.300 Savage

colspan="3" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;"

| .300 Savage Type Rifle cartridge Place of origin United States

colspan="3" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;"

| Production history Designer Savage Arms Manufacturer Savage Arms Produced 1920 colspan="3" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;"

| Specifications Case type Rimless, bottleneck Bullet diameter .308 in (

 mm

)

Neck diameter .339 in (

 mm

)

Shoulder diameter .446 in (

 mm

)

Base diameter .471 in (

 mm

)

Rim diameter .473 in (

 mm

)

Case length 1.871 in (

 mm

)

Overall length 2.60 in (

 mm

)

Rifling twist 1-10" Primer type Large rifle colspan="3" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;"

| Ballistic performance Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy style="vertical-align:middle; border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;

" | 150 gr (

 g)

FMJ||style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;

"|2,765 ft/s (

 m/s)

||style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;

"|2,547 ft·lbf (

 J)

style="vertical-align:middle; border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;

" | 165 gr (

 g)

PSPCL||style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;

"|2,676 ft/s (

 m/s)

||style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;

"|2,624 ft·lbf (

 J)

style="vertical-align:middle; border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;

" | 180 gr (

 g)

SBT||style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;

"|2,503 ft/s (

 m/s)

||style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;

"|2,505 ft·lbf (

 J)

Test barrel length: 24
Source: .300 Savage Reloading data at Accurate Powder

.300 Savage cartridge is a rimless, .30 caliber rifle cartridge developed by the Savage Arms Company in 1920 which was designed to replace the less powerful .303 Savage in the their popular Savage Model 99 lever-action rifle. Despite having a short case and a rather stumpy neck, the cartridge is capable of propelling a 150 grain bullet at over 2,600 feet per second (790 m/s) with an effective killing range of over 400 yards (364 m).

History

The original intent of its designers was to offer a cartridge that could approach the ballistics of the .30-06 Springfield, while at the same time utilizing a smaller case that could be cycled through a short-action lever rifle. Although it fell somewhat short of its ballistic goals (by about 150 ft/s), its performance outclassed other contemporary .30 caliber lever-action cartridges including the .30-30 Winchester and .30 Remington. It soon became a popular deer and medium-sized game cartridge among North American hunters, and by mid century nearly every major US firearms maker offered a .300 Savage chambering in at least one of its rifle models.

The .300 Savage distinguished itself further by serving as the parent to the .308 Winchester (7.62x51mm NATO) cartridge, a round that was developed for the US armed forces in the 1950s and which is still in use today.

The Savage Model 99 lever-action rifle is no longer in production, and over the past two decades or so the .300 Savage has faded in popularity, eclipsed by its own progeny the .308 Winchester and other more powerful short action cartridges. However, it continues to be marketed by several ammunition manufacturers.

Ironically, Savage Arms no longer regularly offers a rifle chambered for what may be the most famous cartridge the company ever developed. Despite its decline as a sporting round, the .300 Savage remains quite popular with handloaders who are able to utilize newer smokeless powders and more aerodynamic bullets to obtain optimum performance from it.

Performance

Pressure level for the .300 Savage is set by SAAMI at 46,000 CUP. The .308 Winchester operates at a higher pressure of 52,000 CUP, which is one of the basic reasons it outperforms the .300 Savage.

Categories

Cartridge:rifles