Old Savage 99s

[ligonierbill]

I've had a 1941 vintage, a gift from my brother, for years. This one was never drilled, fairly pristine, one of the last of the takedowns (400,000 serial number). I did put a Lyman tang-mounted aperture on it, as it was shooting high, but that's easily reversed with a screwdriver. I don't take it hunting, and don't shoot it much. But I do like the Savage 1899/99. As I've sold off a few of my collection, I decided to acquire some "shooters" in decent condition:

EG (I think) 300 Savage 1952. These don't have the schnabel forearm, but do have all the other 99 features. This one has a Williams receiver aperture, and the aperture itself came bent, in fact fractured at a thread root. Easily replaced, but that old sight is proving a PITA to adjust. The rifle groups decently, it's already drilled and tapped, so I think I'll scope it, much as I like the uncluttered profile.

250-3000 (Yes, that's the model.) 1915. Were it pristine, it would be a treasure. This model introduced Charles Newton's revolutionary round. But...stock refinished (nicely done, though) and drilled and tapped. Otherwise, nice shape. Oh, and the rear sight was twisted about 30 degrees. I put it in a vice, but it fractured. Choices. Well, it probably is sacrilegious, but rather than replace it, I installed a dovetail blank and will scope this one, too.

I have a couple old but decent 2-7X scopes on the shelf, and bases to fit the 99 are available. So we shall see how they shoot. I already load 250 and 300 Savage. Maybe they'll go hunting again.

[4V50 Gary]

Lucky! Interesting rifle with rotary magazine.

[ligonierbill]

OK, I tried to scope the 250-3000, but the Leupold one piece mount does not quite fit a 1915 99. You'd need a spacer at the rear attachment point. However, it does fit a 1952 profile exactly. So, I put my Leupold mount and an old Pine Ridge 2-7X scope on the '52 300 Savage. The PITA Williams aperture is now on the 1915 250-3000. Actually, it's only a PITA to clumsy folks such as myself, without the patience to adjust it properly. But I'm trainable.

The other issue I've encountered is the 250 was reluctant to eject fired cases. No, I'm not over pressure. These are "in spec" tested loads. But the Savage take down barrel is a mixed blessing. I found a few burrs and sharp edges, and a 109 year old chamber had a little carbon in it. The upside is, with an easily removable barrel, it's fairly easy to clean things up. So, I'm back in business.

Watch for some range reports.

[bamaranger]

Always wanted a '99. They were a common sight in my youth, most of them older rifles chambered in .300 Savage, hunted by older fellows, the grandad's and uncles of my teenage acquaintances. Most all of those rifles wore old Weaver K4's, likely a nod to the age of their owners. Oddly, I don't recall anyone in my circles those days hunting with one in a "modern" chambering, or seeing one with a peep. In PA, the lever and pump rifles ruled at the time, maybe they still do.


The '99 that catches my eye is the 20" barreled straight gripped carbine or saddle gun. I've seen a couple for sale now that we have online sales, but I have never seen one in the flesh. Seems I recall one of those recently online was chambered in .30-30. Fifty years later I don't believe I could shoot bead & blade sights on a 20" tube well enough to hunt. I might could hunt& shoot a peep well enough with bi-focal spectacles, but I still refuse to hunt with glasses on. It would be a same to scope one of the old carbines....to me anyhow.

[44 AMP]

Savage ended the .30-30 chambering with the general shutdown of sporting riffles due to WWII, and never picked the chambering back up after the war.

Savage began factory drilling and tapping the 99s in the early 50s, different models at different times over a few years, beginning around 52-53 but some models didn't get factory drilled until several years later.

The easy way to tell is look at the front of the receiver. If the holes go through the markings on top of the action, its not a factory job.

When the factory did it, they moved the marking to the left side of the receiver.

For me, the "classic" 99 is the EG, there was one in my family and I had it for several years. 24" barrel, .300 Savage, pistol grip, schnabel forend, safety on the lever, with a JC Higgins (Weaver) 2.5x POST scope.

That rifle was the "big stick" in the Adirondak deer woods for decades, where most hunters carried a Win or Marlin .30-30.

That rifle now resides with a close friend of mine who is a 99 fan and collector.

The old scope, while far from great by modern standards, still works and is on my current woods deer rifle, a Rem Model 600 in .308 Win.

The post is very fast and easy to use, after a bit of practice, better than regular crosshairs in deep timber.

[snoeproe]

They were a rifle that was way ahead of its time when it came out. In 1900 it was a lever action that would shoot pointed spitzer type bullets. Unlike the tube magazine lever guns at the time that required the flat nose bullets for the tube magazine safety.
They are a hamerless lever gun. It’s a striker fired gun. They are a fully controlled round feed type gun. They have a cocked striker indicator. They had a magazine round counter on the side of the receiver. The C, E and some G versions didn’t have the round counter. C versions used a detachable box type magazine instead of a rotary magazine.
I have a ‘41 EG and a ‘82 E, series A, both in 300 savage. The older one is my go to deer hunting rifle still today.

