250 Savage/250-3000

it'll perform just fine on deer and antelope

Just Right...

It should be ideal for deer and antelope, especially in a lightweight rifle. It offers a flatter trajectory and less recoil than a .30-30 Winchester. Happy hunting!

257 robertswould feed better out of the magazine . 250 savage is a little short for the magazine

My father killed a tiger in Sumatra in the 1930s with a Savage 99 in .250-3000 and in Etheopia in the 1940s killed hundreds of head of big game, including a cheetah and a Lesser Kudu good enough for Roland Ward.

It will work very well on deer size animals. I killed three does and one buck...all 90 to 120 pounds...each one good lung / heart shot...maybe the longest run after being hit was 75 yards. Two almost dropped at the spot. I was using Speer 100 grain soft points at about 2700 fps out of a Model 99CD. All were shot within 100 yards. I got a LOT advice and RECCOMMENDATIONS on better caliber choices and more "modern" rifles which sadly resulted in my trading for a Winchester Model 70 in .25-06....hated the rifle and that sorta tainted the .25-06. for me...I really liked that cartridge and Savage rifle...never found another 99 I liked as well...finished up my deer career with a 742 carbine in .308.

One point -- my Dad used to say, "The 87 grain bullet is better than the 100 grain." I didn't understand until years later.

When Charles Newton created the .250, it almost broke 3,000 fps, which was a magic number in those days. So Savage sent him back to the drawing board. He did two things -- first of all, he specified an 87 grain bullet, and next he relaxed the twist rate to optimize it for that short bullet. Consequently, many 99 Savages will not shoot the 100 grain bullet well -- it is only marginally stable.

If you're re-barreling a rifle, specify a tighter twist if you plan on using heavier bullets.

It's one of those rounds that I have a soft spot for. My grandmother used a Savage 99 chambered in .250 Savage for mule deer and elk. Seriously.

My grandfather used a sporterized 1903 kept in the original .30-06 for the same hunts. He lost a few game, she didn't. Of course it probably helped that she aimed for the neck whereas my grandfather may have attempted other shots. However, the .250/3000 is without a doubt a capable cartridge, despite its age.

tahoe2 said:

Thoughts on this caliber, performance on Deer and/or Antelope?
I'm a handloader with an old M93 Spanish carbine that needs a new barrel.
Thinkin 257 Roberts, or 250 Savage for a lightweight Deer/Varminter.

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For your action the 257 Roberts is much more suitable as far as feeding from the magazine. Anything the 250-3000 will do the Roberts will do with more case capacity and lower pressures for given ballistics. The Roberts is still considered a production caliber as far as brass is concerned, don't think that's the situation for the Savage.
The gun is just for fun anyway, but I'd go the route with less frustration long term.

IMHO

The Roberts is still considered a production caliber as far as brass is concerned, don't think that's the situation for the Savage.

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250 Savage brass and factory ammo is just as available as 257 Roberts

An explorer, scientist, and taxidermist named Roy Chapman Andrews carried his 250-3000 all over the planet. He hunted big game for the NY City Museum of Natural History.

Wait patiently for a good shot into the chest organs and keep your shooting within 275 yards or so. You'll learn to really love the performance of this cartridge.

TR

It is perfect for your needs; however, if I could, I would rather have the 257 roberts for the above reasons if I had a choice, and I didn't because I have savage 99. It has to be my favorite rifle though and mine seems to stablize the heavey bullets. Just bought some barnes bullets to reload for hunting in the lead free area of California. You can also resize 22-250 shells.

ive got a model 70 win and a 77 international in 250. Ive killed lots of deer with them. Mostly short range woods hunting. Longest shot about 250 yards and i wouldnt push it much past that if any. At 200 yards its a great killer though.

The 250-300 is a dandy cartridge. A little short for a full length Mauser magazine.

I always thought a feather-weight version of the Remington Model 7 in 250-3000 would be pretty cool.....

Go with the .257 Roberts, don`t have to worry about any thing but a barrel.................

If you have tried to find brass for the Bob, you know it can be frustrating. Factory loadings are pretty limited, pretty much 117gr.

But after considering all the 1/4 cal rifles, I'm going for a Bob anyway.