How many people are still using this cartridge and what are your thoughts and experiences with it? I'm considering buying a used Ruger Mk1 or Winchester M70 Featherweight in 243 and rebarreling for this round. In the "real world" are there any differences between the 243 Winchester and 250 Savage as walk-about varminters that will be called upon (on occasion) to perform on smallish deer out to about 200m?
All opinions appreciated...
Con

i have a 250 savage in a remington 7000 classic with a custom stock and love the gun, 3 years ago it was my deer rifle, i have only killed 1 deer with it and it preformed about like a 257 roberts..i use 85 gr bal tips with rl15 & h4895 for varmints and 120 gr speer flat bases with a compressed load of h4831sc for a deer load..250 savages in the 700 classic and ruger 77's show up at the auction sites and are cheeper than rebarreling,

Con :

I like the 250-3000 cartridge. It fits comfortably in a short action magazine, even with long plastic tipped bullets and feeds well. I have a semi-custom rifle from the 1960's built on a medium SAKO Action with a Douglas Premium Barrel that I am hoping will serve well for deer, and on groundhogs for fun. The 250-3000 was a popular chambering for custom lightweight hunting rifles at one time, and by watching the used gun racks long enough you might be spared the expense of having to rebarrel.

rolling hills

I have one in a Savage, and will build another (an AI) on a Rem 600. I think it's a great cartridge. - Dan

Well, CON;

The 243 has the advantage of more bullet availability which would make it a much better varmint round that anything in 25 caliber. The 243 is supposedly more accurate , etc.

If you rebarrel a Winchester Featherweight, you will definitely be walking down a path less traveled, and will also be carrying a round that is not so trendy anymore. Which for me, both reasons, would be the EXACT reason I would do it!

Why follow the crowd, and things that are traditional, are traditional for a reason.


Last year I was at an estate auction of a gentleman who had died, that had a big foundation and had owned a good size sporting goods store. He had a brother who evidently was a Gunwriter a long time ago, and he himself has been mentioned in those manuals by Nosler, and a few others.
His name was Ben Serafin.

Part of what they were auctioning off, were Winchester Barreled Actions, which I guess Winchester use to do ( and I wish still did). In most calibers, these were bringing $200 to $250.00. I had my eye on several they had in 257 Roberts and 250 Savage.

The Roberts actions, went for $400 minimum, and the 250 Savages all went for $500.00 minimum. They were all in the featherweight contours. One brandnew 250 Savage featherweight went for about $750.00. People aren't rich around here, with money to burn.

Needless to say, that was a little too expensive for my blood, but I will get around to rebarreling one of my 243s. to 250 Savage.

One guy at a local gun shop, keeps doing just that. He rebarrels a 243 to 250 Savage, shoots the crap out of it over 2 yrs and then sells it quickly for what he paid for it and does it again. Told me he had been doing that for years. The little round is " silently" popular.

Cheers,
Seafire

my dad has a ruger 77 MK1 in 250 savage and uses it as his 200 yard deer rifle. He's killed quite a few deer with it. He uses 100 grain speer bullets (I don't know what powder or how much).

Originally, the rifle was purchased by my uncle for his wife, and the stock was cut down. Dad replaced the short stock last fall with a Bell & Carlson synthetic. He has put a 3x9 Bushnell on it, and really enjoys shooting the rifle.

Troy

The 250 Sav suffered somewhat when the 1:14 twist was standard, and heavy bullets were then not an option. The 1:10 now typically offered does wonders all the way thru the 120 grain bullets, while still allowing my Rem 700 Classic to do well with 75hp's. I think the 250 is an overachiever for its case size.

I've had my Rem 700 since 1986, so it's a favorite. Most get sold because "I needed a different gun ".

Winchester's last offering in 250 Sav (Mod 70) about 10-12 years ago still had the slow twist, so somebody at Win still was stuck in the 1930's!

But I doubt field performance between a 250 and a 243 would be noticeable.

I have owned two .250 Savage bolt actions, a Savage Model
110WLE and an FN Mauser Supreme. Both great guns and I really regret selling them.

I have owned a number of 250-3000s over the years. In fact, I just sent off a 722 action today to be re-barreled to 250-3000.

I've taken many deer and quite a number of black bears with the 250-3000. Ranges have been from mighty close, to 350 yds or so. All were clean kills using 100, 115, 117, or 120 gr bullets. It is a superb hunting round for these types of game.

The 243 is indeed very accurate, at least in my experience, but I've found the 250-3000 (and Bob for that matter) to be just as capable. IMHO, I feel that the 24 bores are best kept as varmint rounds, perhaps antelope - to me, the quarter bore is where big game rounds begin.

I would recommend that you find a 243 and rebarrel it; the used Rugers are getting pricier ever year, and the old model 70s or custom jobs almost always fetch top dollar. The 700 classics in the caliber go for $750+. IMHO, none of these rifles are what a 250-3000 should be. The 700 classic has a 24" barrel, and is a bit heavy; the Rugers, are, well, Rugers - boxy and generally not capable of eye-popping accuracy (at least in my experience). The Ruger ultra-light was a good idea, but the short barrel was, IMO, too short to make good use of the round.

To me, a 250-3000 should wear a very light 22-22.5" barrel and should be put it a lightweight stock with a good 2-7x scope. The 700 "mountain rifle" contour is ideal for a 250-3000. A 1-10" twist will be fine. Neck up some 22-250 brass (rated for 53,000 CUP) and stoke that baby up. 100gr at 3050 fps is no problem, nor are 120s at 2800 fps.

