what 85 or 87 grain bullet did remington load for the 250-3000 in the 70's? my father-in-law believes they were the best deer bullets he's ever used. he described them as semi round nose lead tipped. he's since retired the model 99 he used and is using my 257r with 100 grain nosler bt's, not liking the bt's based on some long held belief. i'd like to find 1 or 2 boxes of these bullets and load them in the 257r to 250-3000 velocities to put this discussion to an end. any help would be appreciated, thanks, dh

They were Remington Core Lokts and I think they are still available...They do work well on deer as do the old 100 gr. Silvertips...I killed a number of elk with a Savage 99 250-3000 the old silvertips in my younger years before the magnum craze took place, that's when the 300 Savage and 30-40 Krag held us spellbound as to there awesome power....My dad killed over 25 elk with the 250 with whatever bullets he had on hand and another 25 or so with a 25-35 win.

thanks, any idea where to get these bullets? remington doesn't list them on their web site. just read an article discussing the 250-3000 and it's use as an elk rifle and i was quite impressed. dh

dh... I am a big 250-3000 savage fan. While I have not tried the "old" remington 87s, I can tell you I absolutly love winchesters silvertip. As a handloader for this cartridge, I can tell you the horniday 100 gr is a very well suited bullet for this cartridge.
The 250-3000 should have never been scared by the 243.
take care
smallfry

I've only killed one deer with my .250, but the 100 Hornady Spire point at 2650 (20" barrel) worked startlingly well on a 120-130 pound doe. Penetrated the center of the left shoulder, crossed the chest and exited in front of the right shoulder. She dropped quick.

The only deer my Dad ever killed was a huge doe that fell to a 100 Win. Silvertip factory load in this same rifle. His shot landed too far back but drilled the liver. She ran off a ways, lay down, and bled out.

The .250 speaks softly, doesn't bruise your shoulder, but is effective. Why so many choose the .243 over the .250 baffles me.

BigIron

[ 12-05-2002, 00:05: Message edited by: BigIron ]

Bigiron... your a good man for supporting the 250 savage
take care
smallfry

hey, i'm not knocking the 250-3000, i prefer 25 and under myself. my father-in-laws mod 99 is used up, and for sentimental reasons, he won't have it rebarreled or restocked, and it's in dire need of both. i have no reason to doubt what he tells me about the bullet performance he remembers, i'd just like to duplicate it in the 257r's i have.

are these "25 CALIBER (DISCONTINUED) REMINGTON 87 GR. POWER LOKT HOLLOW POINT " bullets from www.blue-star-inc.com/rbullet.htm
the ones that remington loaded back in the 70's? i don't recall him saying he used hp's. are these considered deer or varmint bullets? thanks again, dh

Smallfry - Thanks. Nice to know there's other 250 Savage fans out there.

Remington Powr-Lokt bullets are varmint class, not game class.

I have read a number of positive comments about the Sierra 90 grain HPBT hunting bullet in .257 regarding its performance on game. I have some but have not used them on deer yet. Other than the discontinued 85 Barnes-X, the 90 Sierra is the bullet closest to 87 grains that I'd consider using on deer.

The old Rem 87 gr. bullets were not H.P.'s they were RN Core Lokts made by Peters I think, and I looked around and I guess the are no longer, as is the old silvertip no longer available...Beware of the 86 gr. Rem. it is for the 25-20....

today I would just use a Speer hot core, Nosler or Hornady, I am sure they will work and Rem still makes the 100 gr. PSPCL....it should be a dandy and how about a Barnes X or Failsafe for elk...

I have used both the 243 and the 250 on big game and I will take the 250 anyday, they only compare on paper, not in the field, the 250 and 257 just kill a heck of a lot better than the 243 IMO. The 243 is one of the few cartridges in this world that I have little use for...

The 243 has more blow ups than any caliber in history according to Win and Rem. and several studies have determined that it is caused by throat wear and the use of 90 gr. and under bullets..that jump creates a double expansion of gas, thus a blow up, why this does not happen in other calibers I do not know and the articles I read didn't go into that. That apparantly happened to me a few years back, fortunatly it just left a few hot kernals smoking in my rosey cheeks, looked rather odd....Didn't wreck the rifle....it had a washed out throat...

Thought I would add this 243 stuff, so as to make those users aware, for what its worth.

thanks, i'll be looking at the gunshows this winter for the 87 gr. core lokts. i know other bullets would be fine for most folks, but then there are those that are set in their ways. i wholly expect to duplicate the 250-3000 load in my 257r and then hear something about the twist being different and the bullets not working the same. it will be fun either way.

as for the 243, i've not heard that before. i was broke in on a 243 788 and have alot of admiration for it, and i'll eventually get another one. i couldn't wait to grow into my 270 when i was shooting my dad's 243, but now i enjoy the lighter calibers more, though i still enjoy shooting anything available. thanks again, dh

The 250-3000 is a fine shooting light recoil accurcate cartridge. The 250-3000 is an ideal cartridge for the recoil shy shooter or any young hunters first deer rifle cartridge. I have often wondered why the great shooting 243 has never been necked up to shoot .257 diamter bullets. The 243 would be a much better balanced cartridge necked up to fire the .257 diameter bullet and may even outperform the 250-3000 cartridge. I have the 257 Roberts and the 243 and can find no fault with either cartridge. It is certain that a custom built 250-3000 rifle would be one fine shooting varmint or deer cartridge. Find a sound old Mauser 98 action from a military rifle and have one made to fire the great shooting 250-3000 cartridge. That would make one great shooting hunting rifle.
I believe Remington still produces the .257 diameter 86 grain Cor-Lokt bullet. I would check with Midway they list a 86 grain SP .257 diameter Remington bullet on page 25 of their catalog 1-800-243-3220.

