flatter trajectory as compared
to the flat nose bullets. How much of an advantage that is open to conjecture.
As a note Hornady recently introduced pointed bullets that are safe in tubular
magazines for the 30-30 as well as other chamberings. I use the same bullets as
I use in the 30 Remington and the 30-30. I do make the 180 grain flat nose to
try and duplicate the old factory load and it shoots well. It should be
adequate for a black bear and wild boar at woods ranges. Some of the older
Savage rifles have a cartridge counter which is visible on the receiver.
The 308 L & 300 Savage
The 30 Remington
Remington saw that
the Winchester
and Savage rounds were selling well so they wanted a piece of the pie. They
took a different approach by offering their rimless round in the pump and auto
rifles as they thought that was more modern and hoped to cut in on sales of the
other two. The model 8 autoloader was brought out in 1906 while the model 14
pump was introduced in 1912. The model 8 was a John Browning design and given
to Remington to manufacture. It was the first auto-loading rifle produced in a
serious hunting caliber that worked. It
was produced from 1906 to 1936 and then updated to a model 81 and produced until
1950. It was chambered in the 25, 30 32 and 35 Remington. The 300 Savage was
added to the model 81. Sales were poor and the main reason seemed to be the
poor location and design of the safety. It was noisy and poorly placed for a
hunting rifle. The model 14 pump was designed by John Peterson and Crawford
Loomis prominent designers at Remington at that time. The pump was brought out
in 25, 30 and 32 Remington and later the 35 which still survives to this day in
various rifles. There were about 125,000
rifles produced in the model 14 and the 14 & ½ until 1934 when the model
141 appeared. It was brought out in the model 30 bolt action rifle in 1921.
Stevens made some lever and autoloader rifles for the 30 Remington for a few
years. No one has made rifles for it since WW ll though it was fairly popular
during its production period. The case isn’t based on any existing design and
was offered in 25 and 32 calibers as well. Around the same time they introduced
the 35 Remington based on a different case and its still being produced today.
Remington still makes unprimed cases for the 30 and they can be obtained at
Huntington Die. The cases can be necked up or down for the 32 and 25 calibers
as needed.
I have a model 14
pump that was made in the late 1920’s and stayed in the same family until I
bought it a few years ago at a gun show. The owner reported that his
grandfather used it to harvest deer for quite a few years and it gave good
service. At some time in its existence it was reblued. My impression of this
gun is if you want a slick light handling woods gun this may be the one for
you. It’s light and slender and points well. The safety is located at the rear
of the trigger guard and works much like many pump shotguns do. The safety can
be released as you are bringing the gun up to your shoulder making it fast to
get into action. To unload the gun there is a button located on the bolt that
opens it. It also works fine. The only drawback to a pump is the weak camming
power to extract an empty. Cases need to be full length sized and maximum loads
should be avoided. Accuracy is about the same as a lever action with comparable
ammo. With open sights you can count on 2 “ groups at 50 yards give or take.
While no longer made they can be found at gun shows for reasonable prices and
are generally in decent shape. They were hunters gun rather then a shooters.
That means that they were carried a lot more then they were shot. Like the lever actions it has a tubular
magazine confining it to flat or round nose bullets. The magazine tube has an
odd twist look which according to some reports made it possible to use pointed
bullets though I don’t see how that would help. In the bolt action rifle you
can use pointed bullets and extend your range a little. If someone made a slender light bolt action
rifle for it today it may be a fairly decent seller as everyone seems to want
lighter hunting rifles. I might buy one myself if it weighed around 5 & ½
to 6 lbs with a 20” barrel.
Remington 300 Savage pump is a handy woods rifle
With cases and dies
available the reloader has it pretty good in so far as ammo goes. Loading data
can be found in Cartridges of the World or use 30-30 loads in most cases. Since
everyone makes bullets for the 30-30 you are in luck there. The powders that work best in the 30-30 and
the 303 Savage also work well in the Remington round. The 30 Remington case is
rimless as opposed to rimmed on the 303 Savage and the 30-30. That is an
attempt to make it a more modern case. Here are some loads that I have shot in
my test rifle and they worked well. For best results you need to full length
size the cases each time you fire them.
There were 7 shots fired through the chronograph and the first screen
was 10 feet from the muzzle. These rifles while well made are not real strong.