[BJung]

I owned a Savage 99 take-down and (like many shooters) made the bad decision of trading it. The bore was shot out. If I still had it, I'd have a new barrel made for it and chamber it for a .358 Winchester.

[Ricklin]

Have not lost many guns to theft, sadly the 30.30 takedown Savage 99 was one lost to a thief. Gotta love that cartridge counter, I can't think of another one. What other guns had a cartridge counter?

[stinkeypete]

My family used to have a Savage 99 in .300 Savage. It wasn't shot much because:
Ammunition is rare and we didn't reload back then
Although beautiful, the stock doesn't really fit unless you mount a scope
Mounting a scope isn't simple like today
The firing pin broke and repair was too expensive

They are very beautiful. The rotary magazine is cool. I am much happier owning my Grandpa's Remington mauser action 30-06. Nothing near as pretty, infinitely more practical.

[44 AMP]

Ammunition is rare and we didn't reload back then

Never noticed that, myself.

Although beautiful, the stock doesn't really fit unless you mount a scope

Also something I never noticed

Mounting a scope isn't simple like today

Savage 99s have been factory drilled and tapped for scope mounts since the early 1950s. Its not difficult.

The firing pin broke and repair was too expensive

Value judgement by the owner. Firing pins are not expensive parts, but if the repair costs more than you want to spend, that's your call.

A word of warning, if you have a Savage 99 with the rotary magazine, DO NOT EVER TAKE THE MAGAZINE APART!!!

The magazine parts were hand fitted at the factory, a time consuming and expensive process, and one that very, very few people in the country could do today, assuming they're willing to try.

[stinkeypete]

This rifle wasn't drilled and tapped and at the time we were in a small town.

As I said, they're lovely. But I didn't miss it when my dad sold it off.

[snoeproe]

300 savage ammo is getting harder to find these days but it’s still available in quantities to hunt. 25 years ago, every gun shop had plenty of it in stock all the time. Today all the ammo producers do one run of it a year. My local dealer gets it in a few time a year and he sells it fairly quickly. It is getting expensive. If you’re range shooting lots of ammo, reloading is your friend. I’m reloading now for both my 300 savages.

[44 AMP]

They are a hamerless lever gun. It’s a striker fired gun.

No, they're not. They are not striker fired, they have an internal hammer.

They are only "hammerless" in the sense that you don't see an external hammer. On the outside, they look like there is no hammer. The hammer is on the inside where it is not visible to the shooter.

[bamaranger]

What is a "Remington mauser action '06" ?

[44 AMP]

The only Remington I can find with an actual Mauser action is the 798 and they were sold from 2006 to 2008.

Perhaps his Grandpa had one of those....

OR perhaps he is thinking of the Rem Model 30 which looks like a Mauser but isn't, it was actually based on the US P14/1917 Enfield, and produced 1921-25 and the Model 30 Express, produced 1926-1940.

All those were available in .30-06 at one time or another.

[Mike Irwin]

"I owned a Savage 99 take-down and (like many shooters) made the bad decision of trading it. The bore was shot out. If I still had it, I'd have a new barrel made for it and chamber it for a .358 Winchester. "

I don't think it would have worked.

I don't believe that any 99 take downs were made on the lengthened action that was brought out to accommodate the longer .308 cartridge.

[ligonierbill]

Mike Irwin, you are correct. The last takedowns were made in 1941 - as noted, I have one of them. Good thought, however. Is anyone making takedown barrels for Savage 99s? I'm guessing no.

[reloder56]

I have one Savage 1899 in my collection. It's a 26" round barrel takedown in .303 Savage, made in 1913. Has a vintage Redfield peep sight on it. Luckily, I purchased seven boxes of Winchester 190 grain silvertip from a gun shop that was closing down.
Gary

[BJung]

In that case I don't feel so bad except that take-down is a nice novelty.

[snoeproe]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

No, they're not. They are not striker fired, they have an internal hammer.

They are only "hammerless" in the sense that you don't see an external hammer. On the outside, they look like there is no hammer. The hammer is on the inside where it is not visible to the shooter.

I had my E model apart recently. There is no hammer. It is fired by a striker that’s cocked on closing.

[Mike Irwin]

44 is correct. The Savage 99 is a hammer fired gun.

This is the hammer in a Savage 99:

[44 AMP]

I had my E model apart recently. There is no hammer.

According to Savage, there is a hammer. It is part # 47 on the parts list for the Savage Model 99C, DL(M), E, F, & DE, PE rifle.

It does not look like the usual revolver or external hammer on a lever gun, but the people that make it say it is a hammer, so, it is a hammer.

The word "striker" does not appear on the parts list.

[jdsingleshot]

If a dog breeder calls a dog a cat, it's still a dog. Hammers swing, strikers don't.

[44 AMP]

Hammers also strike ...

personally, I'm fine with what the maker has been calling it for the past 100+ years....

[Pumpkin]

So when in the “past 100+ years” did firearms start running instead of, firing, shooting, functioning