My older brother called and wanted to know if I wanted one of dad's old .300 Savages.  I'm pretty sure these rifles are well over fifty years old.  I don't even know if the rifle is a Savage or not, just curious as to the round. What is the relative power?  Is ammo still available to non reloaders?  Is it common? Thanks!

The .300 Savage case is similar to a .308 win.  The Savage operates at a lower pressure and it's ballistics aren't as fast.  

My .300 Savage makes a GREAT deer rifle for shots under 200yards.

Ammo is readily available at a decent sport shop.

HTH

Doug  

The .300 was originally designed to duplicate .30-06 Springfield ballistics in a short action (just like the .308 does now), but with the advent of better powders, the .30-06 moved on. Not an insult to the .300, just a little background. The .300 is capable of pushing a 150 grain bullet at just under 2700 feet/second which is very adequate for any North American deer. When handloading this cartridge, you're limited to bullets of 180 grains or less due to the short neck and case volume. Again, not an insult, just some background. If the rifle is a Model 99 Savage, I'd say jump on it, it's a true classic and you'll never be sorry.

Probably not the type of info you are after, but the 300 Savage casing is an excellent casing to form 7.9 KURZ ammo out of.
I have done a bunch of it. You can pick up the brass from many of the reloading suppliers.
Tuco

the .300 savage, and the Savage model 99 are classic early to mid 20th century deer rifles.  I have two, that are both family heirlooms...one of them i've taken into hte field every winter since i started hunting deer.  They're quick handling, and perfect for whitetail and probably quite a bit more.  I've never had too much trouble finding supplies of ammo, just look a little bit...there are a ton of guns out there chambered in .300 savage, so even though i don't think any are currently in production (does Savage still produce the 99?) there are plenty of weapons out there that still need ammo.  I love my two and between myself and all the other hands it's passed through, they've put down alot of adirondack deer.
-marty

Thanks for the replies guys.  Yeah, these are family guns, though my dad stopped using them around the time I was born.  My older brother told me he took well over a hundred deer with one of them.  I'm sure they are not in the best shape but I think it will be fun to get them cleaned up, have 'em checked out and try em out if I can find some ammo.  I am also getting an old .270 of my dad's as well.  Geez, this is like an early Christmas.  My father was over fifty by the time I as born and quit hunting when I was still very young so I have never even seen these before, just a couple Win. Model 100s he kept in the house.  I still have one of those in 95%+ condition.

Thanks again for the info, can't wait till Saturday to see what I get. [:)]