.300 Savage on elk?

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TacticalFriedChicken

New member
I've got a Savage 99E from the 70s in .300 Savage. It's my main deer rifle (CA blacktail deer) and works beautifully for that purpose. I'm wanting to start hunting elk (Roosevelt/Rocky Mountain) and can't really afford another specialized rifle so my question is, will the .300 Savage provide enough power to cleanly anchor elk within 200 yards? Barrel length is 22". I am a decent shot (3" to 4" groups at 100yds. offhand with the rifle) and with factory ammo using 180gr. Core-Lokts, can i expect enough killing power? I am aware of both schools of thought on elk cartridges, i.e. Jack O' Connor vs. Elmer Keith.. If anyone with either elk hunting experience or experience with the .300 Savage could help me out with this, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
I, too, am a .300 Savage user.

As long as you are careful with your shots, I see absolutely no reason why the .300 Savage can't be used to cleanly take an elk.
 
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essexcounty

New member
I'd use it..........

I know that tons of Moose have been taken with the .300 so I'd speculate it would be adequate for elk..........Essex
 
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TPAW

New member
I met an old game warden who started his job just after WW2 in the back country up north. He is 87 today, and still walks the wilderness for game. With his children married and gone, and his wife deceased for many years, he does what he loves. Lives in a small cabin with his dog and he eats what he shoots. He has a special license that allows him to hunt for food anytime during the year.
Out of couriosity, I asked him what rifle he uses. He answered by saying, "The same one I hid in my duffel bag when I came home from the war, M1 Grand, ought 6. Broke her down as small as I could, and even had some of the trigger assembly in my pockets"
I asked him what type of game he shot, his answer was " Every 4 legged animal that walked the earth, big and small, some two legged ones also"
About that time I stopped asking questions. This took place last year on a fishing trip, he was the guide.
To date, he's still alive and well, and shooting everything from moose, elk, bear, deer, all the way down to squirel, with his " ought 6" as he calls it! Convince him that his "ought 6" is not enough gun for big game. With 60 years of living proof, you'd be hard pressed!
 
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Skeetin'870

New member
my grand father has a 99e that he swindled a man out of in 1974 by telling him that they get warped barrels, in short the man was stupid enough to believe him and he got it for 100 dollars.
My question is there anywhere I can get ammo if i do not want to reload it.
Post it here or PM me your choice
 
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arover2

New member
I have friends I hunt with in Idaho and Wyoming when I can afford the trips. One guide we go with uses a Savage Model 99, in .300 Savage. He has a Leupold 3X9X40 VX-2, using 180 grain rounds.
He has used this rifle most of his life in areas he hunts. He loves his .300
With his years of experience, he has the knowledge and skill with this caliber.
 
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HSMITH

New member
The previous posters are right on, the 300 is plenty of gun for broadside shots under 250 yards. It isn't a bone busting shoulder shooter, but it will flat lay them down if you do your part. In the brush and black timber it would be hard to find a better combination than a M99 in 300. I have hunted elk since I was old enough to get a license, and I would not hesitate to draw a bead on one with a 300 savage.
 
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OkieCruffler

New member
Although I've never used it on Elk, I have a 99 in my cabinet that my father used to take a dozen or so. He picked his shots carefully, and I never once heard him wish for a bigger gun. On a related note, I also have his step father's 35 rem that was the last gun he used to take an elk. Really should put them side by side.
 
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radom

New member
My brother uses one in .250 for black bear,he never seems to have any problem....so I would think a .300 would be a fine elk gun as long as you dont try much past 150-200 yds.
 
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