Dear DH. I have two very old boxes of RP 250 Sav that are marked 87gr PTD SP[ I would assume pointed soft point] There are no other stock numbers or anything on the boxes. The 250 Sav[and the AI] are, in my opinion, one of the finest small game and even elk in the right hands, two of the finest ever made. Before his death in the 70s P.O. Ackley said his little 250 Sav. AI was probably the best in terms of added performance of all his cases. As the others have said, it is a fine killing little cartridge.Aloha, Mark[in Or]

Reloader66,

The cartridge you refer to is the .25 Souper and it is a natural, easy wildcat that most of us overlook. The A-Square load manual "Any Shot You Want" has some data for it.

BigIron

Reloader66,

I agree about the 243Win being necked to 25. Here is the one I had built, it is a 257DGR. Very similar to a 25 Souper. Mine is the "Deluxe DGR Custom Based on Nesika Action Cal 257DGR"

http://www.duanesguns.com/dgr.htm

Good Hunting
Jeff in ND

why would someone want to put a bipod on a rifle?
take care
smallfry

Reloader 66,
those 86 gr. bullets that Midway sells are 25-20 bullets and round nose soft points...I am going to order some and try them for expansion in a 25-35 and see if they will hold up....

Reloader 66,
those 86 gr. bullets that Midway sells are 25-20 bullets and round nose soft points...I am going to order some and try them for expansion in a 25-35 and see if they will hold up....

I suspect the Hornady 87 gr. 25 cal bullet would be a dandy deer bullet in the 250 Sav.

There are a lot of 25 calibers that will out perform the 250-3000, in fact it is near the bottom of the totum pole of 25 calibers, only the 25-35 and 25-20 are below it....

BUT the real beauty of a 250-3000 is a lovly mild recoiling little cartridge that just kills big game all out of purportion to its paper balistics...

A 100 gr. bullet at 2800 plus a tad or a 120 at about 2600...To soup it up is criminal as the whole point is missed by applying the bigger is better syndrome.

I have shot about 3 or 4 elk with it and my dad shot probably 50 I guess with it, as did another friend of ours..all broadside, mostly standing shots back when elk liked to stay out on the open slopes and we could hunt them horseback and pretty much ride right up on them. All one shot kills at 100 yds or less with a couple at 200 maybe. We used the old 100 gr. Factory silvertips and they always worked well..For deer the 87 gr. bullets did very well.

I think its success on big game may be due to that mild recoil and the ability of many to shoot it well...I think those old 100 gr. fac. Silvertips were probably, in truth, cooking along at about 2500 FPS, if that, and that is why they always worked so well on elk...

Ray... I have chronographed the "old" winchester "super speed silvertips" and you are right on. Mine clocked in at 2575s in a 22". Like you said... it is a crime to try to push this cartridge. Many people who are interested in getting one always want to find a way or see how close they can get to the 2506. The 250 savage is so mild on paper but is a little velvet sledgehammer in the field.

By the way Ray... To respond to an ancient post we had here...Having culled uncountiable numbers with pellet rifles I think White wing doves are "tougher" than Mourning doves, as they are also stronger fliers.

I love the 250-3000 but it helps to have an accurate rifle to begin with. Mine is a Ruger M77 RSI International style and at 100yds it shoots 2 1/2 to 3 inches or worse, thats with reloads or factory. I'm thinking of getting a Custom barrel for my Encore rifle in 250 Sav. As they say it kills all out of proportion to it's size.

LeftoverDJ,
Yeah, it kinda does, doesn't it...

Steve,
Try glass bedding that 2.5" Ruger.

SF,
Your correct on White wings and they are also more agressive...

Speaking of aggressive, I shot a phesant this year and he dropped a leg flew a strange pattern and then turned charged me, I had to fall on my kneew and duck to keep from getting hit, I rolled and shot him going away. He was too close and got a full load from a full choke at very close range. If only I'd of had a bayonet or the presence of mind to hit him with my buttstock it would have made a better story.

I got a lot of cheering and kidding about being killed by a pheasant after surviving years of Africas biggest...I can picture a pheasant sticking in my chest with head out the back and feet out the front, now that would make a funeral!

Ray, great story...still have laughing tears in my eyes.
You .250 Savage guys....
Try the 100gr. Speer flat base bullet.
Have used this bullet for years with no regrets in a couple of .25/06's.
Used it in a Ruger M77 .257 Robts. with excellent results also.

I agree 100% with Ray & others about the folly of hotrodding the Savage. One reason it works so well is the modest muzzle velocity. Standard jacketed hunting bullets work just fine at 2400-2800 fps.

As I've mentioned in other posts, a 100 Hornady Spire pt at 2650 from my 20" barrel expanded, penetrated the onside shoulder, and exited the leading edge of the offside shoulder of a 130 poundish doe, who quite promptly dropped. She didn't know she hadn't been hit by a 25-06. No premium bullet could have performed better.

And, the mild recoil encourages good shooting habits.

I like the hot .25's too, but the Savage wasn't created to be a 25-06. It works quite well just as it is.

BigIron

Anyone tried the Hornady 117 roundnose in the Savage? How did it work on game?

BigIron

hey all, thanks. just remember, my original quest is to duplicate the 250-3000 87 gr. remington factory load in my 257r to make it more agreeable to my father-in-law, not to dis the 250, just to dupe it. all i need to do is find the disco'd bullets somewhere, any ideas? thanks, dh