I have a nice old Model 99 with the 1:14 twist, so I figured I would try some light bullet loads in it. Taking Ken Waters' suggestion of 32 grains IMR 3031 under 87 grain bullets, I loaded samples of Speer, Hornady and Sierra 87s plus some Sierra 90s. Out of the peep-sighted Savage, these gave me disappointing 3- to 4-inch groups at 100 yards. Before ending the range session, I put five Remington 100-grain factory loads down range, and the group was a very nice 1.5 inches (nice for my eyes and irons, anyway). It is good to know the rifle will shoot 100-grain bullets well, which means it is capable of good accuracy as the 100s are supposedly at the very edge of stability in the 1:14 barrels. But I was surprised that the 87s gave such lousy accuracy. Of course, they were all loaded with the same charge of 3031, and this rifle may simply dislike the propellant. Anyone out there shooting an early 1:14 .250 that is giving fine accuracy with handloads? What is your load?
Thanks.

Hey Bill, I've found it very rare that a Load that works great in someone else's rifle will do likewise in mine. You just never know how it will do, but the odds of te barrels having the same Harmonics are just working against you.

I'd recommend you just research the Load Data at the Powder Manufacturers web sites and see which one provides the best potential performance. Then develop a load with that Powder, specific to your rifle, using the never improved upon Creighton Audette Load Development Method.

Here is what some other folks think about using it.

Once you get used to doing it that way, it really goes very quickly in determining if a set of components works well in a specific rifle.

Best of luck to you.
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Just looked at the old Hodgdon Manual. If I was doing the Load Development for your rifle, I'd start with H414 for the 87gr bullets. And if it didn't like that I'm move on to H380, IMR-4064, Varget, H4895, BL-C2, and then H322 - in that order.

But, the IMR-3031 may still do great if you Develop the Load using it rather than just randomly picking a load level.

Best of luck to you.

THEORETICALLY the lighter bullets should have shot better, but then no one ever taught the rifles the theory.

Take them as they happen and shoot the 100 grain bullets!

One that seems to be somewhat universal is the Speer Hot Core 87 with 36gr. RL15. It's the go to load in my 1953 M99R. The Speer Hot Core 87 bullet it a bit shorter than the others and seems to work better in the slow twist. Wish mine would shoot the 100's like yours does. I've seen an article by John Barsness that reports mid 30's of Ramshot Big Game with the 100 being a universal load, but it didn't work in my M99 or my Ruger with its 1-10 twist. That 87 Hot Core load does a number on whitetail though, so it will probably stay at the head of the list for this rifle.

Ole: I will try the RE15 load in my rifle of similar vintage. I also know that each rifle is a law unto itself on handloads.

As Hotcore says, if you work up a load looking for accuracy, you might even find that there is a specific quantity of IMR 3031 that will shoot well with an 87-grain bullet from your rifle. However, you might be right that your rifle just doesn't like 3031!

I found that H414 does very well with both 87 and 100-grain bullets in the .250 Savage (one of the best little rounds to ever come down the pike!) If you succeed in developing an accurate 100-grain load for it, that's a better all-round weight in .257" bores anyway......

i shoot a 250/3000 and a 250 ackley. they both love RL15. neither likes 87gr bullets of any description. the bullets with which i have the most luck are:
hornady 75gr v-max
sierra 90gr hpbt
sierra 100gr sbt
nosler 100gr bal tip