rounded edges. I mounted it in Burris Signature Zee rings. CaSe PreP
Finding brass for the 250 Savage
is no easy task these days. They usually are offered only in seasonal runs by Remington and Winchester, but it can be found with a little poking around on the Internet. In order to maximize the potential of this little cartridge, Trent and I decided to make our own brass out of some 308 Lake City Match cases we had on hand. The military brass is a bit stronger and more durable than normal factory brass and we have found that we can get as much as 50 fps more out of the Match cases over factory Winchester brass. We checked
the case volumes using the H20 method and separated accordingly until we had 50 cases that had the exact same case volumes. Trent and I are firm believ- ers in holding tolerances as close as possible to ensure the best accuracy. As we all know, the more consistent things are from shot to shot, the smaller your groups are going to be – and the more accurate you’re going to be when it counts. There is nothing like having absolute confidence in your rifle and knowing that if you miss you have nothing or no one to blame but yourself. PlenTy of Gun
I have been shooting my rifle for a
couple of years now and have affection- ately named it Miss Elizabeth. She has gone with me on hunts from coyotes to deer and she always has performed amazingly, killing quickly, and without prejudice. Here in southern Arizona, coues deer and mule deer are the big game species to hunt, and long 500- to 800-yard shots are commonplace. Lots of hunters these days believe they need a 300 RUM or 300 Win Mag shooting a 220-grain bullet in order to make that long shot and take game at long range. Hunters always have gravitated to bigger and faster when it comes to new rifles and cartridges, but I’m here to say that bigger is not always better. Recoil alone deters me from owning such a cartridge, not to mention the much higher reloading costs, excessive throat erosion, and barrel wear found with the larger magnum rifles. I am a firm believer in choosing the right tool for the job. That’s where the little 250 comes into play. For coues hunting here in Arizona, there is no better tool
Page 162 Spring 2012
than the little quarter bore sweetheart 250-3000 Savage. I was lucky enough to draw a
December coues tag in 2010 and also was lucky enough to have my big brother and co-builder of my rifle tag along with me on the hunt. Trent and I didn’t take long to find a big stud buck grazing up a ridge about 1,000 yards across a canyon and the stalk was on. We managed to get within 700 yards of the buck and nestled in under a large oak tree, waiting for the right opportunity. When the buck grazed into an opening and provided me with a clear shooting lane, I squeezed the trigger ever so gently and sent a 115-grain Berger bullet into his chest. The deer dropped dead in his tracks at 662 yards. The little 250 killed that buck just as dead as a 300 RUM, and it did it with less than half the powder and one tenth the recoil. I am a firm believer in choosing a bullet and cartridge that will not only deliver excellent ballistics but also deliver devastating performance, and the 250 Savage fits the bill. Coues deer are small and rarely weigh much more than 120 pounds. Clearly, a 30 caliber 220-grain bullet is a bit overkill on an animal this size. The 115-grain Berger bullet was made for hunting at long range and it performed beautifully in the 250 Savage. The Berger bullet is designed to fragment inside the animal 4 to 6 inches after penetration, dump- ing all of its energy into the animal rather than the ground behind it. This provides a clean, humane kill. Predator hunting with the 250
Savage has produced similar results on coyotes using a Nosler 85-grain Ballistic Tip zipping along at just under 3,400 fps. In my experience the coyotes never knew what hit ’em and I have yet to have one get up and run off after being hit. The little 250 has proven itself to be a well-rounded hunting rifle and, like Trent’s Model 99, it’s my “go to” gun when it’s time to go hunting. The numberS Say iT all Today, we have the blessing of liv-
ing in the modern age. Like most things, over time the powders and components available to modern reloaders have gotten better. Advances in manufac- turing like the use of computers and automated machines have allowed components to be made quicker, bet- ter, and held to tighter tolerances than
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