New deer rifle

[dennishoddy]

I was at a farm auction when they pulled this rifle up for sale. Not many bids on it so I picked it up for less than $100.

Talked to the owner. He said he brought it back from WWII. Its a Japenese Arisaka action that has been rebarreled to a .300 savage. He had a bishop stock hand engraved and put on the rifle. He said it didn't shoot well. I had noticed that the barrel was pretty short. When I looked at the end of the barrel, I could see why it wouldn't shoot. It had been shortned with a hacksaw and squared with a file. Got it to a gunsmith that put a target crown on it.
We took it out to the range, and even with that old fixed 4 power weaver, it still shot a 1 1/2" group. Some new glass would shrink that group. I may have to use it on a deer this fall

 

[264Magnum]

Sweet

 

[ray76]

Nice rifle, good pickup.

 

[Huckelberry75]

Nice to see that someone can still find a good bargain out there, even if she was a "fixer-uper". Nice rifle.

 

[prdator]

Hey that's kinda way cool!!
The action is one of the strongest ever made.
Good lookin old DYI gun..

 

[JCW355]

Pays to know a little about guns. Good find, what about availability of ammo?

 

[JCW355]

I killed my first deer with a 300 savage

 

[MoBoost]

Slug the barrel - it might be still a .312 that would explain the accuracy problem.

 

[dennishoddy]

Pays to know a little about guns. Good find, what about availability of ammo?

To my suprise, ammo is everywhere, and reasonable.
The caliber for all intents and purposes is an Akley improved .308 I've been told.

Here is a little write up by Chuck Hawkes about the .300 Savage:

.300 Savage

This .30 cartridge was designed to provide the ballistics of the original .30-06 military round (150 grain bullet at a MV of 2700 fps) in a short cartridge that would work through the popular Savage Model 99 lever action rifle. This goal was realized with the introduction of the .300 Savage in 1920.

The formula adopted in the design of the .300 Savage was a fat, relatively straight case body with a sharp 30 degree shoulder angle and a short neck. This basic approach made the .300 Savage the prototype for today's short action cartridges. In fact, decades later when the US Army went looking for a short action cartridge to replace the .30-06, it was the .300 Savage with which they chose to start experimenting, and the result of those experiments was the .308 Winchester.

The .300 Savage has fallen on hard times, largely replaced in the short action firearms it helped popularize by its offspring, the .308 Win. In the past it was offered not only in the M99 Savage lever action, but also in pump and bolt action rifles from Remington, Savage and Winchester. Because the Model 99 used a spool type magazine spitzer bullets were not a problem and the .300 has always been loaded with pointed bullets, unlike most cartridges designed for tubular magazine fed rifles from Marlin and Winchester. .300 Savage cartridge sales remain reasonably strong, as there are many rifles so chambered still in use. Factory loaded ammunition is available from all of the "Big Three" ammo companies. In 2003 Remington chambered their Model 700 Classic for the .300 Savage and in 2006 Hornady introduced the .308 Marlin, a rimmed cartridge designed for Marlin and other traditional lever action rifles that duplicates .300 Savage ballistics using Flex-Tip spitzer bullets that are safe in tubular magazines.

The case capacity of the .300 Savage is similar to that of the .308 Win., but the .300 is loaded to lower pressure, about 46,000 cup. The .300 has adequate killing power to make it a candidate for an all-around North American rifle. Like the 6.5mm Swede and the 7x57 discussed above, the .300 Savage has what it takes to bag big game animals efficiently and with a minimum of fuss.

For animals in the antelope and deer category, the 150 grain spitzer bullet at its currently somewhat reduced MV of 2630 fps is still an excellent choice. Its killing power cannot be questioned after eight decades of successful use in the field. This load, according to my Rifle Recoil Table, generates 14.8 ft. lbs. of recoil in a light 7.5 pound rifle. This is slightly below the roughly 15 ft. lbs. guideline for best practical accuracy and a fine general purpose load in the caliber.

For elk and other tough game, the 180 grain spitzer bullet is factory loaded to a MV of 2350 fps. This one kicks harder than the 150 grain load, about 15.6 ft. lbs. in a 7.5 pound rifle, but it gives the penetration required to anchor larger animals.

Like the 6.5x55 and 7x57, the .300 Savage offers good killing power, adequate trajectory, and relatively mild recoil. At ordinary hunting ranges it is adequate for almost all game for which a .30 rifle should be used. It is a sensible rifle cartridge.

 

[dennishoddy]

Slug the barrel - it might be still a .312 that would explain the accuracy problem.

I was going to slug it, but I mike'd the bore, and got a .308 diameter. Shot it on the Lead Sled with a 50' string on the trigger, and mike'd the brass. .300 Savage for sure. With the crown job, accuracy is no longer a problem. Just my old eyes, and old glass on the rifle