It's a 30 caliber. There is nothing magical about the round, other than the fact that you generally shoot it from a lever instead of a bolt. In a bolt action, you can load it to pretty much duplicate the ballistics of the .308. This is because the 300 Savage has about the same case capacity. In a lever, stick with the lower pressure limits of the reloading manuals.
As I said, it's shooting the same bullets. Look at it this way, you simply have to be closer to the target to have the same terminal effect. Some rough calculations gave me the following results. With a 165gr sp bullet, you get this:
With the 300 Win Mag, you could move back 200 yards and have the same energy as the 300 Savage.
With the 308 (or 30-06 for that matter) you could move back about 100 yards for the same effect.
Understand, you're also dealing with a less accurate gun and different bullet drop considerations. Many 300 Savage guns have shorter barrels also. This round itself is great. It's much more versatile than the 30/30 without the unnecessary power you get from the more powerful 30's. It's somewhat limited in the Elk realm or long-range hunting. Range is a very relative thing. I feel comfortable out to about 300 yards with most of my guns. For that range, the 300 Savage will do nicely on everything up through Mule Deer. I wouldn't want to shoot an Elk, Moose, or Bear with it at that range, though, as you aren't as likely to get a clean kill. At that range and considering the velocity drop, bullet placement is critical and it becomes an accuracy issue more than an energy issue. If you can part the hair on a flea's behind at that range, you're fine. Otherwise, I'd keep it down to about 200-250 yards.
My only 300 Savage is an inherited 1899 that I don't hunt with. It's a dandy on the range and fun to shoot but its hunting days are behind it. I'll just keep taking it out for a drive every once in a while so it doesn't feel lonely.
