300 Sav, 303, or 30-30 If you had to choose one?
What if you had to choose one of these rounds for deer? Which would you choose and for what reason? Which has the best ballistics, variety of factory loads, range etc?
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I assume you mean the .303 British. This would have the best ballistics but would be hard to find in anything but a British military rifle. Hunting ammo choice would be limited. The only advantage I see would be you could get it in a cheap military surplus rifle.
.300 Savage. A good cartridge, plenty adequate for deer. It can be found in Savage model 99 rifle that were popular a few years ago.
Cartridge is comparable to .308 Winchester but not nearly as available and .308 will have a greater choice of bullet weights.
.30-30 A good choice for up to 150 yards or so. Both Winchester and Marlin lever actions are available in this cal. Not nearly as powerful as the .300 Savage or .303 British.
If I had to choose what I consider the five best deer cartridges, I would include none of the three you mention.0 -
For deer, I'd probably take the .30-30. Easy to get, cheap and effective enough. .303 would be cheaper but it's a bit of an overkill imho for deer. 
of our country.0 -
300 Savage. No question. From the experience I have,and from what I have heard from others,the .303 British is not that accurate of a cartridge.Of course,all I have shot this caliber in has been surplus rifles,so that may be a factor. The .30-30 is pretty much obsolete,except for cowboy action.The only reason it's still around is nostalgia. The .300 Savage cartridge, along with the .250 savage,is highly underrated. If you look you can find some bolt actions chambered for this round. Or if you want a lever action,I believe the 99 is a more accurate rifle than the Marlin or Winchester lever actions. The Savage is also a stronger action than the others. 0 -
If you are talking about the 303 Savage cartridge, they quit making brass for it a long time ago and none of the major ammo makers loads it. You can still find old brass for it and some loaded ammo can be found by smaller companys but it is expensive, both items can go for $40-$45 or more for a box of 20.
The 300 Savage has superior ballistics to the 30-30 Win, about like a 308 Win, that's what I'd choose first.
It might be hard to imagine now with all the magnum cartridges that seem to be taking over, but in it's day the .300 Savage and the Savage 99 were the real hot rods in hunting, with more powder capacity and the ability to use Spitzer bullets in the 99's rotary magazine, it really left the tube fed rifles like the 30-30 in it's dust. They were a rifle/cartridge combo way ahead of their time.0 -
I have a model 99 300 savage, I would choose it over the other two, although I have never taken a deer with it. 0 -
I would take the 303 British.
More power than the 30-30. Lots of cheap military surplus ammo. Hunting ammo readily available.
These are extremely accurate rifles. Some types are more accurate than others, but if you do some research you can get a very accurate 303.
I have killed 2 deer with this cartridge, it is a very effective deer killer.0 -
As a youth, my groups reserve rifle for those that did something stupid like forgetting ammo for their 300 Win Mag. was a 1914 produced Enfield SMLE still in military configuration. It was ugly and smelled funny (seriously, it smelled weird!)but was unbelieveably accurate and stout. Mil Surp ammo was a little harder to come by in those days, but there was plenty of Remington yelow box around and we made exclusive use of the 170 gr. softpoint with excellent results; deer struck by lightning type performance. The relatively moderate muzzle velocity and ability to place a shot well kept meat damage to a minimum. After I screwed up the glass on my M70 the second year we went out as a group, I used the SMLE and never used the M70 as a primary rifle again. The SMLE was certainly not a BETTER rifle than the M70, it was however, just as good a performer, and I didn't have to worry about screwing u[p the wood on the Winchester. Over the years that gun in my own and others hands must have taken in excess of 40 deer, and I never heard a story regarding any deficencies in the gun or round. I would go for the 303 Brit as the practice ammo would be cheap, and the Commercial Remington ammo seems to be an excellent product. You could pick up a good Enfield sporter for around $100 and then put a little money in it for decent mounting and optics and have a cheap, really good deer rig for around $200 to $250.
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.300 Savage hands down. In the Remington 722 or 700 it can be loaded to equal the .308 Winchester. If you are loading for the Savage Model 99 you have to calm it down a little, but , still a good cartridge. Lots of .308 diameter bullets to chose from. I like the 165gr Barnes boattail X bullet. If you are loading for the Remington's you can seat the bullet out to give an overall cartridge length of 2.70". 0 -
yep,..300savage. I have a pre-war takedown mod99 in 300sav and may just take it hunting this year. It is hands down the superior balistic choice.
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?0 -
I've got rifles chambered for all three rounds. All are fine for deer hunting. My personal favorite is the 300 savage in my model 99F lever action. Quick handling it's ideal for close cover hunting and topped with a 4X scope, I trust it to deer size game out to 250 yards. 0 -
.300SAV I have two rifles in the .300 SAV cal, a Remington 760 pump and a Remington 700 classic. Both are very accurate, moderate recoil, and are more than adiquate(sp) for deer and black bear. Handload bullets from 100 gr plinkers to 220gr for bear.[:)]
Dewayne E. Geer0
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