I have written before about using 4227 in reloading .30 Carbine. In summary, it works OK, but even with the case nearly full, the MV is only around 1700 ft/sec. The good part of that is it does not fling fired cases very far, so they are not so easily lost.

Last month, I made up a batch of .300 Savage brass from .308 brass. As luck would have it, at the local gun show several weeks ago I found a baggie of dirty and tarnished factory .300 Savage cases, 58 of them - for $5. Needless to say I bought them and gave them an overnight soaking in citric acid solution to make them look much better. As I had an old can of H4227 (I mean probably from the earliest days of Hodgdon Powder), I decided to use it to load up some low power cast bullets loads in .300 Savage, seeing as how I had over 300 165 grain gas-checked lead bullets of the Spitzer style I had no other use for. I didn't have any recipes using H4227 for the .300, but the Lyman cast bullet handbook showed some mild .308 Win loads using between 22 and 28 grains of IMR 4227 with that same bullet. So I loaded up 24 .300 Savage cases with 23 grains of H4227, as there is very little difference between the .308 Win and .300 Savage cases, except for the neck length. It turned out to be a great load which chronographed at around 2000 ft/sec MV, and functioned the action of my Remington Model 81 reliably, without throwing the cases too far. And that load was very easy on my old shoulder - Model 81s are not noted for their pleasant recoil. Best of all, I was getting 2"-3" 5-shot groups with open sights at 50 yards over sandbags from the bench, and with that gun, that's nearly miraculous.

I just finished up loading 87 more rounds of .300 Savage with that H4227 lead bullet load, will be going out in a couple of weeks to shoot them all up in my other Model 81. It should be fun.

Interesting. I also have a Remington m81 in .300 Savage that was my first moose rifle in 1959. You're right about the recoil. I'll have to try what you did. The 2001 IMR Handloader's Guide for Smokeless Powders has data for reduced loads for both IMR4227 and IMR4198 for about any caliber you can think of from .17 Remington to .458 Win mag. I downloaded a copy a year or so back for free, but for the life of me I can't remember from where. They can be found on ebay at times. 4227 has a lot of uses.

The only problem with the .300 Savage is that factory ammo can be a little difficult to find and expensive. The .308 Win pretty well killed off the .300, and it has been a long time since any new rifles have been chambered for it. Fortunately, it's easy to form cases from .308 brass by running .308 brass through a .300 Savage FL die then cut back the neck length. I always look for rifles in .300 Savage at gun shows, but seldom see any. Always hoping for a good deal on price, but have been disappointed so far. Some may know that the .300 Savage was the parent of the .308 Win/7.62mm NATO cartridges. The US military thought a longer case neck was better for use in automatic weapons.

I pulled out an old duPont reloading guide pamphlet and they do show some light IMR4227 loads in .300 Savage using 150 and 180 grain jacketed bullets, but none for lead bullets. It provides very similar MVs to those loads I made up with lead bullets.

You've apparently done quite well with an old Hodgdon powder. Perhaps you'd like to try using some of this? (This full can probably dates to the earliest powders that Mr. Hodgdon bought as government surplus and packaged for resale to consumers).
Seriously, I am curious about the citric acid cleaning you mention. I am not familiar with it. Can you share the recipe?
Thanks.

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I have several of the ancient Hodgdon metal screw lid and cardboard cans (which I think are even older), but not that one. I do have about half a can of H240. Apparently, it was never very popular and little information about it exists. It didn't last long. Near as I can figure, it is fairly slow, but not as slow as 2400. I'd say it's probably close to Herco based upon my limited experimentation with it. If anyone knows more about H240, please let me know.

I used to have an AR10 in 7.62(.308).It was the black model,the one that had been used in Congo.I'd load 180gr cast bullets +GC with IMR 4227(don't remember how many grains but it was a little above 20 gr).I opened up the gas bleed system to its largest opening and I could fire the 4 X 20rds magasines as fast as I could pull the trigger.
The 4227 powders are used in all my .30 and above calibers with cast bullets and,as you already know,in the large mag revolver rds.Versatile and accurate.
Up here in Canada,the .300 Savage is encountered pretty often;most of the time in Savage model99.I too was looking for one at a good price but it looks like we're not the only 2 doing so for the prices are not what I'd call ''bargain''.Good luck in your search.
Qc

lts easy making 300 Savage cases from 22-250 brass or 250 Savage too

You can use pretty much any weak acid to remove the tarnish from brass. Citric acid is available for use in home canning. It is also available as a dishwasher additive called Lemi-Shine. Acetic acid (Vinegar) will also work as will Oxalic acid (Barkeeper's Friend).

To use, you dilute the acid with water to the desired concentration and immerse the brass in it. This works best if the brass has already been decapped. How long you immerse the brass is dependent on how strong you made the acid solution so the first few times you'll have to experiment.

I use a tablespoon of Lemi-Shine to a quart of hot water along with a few drops of liquid detergent. At this concentration, I leave the brass in for about fifteen minute agitating it for about thirty seconds every three to five minutes. The agitation just makes sure that pieces of brass laying on each other don't shield part of the case from the acid. After the fifteen minutes are up, rinse thoroughly and lay the cases on a towel to dry.

If you are going to wet-tumble add a smaller amount of Lemi-Shine or Vinegar because your tumbling time will be longer.

If you leave the brass in the acid solution too long, it will turn black or tan in color. Don't worry. The discoloration is only on the surface and can be removed by tumbling or rubbing with fine steel wool.

Thank you for the citric acid bath information - been tumbling for years, but I will try that.