.250-3000 Savage
Encyclopedia
The .250-3000 Savage is a rifle
cartridge
created by Charles Newton
in 1915 and is also known as the .250 Savage. The name comes from its original manufacturer, Savage Arms
and the fact that the original load achieved a 3000 ft/s (910 m/s) velocity with an 87 grain (5.6 g) bullet.
lever-action
rifle. As a prototype case: The .250 is based on a shortened , necked down .30-06 case.
Newton recommended loading 100 grain (6.5 g) bullets at 2800 ft/s (850 m/s); but Savage Arms reduced bullet weight to obtain velocity of 3000 ft/s. The .250 Savage was the first American cartridge capable of achieving 3000 ft/s (910 m/s) velocity. Achieving that velocity may have been the reason for the choice of the light-for-caliber 87 grain (5.6 g) bullet. Newton questioned if publicity advantages of velocity compensated for reduced penetration of the lighter bullet in larger game animals.
The cartridge has a pressure limit of 45,000 CUP
set by SAAMI
. It lacks the power of the bigger .25-06 Remington
but provides less noise and less recoil. Performance is very close to the .257 Roberts
. Arguably it is a better overall cartridge for hunting than the more popular .30-30, but in recent years has lost ground to the .257 Roberts and flatter-shooting 6mm cartridges like the .243 Winchester
.
Currently there are very few new firearms being made in .250 Savage. It is an excellent cartridge with moderate recoil for hunting small game on up to deer-sized game.
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
created by Charles Newton
Charles Newton (inventor)
-History:A lawyer and firearm enthusiast, Charles Newton's experiments with cartridge design led to the creation of the .22 Savage Hi-Power rifle cartridge which was adopted by the Savage Arms Corporation as a commercial firearm cartridge. This success was soon followed by the design of the...
in 1915 and is also known as the .250 Savage. The name comes from its original manufacturer, Savage Arms
Savage Arms
The Savage Arms Company is a firearms manufacturing company based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with a division located in Canada. The company makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as marketing the Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns...
and the fact that the original load achieved a 3000 ft/s (910 m/s) velocity with an 87 grain (5.6 g) bullet.
Background
Charles Newton designed the 250-3000 Savage case to fit the popular Savage Model 99Savage Model 99
The Model 99, and its predecessor models 1895 and 1899, are a series of lever action rifles created by the Savage Arms Company in Utica, New York.-History:...
lever-action
Lever-action
Lever-action is a type of firearm action which uses a lever located around the trigger guard area, to load fresh cartridges into the chamber of the barrel when the lever is worked. Most lever-action firearms are rifles, but lever-action shotguns and a few pistols have also been made...
rifle. As a prototype case: The .250 is based on a shortened , necked down .30-06 case.
Newton recommended loading 100 grain (6.5 g) bullets at 2800 ft/s (850 m/s); but Savage Arms reduced bullet weight to obtain velocity of 3000 ft/s. The .250 Savage was the first American cartridge capable of achieving 3000 ft/s (910 m/s) velocity. Achieving that velocity may have been the reason for the choice of the light-for-caliber 87 grain (5.6 g) bullet. Newton questioned if publicity advantages of velocity compensated for reduced penetration of the lighter bullet in larger game animals.
The cartridge has a pressure limit of 45,000 CUP
Copper units of pressure
Copper units of pressure or CUP, and the related lead units of pressure or LUP, are terms applied to pressure measurements used in the field of internal ballistics for the estimation of chamber pressures in firearms. These terms were adopted by convention to indicate that the pressure values were...
set by SAAMI
Saami
Saami or SAAMI can stand for:*Sami people*Sami languages*Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute...
. It lacks the power of the bigger .25-06 Remington
.25-06 Remington
The .25-06 Remington had been a wildcat cartridge for half a century before being standardized by Remington in 1969. It is based on the .30-06 Springfield cartridge necked-down to .257 inch caliber with no other changes...
but provides less noise and less recoil. Performance is very close to the .257 Roberts
.257 Roberts
The .257 Roberts a medium powered .25 caliber cartridge known affectionately as the Bob. It has been described as the best compromise between the low recoil and flat trajectory of smaller calibers such as the .22 and 6mm, and the strong energy but not the strong recoil of larger popular hunting...
. Arguably it is a better overall cartridge for hunting than the more popular .30-30, but in recent years has lost ground to the .257 Roberts and flatter-shooting 6mm cartridges like the .243 Winchester
.243 Winchester
The .243 Winchester is a popular sporting rifle cartridge. Initially designed as a varmint round, it is now more frequently used on medium to large game such as whitetail deer, mule deer, pronghorn, wild hogs, and even black bear and caribou...
.
Currently there are very few new firearms being made in .250 Savage. It is an excellent cartridge with moderate recoil for hunting small game on up to deer-sized game.