Interesting enough about 15 or so years ago while I was in the Marines ,my Dad got a survey from the Montana fish and game asking hunters who killed Elk the previous season to which caliber was used during the kill and how many shots were needed (including misses ,previous misses and follow up shots)to take an Elk during the season. Hunters were asked to be honest with the survey. My Dad had used a 30-06 to kill his .I read the findings of the survey that Montana Fish and Game sent him back and I remember the caliber with the least shots used was the .300 Savage at 1.3 shots per Elk . The worst by far was the 7mm Remington magnum with 8.3 shots per Elk and the 300 Magnums (unspecified which one) was next worse with 7.5 shots per Elk. The commission came to believe that hunters with magnums were shooting at animals out of range . What this showed me is the .300 Savage in the hands of an experienced hunter is quite a deadly killer and your Savage 99 is most certainly a fine weapon.