Loads should be kept at 40,000 psi or less for best results. I am confident that
over loading these rifles will wear them out in short order.
LOAD BULLET VELOCITY COMMENT
12 X Unique
110 grain round nose
1829 ok
32 X Data 4197
110 grain round nose
2573
varmint
32 X AA_2460
150 grain Remington
2215 ok
35 X 748 150 grain
Remington 2210 fair
10 X Trail Boss
165 grain cast
1171 good
load
10 X Unique
165 grain cast
1519
consistent
31 X AA_2520
170 grain Remington 2105 ok
30 X AA-2460
170 grain Remington
1955 slow
Winchester Factory
170 grain
2162 good
load
33 X 748 180 grain 1952 mild
34 X IMR 4895
180 grain
2163
excellent
As long as there is a
woods to hunt in these 30 calibers will do the job. While they aren't as glitzy
as some of the newer offerings they will kill a deer just as dead. Deer haven’t
grown armor plating in the last 100 years or so.
In the last couple of
years some new products came out that enhances the 30-30, 303 Savage and 30
Remington. Hornady has come out with a 165 grain Flex Tip bullet that is
suitable for the inline magazines that the 30=30 and 30 Remington produce. With
conventional pointed bullets you run the risk of having a bullet set off a
cartridge in the magazine with disastrous consequences. The Flex Tip prevents
that while extending the usable range of those rifles at least 100 yards.
Hodgdon Powder has come out with a new powder called LEVERevolution. It gives
an honest 100-150 feet per second over any other powder I have tried in these
three calibers. What that does is gives a hunter extra range for deer. You can
now hunt deer out to 250 yards or so provided you have the skill. That can be
important if you are on the edge of a bean field and your trophy is 250 yards
away instead of a hundred. You can go home with a trophy instead of
frustration. Accuracy is on par or
better then the conventional bullets and the tip is pushed back which helps the
bullet to expand at lower velocities. The only unfortunate event is apparently
Remington is going to discontinue making 30 Remington brass. That will be a
problem as there isn’t any brass that is easy to make it out of. Of course that
will impact the 25 and 32 Remington as well.
The 30-40 Krag
The
300 Savage
Another old timer
that has mostly fallen by the wayside being replaced by the 308 is the 300
Savage. It was introduced in 1920 by Savage Arms for the model 99 lever action.
The original idea was to make it shoot a 150 grain bullet at the same velocity
as the 30-06 as it was loaded at the time in a shorter action. If they
accomplished that the pressures would be higher as it has a smaller capacity
case. The thought was if you could pack 30-06 power in a more compact package
the world would beat a path to your door. Back then as now the 30-06 is the
standard that all other cartridges are measured by. Some things never change.
Both Savage and Remington chambered their bolt action rifles for this cartridge.
Remington also made a pump rifle chambered for it. Savage chambered their 99
lever action for it also. The Savage model 20 and 40 bolt action rifles also
chambered it as well as the model 08 Remington semi auto rifle. The famous Winchester pre 64 model 70
was also chambered for the 300. At one time the 300 Savage was quite a popular
round for hunting.
Basically it is a 308
Winchester with
a short neck. In fact you can make 300 Savage cases by trimming the 308 to the
proper length and sizing. Normally that would not be necessary as the brass is
still available and inexpensive. I buy Winchester
brass and seldom have a problem locating it. Loading dies are still made by all
major manufacturers and of course standard 30 caliber bullets abound. Anyone who
makes 30 caliber bullets will have something that is suitable for the Savage
round. Factory ammo is still around
though you may have to search for it. With all the new calibers coming out the
300 Savage is getting crowded off of the shelves. Plenty of rifles are
available though they are used as no one as far as I know regularly chambers
rifles for it. You can probably find one at a gun show or a used gun store as
they are still fairly common. Careful shopping can produce one in good
condition as they were generally hunting rather then shooting rifles. A typical
hunter may have shot it just a few times a year and carried it a lot. Many of
those old rifles will have carrying rather then shooting wear which is good for
the new owner.
Your medium burning
powders are the best suited for it with hunting weight bullets. Standard large
rifle primers are entirely suitable for this round.