Another issue is the throat. The standard 250-3000 throat is rather short. On my barrel jobs, I've always had the throat cut a bit longer, as there is ample room in the mag to make us of. However, I shoot 100 gr and heavier exclusively.

If you are looking for a varmint rig, the 243 or 6mm-250 is a better choice. Again, I see these rounds as mainly varmint medicine and the occasional deer whereas I see the 250-3000 as mainly a deer rifle for the occasional varmint.

I think there is a tiny meaningful difference in killing power on deer-sized game between the 24 bores and the 25 bores. The reason I think this is experience with both, and the opinions of some well-seasoned hunters here on this forum and elswhere. Both are "small bores", and thus the 12% more frontal area and heavier bullets of the quarter bores make for a particularly important marginal increase.

Anyway, the 250-3000 is a delight. It's the original short-magnum.

Thank you all for your responses. I've decided to indeed build a 250 Savage based on a Win M70 Featherweight push feed action from the early 80's. Its currently in 243 with a barrel rapidly approaching its use by date, hence I was able to purchase it cheaply second hand. The reason for choosing the 250 Savage was that two properties that I've recently gained access to want their varmints cleaned up and both have the occasional fallow deer which I've also been granted permission to hunt. Only condition is no "very loud" firearms and no night shooting/spotlighting on the small game.
9.3x62: Could you elaborate on exactly how long your throating your 250's? I'm basically looking at using 100gr projectiles as all-rounders with the occasional heavier projectile. Also how are you expanding the necks of your 22/250 cases? This is exactly what I had in mind regarding getting cases for the rifle.
Cheers...
Con

Con:

Here's what I do about having a custom throat. Buy a box of the Hornady 120 Hollow points, and seat the bullet to the top of the cannulure (you should just barely be able to see a bit of the cannulure peaking out of the case mouth). Have your smith cut the throat / leade so that the ogive of the bullet just touches the lands of these dummy rounds. BTW, even if you have no plans to hunt with this bullet, this process will set the throat up to a more sensible (but not overly long) length.

As for case forming, just get a die set with a tapered expander ball and you can perform the neck-up in one pass. Piece of cake.

I don't know what barrel brands you have access to down under, but try to get your smith to turn you a 700 "mountain rifle" contour - it is the perfect barrel for a carry-about varmint/hunting rifle in 250-3000. 1-10" twist.

I've had a number barrel jobs on pushfeed model 70 actions; they are capable of excellent accuracy.

Good luck.

9.3

9.3: While I see your reason to neck-up the 22-250 cases (citing their pressure rating), I have never had case failure in many years of shooting my 250 Sav Rem 700. My loads can run quite warm, as the 700 is certainly up to handling 50,000 cup loads. I have used both Rem and Win w/o noticing a difference in durability.
Lyman probably lists some of the strongest loads for the 250, while many other books defer to the Sav 99 and other older rifles.
I believe Win has dropped the 250 Sav from their ammo/components, but Remingtons are readily available.
My Remington has a generous, but not ridiculous, throat, and there is plenty of magazine room in a 700SA.
Great cartridge!

I have owned several rifles in this caliber. They are a good varmit/deer combo rifle. I do not believe that you will give ANYTHING away by choosing it over the 243. The 25 caliber gives you the advantage of the 120 grain bullet. I have a Remington Model 7 that I had chambered in the 250A.I. and it will shoot the 100 grain 3250fps and the 75 grain at 3600.

Con:

If you can lay your hands on a quantity of Lake City .250 Savage brass, that would be a good idea too. It is very strong. I'd also like to suggest an 11 or maybe even a 12 twist if you are not going to shoot bullets heavier than 100 grains. The slower twist will give you a meaningful improvement in velocity and will stabilize any 100 grain bullet out there.

Jordan

And have you given some thought to a Kimber 84M as the foundation for your light rifle? The proportions are just right. It would make for a nice, light package.

Jordan

Thanks again for the replies. 9.3 I see where your coming from regarding the long throat, I'll swing the idea past the 'smith that eventually puts it together. I like the idea of being able to use the heavier bullets so a 1:10" twist (only one available to me) will be used. Regarding 250 Savage cases, their made of "almost unobtainium" in Australia, so Winchester and Remington 22/250 will have to be used. Anyone have experience with the 100gr Core-Lokt in the 250 Savage?, they're available fairly cheap in bulk. Assuming the barrel likes them it will be these and the 86gr soft RN (for reduced loads) that I'll be shooting the most.
Thanks again...
Con

Mpowder/Mdead hit it right with the 230-3000 Ackley Inproved. All the benefit of the parent round plus a lot more with heavy bullets.

Con,
100gr. Sierra Flat base Spitzers work like a charm and extremely accurate too. I use these bullets in my .257Ackleys with excellent results on game up to and including Elk.
Stepchild

Con:

I have had pretty good luck with Remington bullets, the 100 gr Rem has worked out pretty well in the 250-3000s I've had. I've taken some deer with them with no problems, but I have since switched to the 117 sierra for most deer hunting situations - I just like a slightly heavier bullet. Good luck.

I use the 100 gr. core-lokt in .250. It works really great. 40gr. H-414 is my favorite load. Put 5 shots in 3/4" shooting over the hood of my pickup. This past season I shot a pronghorn with this load. 166 yds., one shot through both lungs. It took about three steps and fell over. 3/4" entrance and about 3/4" x 1 1/2" exit, broke rib on both sides. I really like that cartridge.