The .250-3000 Savage / 6.5x48mm (also known as the .250 Savage) is a

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

cartridge created by Charles Newton in 1915. It was designed to be used in the

Savage Model 99 The Savage Model 99, Model 1899, and their predecessor the model 1895 are a series of hammerless lever action rifles created by the Savage Arms Company in Utica, New York. The Model 99 family featured a unique rotary magazine, and later added so ...

hammerless

lever action rifle The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms Picture showing a Volcanic Pistol A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cockin ...

. The name comes from its original manufacturer,

Savage Arms Savage Arms is an American gunmaker based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with operations in Canada and China. Savage makes a variety of Rimfire ammunition, rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns. The comp ...

, and the fact that the original load achieved a 3,000 ft/s (910 m/s) velocity with an 87 grain (5.6 g) bullet.The .250-3000 Savage
by Chuck Hawks

Background

In 1915, Charles Newton designed the .250-3000 Savage case to fit the popular

lever-action The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms Picture showing a Volcanic Pistol A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocki ...

rifle, which unlike the previous lever actions had no problems with aerodynamic

spitzer bullet A spitzer bullet (from , "point shot") is a munitions term, primarily regarding fully-powered and intermediate small-arms ammunition, describing bullets featuring an aerodynamically pointed nose shape, called a spire point, sometimes combine ...

s thanks to its rotary magazine. To facilitate

handloading Handloading, or reloading, is the practice of making firearm cartridges by manually assembling the individual components ( metallic/ polymer case, primer, propellant and projectile), rather than purchasing mass-assembled, factory-loaded com ...

, casing geometry was based on the

.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military us ...

, albeit shortened in order to fit into the aforementioned magazine designed for the .303 Savage. Newton recommended loading 100 grain (6.5 g) bullets at 2,800 ft/s (850 m/s); but Savage Arms reduced bullet weight to obtain a velocity of 3,000 ft/s (910 m/s), making it the first American cartridge capable of that velocity. Achieving that velocity may have been the reason for the choice of the light-for-caliber 87-grain (5.6 g) bullet. Newton questioned if the publicity over the advantages of velocity compensated for reduced penetration of the lighter bullet in larger game animals.Towsley, Bruce M. ''

American Rifleman ''American Rifleman'' is a United States–based monthly shooting and firearms interest publication, owned by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). It is the 33rd-most-widely-distributed consumer magazine and the NRA's primary magaz ...

'' (July 2011) pp.54-57 The cartridge has a pressure limit of 45,000

CUP A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

set by

SAAMI The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several A ...

. It lacks the power of the bigger

.25-06 Remington The .25-06 Remington was a wildcat cartridge for nearly half a century before finally being standardized by Remington in 1969. Its design was based on the .30-06 Springfield cartridge necked-down (case opening made narrower) to .257 calib ...

but provides less noise and less recoil. Performance is very close to the .257 Roberts. Arguably it is a better overall cartridge for hunting than the more popular

.30-30 The .30-30 Winchester / 7.8x51mmR (officially named the .30 Winchester Center Fire or .30 WCF) cartridge was first marketed for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle in 1895..243 Winchester The .243 Winchester (6×52mm) is a popular sporting rifle cartridge. Developed as a versatile short action cartridge to hunt both medium game and small game alike, it "took whitetail hunting by storm"Ron Spomer.Whitetail Deer Cartridge Shoot-Out ...

. Currently, there are very few new firearms being made in .250 Savage. It is an excellent cartridge with moderate recoil for hunting small up to deer-sized game.

Variants

Some varmint hunters use the improved version of this cartridge, known as the ''.250 Ackley'', ''.250 Improved'' or ''.250 Ackley Improved'' as a dual-purpose intermediate-range cartridge. The .250 Ackley is the same basic cartridge with a steeper shoulder and with the sides blown-out or straightened to increase powder space.The .250-3000 Ackley Improved
by Chuck Hawks This provides a velocity improvement of more than 250 ft/s (76.2 m/s) over standard factory loads.

Official
SAAMI The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several A ...
Dimensional line Drawing 250 Savage

250 Savage Dimensional Line Drawing designed in 1915 by Charles Newton

References

External links

* https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/250-300-savage-history/454661 * https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-little-savage-250-3000 {{DEFAULTSORT:250 Savage Pistol and rifle cartridges Savage Arms

Background

Variants

Official SAAMI The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several A ... Dimensional line Drawing 250 Savage

See also

References

External links

Official
SAAMI The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several A ...
Dimensional line Drawing 250 Savage