Remington 722 rifle used in test
LOAD BULLET VELOCITY COMMENT
10 X Trail Boss 123 grain soft point 1329 high es
10 X Unique 123 grain soft point 1505 high es
20 X 5744 123 grain soft point 1859 ok
40 X 4197 123 grain soft
point 3003 consistent
39 X AA 2520 150 grain 2338 fair
38 X 4064 165 grain Sierra hp 2390 ok
42 X 4895 165 grain
Remington 2465 good load
41 X AA 2520 165 grain Remington 2526 consistent
42 X 748 165 grain
Remington 2571 good load
40 X IMR 4895 180 grain Remington 2379 mild
37 X 4064 180 grain
Remington 2261 slow
41 X 748 180 grain
Remington 2415 ok
42 X 748 180 grain
Remington 2619 MAX
Remington 760 Pump
LOAD BULLET VELOCITY COMMENT
39 X AA 2520 165 grain Sierra BT 2420 ok
36 X 4064 165 grain Sierra
BT 2405 slow
37 X 4064 180 grain Remington
rn 2252 slow
36 X 2520 180 grain Remington
rn 2156 slow
The 30-40 Krag has a unique action
Accuracy with a good
gun is on par with any similar caliber. My gun shoots groups in the 1” area at
100 yards with good handloads. The 722 is the forerunner to the famous model
700 having many of the same features. It is a Plain Jane model with no frills
or checkering on the wood. However the 722 was a great value in its day, giving
good service at a low price. In 1950 the Remington 722 sold for $74.95 while
the model 70 went for $110. Accuracy and
strength were two of its strong suits. Back in the day when the 721 and 722’s
were being made dollars were tight so a good quality rifle at a low price made
sense. Still does today. Like most of the oldies I don’t spend time looking for
factory ammo as it is no longer common. If I stumble across it fine if not that
is also fine. Factory ammo might be found at gun shows if you really want
it. If you have one then you have a great
deer and black bear rifle. I do have a pump but it lacks camming power if you
have a stubborn round in the chamber. It is however a light and handy rifle for
the woods hunter. If you like pump rifles this would be a great choice. It
comes up well and points nice. The nice thing about the 300 is you would seldom
need high priced premium bullets as the velocities aren’t blistering such as
the 300 mags are. Of course you can use them for larger game such as elk to
good effect. Given the proper skill level and ammo you should be able to tag a
deer at 300 yards or so but as always shots need to be properly placed. Keep in
mind that most game is harvested within 200 yards. It seems that everyone today has magnum
mania, especially the new short mags. While they perform as billed you hardly
need one to shoot a deer at 100 yards. The most hunted game in the US is
the whitetail deer and the 300 Savage is up to the task at any reasonable
distance.
For hunting purposes
the 300 Savage will do anything that the 308 will do given good loads. That
means that deer and black bear are fair game. Larger game at moderate ranges
will also fall to the 300 with proper bullets and shot placement. Due to its modest case capacity reduced loads
are a cinch to work up for small game and pest hunting. Cast bullet loads can
be used for small game to good effect without destroying excess meat. Bullets
heavier then 180 grains can be used but velocity will drop off rather rapidly
due to limited case capacity. There just isn’t much use for real heavy bullets
in that chambering as anything up to 180 grains will do just fine. Recoil is entirely within reason for anyone
with any experience shooting hunting rifles. A youngster with some tolerance to
recoil will not have any difficulty handling it. Also it can be loaded down to
30-30 levels and still be an effective deer rifle. All in all if you have a 300 Savage or
inherit one it is very worthwhile to get it shooting and take it hunting.
Using the new Hodgdon
LEVERevolution powder and Hornady FTX bullets you can make your lever action
more modern and versatile. Hornady loads factory ammo with these bullets in
these and other calibers which is good news for the non reloader.
30-30 Loads Do not
exceed
LOAD
BULLET VELOCITY COMMENT
37 X Lever
150 grain Barnes TSX
2385
nice
36.5 X lever
165 grain Hornady FTX 2335 consistent
35 X Lever
180 grain RN
2144
good load
303 Savage Loads Do
not exceed
38.5 X Lever 165 grain Hornady FTX 2447 consistent
36 X Lever
180 grain RN
2220 nice
30 Remington Do not
exceed
38 X Lever
165 grain Hornady FTX
2504
consistent-max
With the new powder and bullets here is a difference in
trajectory between a 150 grain bullet and a 165 grain FTX. Most experienced
hunters maintain that you need 1,000 Ft Lbs of energy to cleanly harvest a
deer. As you can see the 150 grain peters out at 150 yards while the FTX carries
out to 300 yards. This shows you that you might have your grandfather’s rifle
but not his ballistics.
