.250-3000 Savage

The .250-3000 Savage is a rifle cartridge created by Charles Newton in 1915 and is also known as the .250 Savage. The name comes from its original manufacturer, Savage Arms and the fact that the original load achieved a 3000 ft/s (910 m/s) velocity with an 87 grain (5.6 g) bullet.

Background
Charles Newton designed the 250-3000 Savage case to fit the popular Savage Model 99 lever-action rifle. As a prototype case: The .250 is based on a shortened, necked down .30-06 Springfield case. Newton recommended loading 100 grain (6.5 g) bullets at 2800 ft/s (850 m/s); but Savage Arms reduced bullet weight to obtain velocity of 3000 ft/s. The .250 Savage was the first American cartridge capable of achieving 3000 ft/s (910 m/s) 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 publicity advantages of velocity compensated for reduced penetration of the lighter bullet in larger game animals.

The cartridge has a pressure limit of 45,000 CUP set by SAAMI. It lacks the power of the bigger .25-06 Remington 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, but in recent years has lost ground to the .257 Roberts and flatter-shooting 6mm cartridges like the .243 Winchester.

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

Variants
Some varmint hunters use the improved version of this cartridge, known as the .250 Ackley or .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. This provides a velocity improvement of more than 250 ft/s (76.2 m/s) over standard factory loads.