.250 Savage-Hornady Cases
The .250-3000 Savage cartridge was released in 1915 in Savage’s famed model 1899 hammerless lever action rifle. It was the first commercial cartridge to attain a velocity of 3000fps. It accomplished this with an 87-gr bullets. The reasons for its success were easy to fathom. First of all, to a world barely out of the blackpowder sporting cartridge era, this little number seemed light years ahead of its time to hunters accustomed to cartridges like the .30-30, .38-40 and .25-20.
.250 Savage-Hornady Cases
Secondly, the model 1899 Savage rifle in which it made its debut was easily the most modern lever action of the day, some would say of all time. Bolt action sporters were practically unheard of. Bolt action military rifles of the era such as the Mauser models 1896 and 1898.
.250 Savage-Hornady Cases
Lee Enfield and 1903 Springfield were not always considered optimal for hunting and full metal jacket ex military ammunition was not ideal for hunting. The lever action was the dominant sporting arm in the U.S. until well after WWII.
Michael Young –
Longstanding love affair with 250-3000 in Savage 99. Hornady brass perfect following the famous Ken Waters’ recommendation of 32 gr. IMR 3031 but with LEE’s 2.475 COAL. With CCI 200 primers the 87 gr. Sierra yielded great accuracy with 2879 fps out of my 22″ Savage 1938, and 2640 fps out of my 20″ Savage 1919. While you can get 3000 fps out of this cartridge it is more accurate with the lower velocity not to mention easier on the brass. Lube the inside of the case neck to resize minimizing brass stretching. After a few reloads this brass is sound with no splits. Loving it!