150 grain rn
velocity/energy
Muzzle
2390/1902 100 yards 1959/1278 200 yards 1581/832
165 grain FTX
Muzzle 2400/2046 100 yards
2150/1636 200 yards
1916/1309 300 yards 1699/1025
300 H & H and a couple of antique rifles
Another good 30
caliber that has been obsolete for years is the 30-40 Krag. It originally came
out as a military round, replacing the 45-70. Very soon after that sporting
rifle makers saw the potential as a hunting round and started introducing
hunting rifles for that round. In fact it came out before the 30-30 by some
months. The Winchester
high wall came out in 1893 for the Krag round. The case is a rimmed bottleneck
type which was typical of the day. It also has some taper which was believed to
aid in extraction of fired rounds. The
military introduced it in the Krag rifle design that originated in Norway and was modified by the US for the Krag
round. The design limited the Krag round in power because it only has one
locking lug which keeps pressures down to about 40,000 PSI. Even at that the
30-40 has proven to be a good hunting round. Another unusual feature is the
side loading magazine which flips out and you can drop the rounds in it. The
original load was a 220 grain round nose at 2,000 FPS which would limit its
long range potential. In fact during the Spanish American War the Krag round
came up short as opposed to the 7 X 57 used by the Spanish. Their rifle out
ranged ours which caused us to look at better options for the future. That
eventfully led to the 30-06 being created which is probably the greatest round
ever conceived. As a note the Norwegian
version was chambered for the 8 X 58 R which in some loadings can exceed the
30-06. Also their version of the Krag rifle is stronger then the American
version due to its locking lugs system.
The Krag round and
rifle were declared obsolete in 1903 with the adoption of the 30-03 round and
the 03 Springfield
rifle. However the rifle and round make a great hunting combo and there are
rifles available if you look around some. An original will fetch a premium
price but a modified one will go for less. I have found that these rifles are
capable of good accuracy and possess one of the smoothest actions in existence.
Many of them prefer a round nose bullet for reliable feeding which is no
problem if you are hunting in the woods as ranges seldom exceed 100 yards. A
pointed bullet has an advantage at longer ranges but most people who hunt with a
Krag are after white tail deer or black bear. Both species are commonly
harvested at ranges under 100 yards.
Here are some of my
favorite loads for the Krag. Do not exceed them in a Krag rifle.
Large rifle standard primers were used in all loads. Standard
308 diameter bullets were used which are very common.
LOAD BULLET VELOCITY COMMENT
5 X Red Dot 87 grain lead wc 1171 pest load
10 X Red Dot 100 grain plinker 1622 accurate
20 X Herco 125 grain Sierra 2062 varmint
41 X 3031 150 grain Hornady 2469 deer
10 X Unique 165 grain cast 1405 consistent
10 X Trail Boss 165 grain cast 1224 ok
38 X 209 165 grain cast 1972 consistent
39 X 3031 170 grain
Sierra 2320 accurate
12 X Unique 173 grain cast 1122 accurate
42 X 4320 180 grain Hornady
rn 2350 good load
40 X 748 180 grain Hornady
rn 2184 ok
42 X IMR 4350 220 grain Sierra 2003 consistent
44 X H 4831 220 grain Sierra 1948 ok
Ammo for the old
timer can still be found though it may take a little searching. For the
reloader cases and suitable bullets are plentiful. While spitzers can be made
to work I generally use a round nose bullet of 180 to 220 grains unless I am
testing a specific bullet for some special purpose. Like the other cartridges discussed
cast bullets shoot very well in these rifles. They make excellent small game
and pest loads. If you load for this rifle caution must be employed as they are
over 100 years old and are not as strong as a more modern design. Like any
other antique gun it is never a bad idea to have a gunsmith check it out for
soundness. In a more modern gun such as a Ruger # 1 the Krag round can be
loaded to it’s potential which would approach a 30-06 in power though such
loads should never be fired in a Krag. There is no reason to destroy a fine
rifle merely to get more velocity then needed.
Like many things in
life newer doesn't necessarily mean better. These old guns still give good
service in spite of being obsolete sometimes for many years. If you have a
chance to use any of these great guns by all means do it.
Old rolling block rifle
