The .250-3000 Savage was designed for the Savage Model 99 lever action rifle by designer Charles Newton in 1915. The .250-3000 Savage is better known as the .250 Savage and was an original design from a rimless bottleneck .258 inch (6.6mm) large rifle cartridge. The ballistic performance based off four grain types for velocity is 3,170 ft/s (75 gr), 2,997 ft/s (90 gr), 2,864 ft/s (100 gr), 2,652 ft/s (117 gr).
The .250 Savage was designed to be a light weight bullet that could be fired at high velocity for a medium sized game hunting round. It was to compete with cartridges such as the 30-30, 30-06, and 7mm rifles. At first the round was well received, but after being on the market for a while shooters noticed the 87 grain bullet would fragment prior to entering game muscle tissue far enough to do proper lethal damage.
The 100 grain cartridge seemed to solve the wound on target issue for medium sized game, but in the 1950s the .243 began to replace the .250 Savage in popularity. Remington produces factory loaded ammunition for the .250 Savage. Hand loading brass can be found for 75-87 grain bullets for use with varmint hunting, and 100-120 grain for medium sized game hunting from dealers such as Hornady, Speer, and Sierra.
257 Roberts Ammo
The 257 Roberts Ammo is one of those quarter bore cartridges that isn’t as popular as it should be. Surprisingly, many hunters today do not know the 257 Roberts Ammo. This is because Remington Arms introduced it in 1930. However, the design has been available since the 1920s. It was designed by Ned Roberts, who is an American hunter and a ballistician. He found out the 257 Robert Ammo worked perfectly with a 7x57mm Mauser Case.
Although Remington wanted to introduce it as the 25 Roberts Ammo, Captain E.C. Crossman advised against it because the 25 Roberts was already in production. In addition, the chambers of both cartridges differ extensively, which is why Remington renamed it to 257 Roberts Ammo.
The 257 Roberts Ammo is an excellent dual hunting cartridge that you can use for varmints. It sends a 75-grain bullet out at a muzzle velocity of 3,400 feet per second. It is also quite popular today as a medium-powered hunting cartridge. This is because it strikes an impressive balance between a flat trajectory and low recoil.
During testing, the 257 Roberts ammo sent out a 117-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2,650 fps while also packing a 1,824-foot-pound punch. When tested at 500 yards, the muzzle velocity remained at 1,199 fps and 373 ft-lbs of energy. As a result, the 257 Roberts Ammo is highly recommended by the manufacturer for hunting big games like deer.
The accuracy, effectiveness, and power it offers downrange recoils moderate to mild on the shooter’s shoulder. It is ideal if you want more bullet frontal mass from your cartridge but without a high recoil.