Charles Newton designed the 250 Savage in 1915. Savage Arms chambered it in its Model-99 lever-action rifle. It was originally marketed as the 250-3000, to highlight the fact that it launched an 87-grain hunting bullet at 3000 fps. This was no mean feat in 1915 when most shooters well remembered 2000 fps as an impressive ballistic accomplishmen. Because Newton envisioned the 250 for use with lighter bullets, he specified a 14-twist for the rifling. Because of this, it will not stabilize efficiently shaped bullets heavier than about 100 grains. This was a common chambering in the Model-99 Savage and several bolt-action rifles for many decades before introduction of the 243 Winchester. With well-placed shots the 250 earned a reputation for doing the job on deer and even elk. The modest recoil made it easier for many shooters to place their shots well. As my friend, Terry Brewer, correctly observed: “There is no replacement for shot placement.” Brewer has a point. Today, the 250 is seldom used for big-game hunting and is most important and famous as the progenitor of the wildcat standardized as the 22-250 Remington. This is too bad. The 250 Savage developed a fine reputation as an efficient deer-hunting round. It generates modest recoil and has a flat enough trajectory so a hunter can zero it at 200 yards and use a dead-on hold for shots to about 250 yards. With the best modern bullets, it is still a fine choice. In the early days of Benchrest Competition, the 250 was commonly used. The first custom benchrest rifle I ever handled was a 250 built on a Mauser-98 action. It had a 2-inch-diameter barrel, a wood stock, and a tuned original two-stage trigger! How things have changed! The original owner of that rifle was Audrey Thrillkill, who was a lifelong friend and mentor to my mentor, Winse Meyer. Ah, the memories. Heritage of this case dates to the 1870s with the introduction of the 40-70 Ballard case.