Savage Model 99 in .308

[jschuff32]

Anyone out there hunt California with a lever gun? I've been thinking of hunting with this family hand-down from the 50's, but not sure as I'm much more accustomed to my bolt rifles. Is there a reason that lever guns are rare out there among hunters?


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[hogbody74]

Lever Guns

Got my first buck and prong horn with a 99 in 300 Savage. They just are not as popular today as they were in the 50's and 60's. That said I still like levers though my go to is now a bolt gun.

[RNE228]

Got my first pig with a Savage 99 in 300 Savage. Great handling lever action! I personally like the way they handle better than the Win94 style levers. Plus they can use more than flat nose bullets.

A Savage 99 in 308 would do any California rifle hunting.

[Barbarosa]

Yes, a lever .308 will take any game CA has to offer. In my hunting days my BLR .308 was my go-to gun. Most places in CA you aren't taking long shots, so a 300-yard bolt action and 10X scope are overkill (literally).

[Sandro]

Everyone uses what he/she is more comfortable with.
I personally like lever and hunt with them, but only if it is from a blind and less than 100 yard shot. I cannot point on a reason why. It just happens so every time with no particular reason

[duckman1]

I too took my first animals with a model 97 in .300 Savage. Lever guns still kill just as dead today as they used to....

[RNE228]

I would agree.

But, I also would not class a Savage 99(or even a Win-88 or Browning BLR) with the popular '94 in 30-30. I would not hesitate to shoot my Savage 99 in 300 Savage, or one in 308, past 100 yards.

So it kinda depends on what lever gun and cartridge

Everyone uses what he/she is more comfortable with.
I personally like lever and hunt with them, but only if it is from a blind and less than 100 yard shot. I cannot point on a reason why. It just happens so every time with no particular reason

[7anthony7]

Ha, I also took one with a 99 in 300. Still have the rifle. Savage 99's are great. You just got to keep an eye on the stock for cracks behind the receiver. Solid rifles.

[smle-man]

Anyone out there hunt California with a lever gun? I've been thinking of hunting with this family hand-down from the 50's, but not sure as I'm much more accustomed to my bolt rifles. Is there a reason that lever guns are rare out there among hunters?


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Depends where you are hunting. East of the Mississippi they aren't rare at all.

[TurboChrisB]

Anyone who downplays a Savage 99 doesn't have any experience with one. I have a 99 in .308 in my safe right now. It was my dads. He got it used in the early 50's and used it his whole life. My dad grew up in Utah and Nevada and my grandfather was a cattle rancher. That rifle is capable of taking the largest deer and elk that North America has to offer. I couldn't even begin to count on all my fingers and toes how many deer that rifle has taken.

[wildwilly]

Been hunting and plinking with my 308-99f for thirty plus years. The only issue is the non-adjustable trigger & bit of creep...about 10#. I got a Leupold 3power scope mounted.....enough for practicle big game shots out to 300 yds. I've been reloading cast bullets in mine for plinking for many years....nearly as cheap to shoot as 22lr. I'm always amazed at the design and machining that went into those rifles.

[Killer Bee]

dad managed everything with a 336 30-30, BLR .308, and a 39A for little critters..

only bolt gun he had was a .410 shotgun but indeed, times have changed..

does seems like lever guns are less popular nowadays for the practical uses..

guess the young'ns just don't know what they're missing

here's a few of mine that I've picked up on my own, model 99 in .300 savage is on my list



Belgian pre-81 blr .308 [count the mags ]
Win 88 .308 [also have the matching model 100 ]
Win 94 .30/30
Marlin 336 .30/30

[Bainter1212]

I have both a Winchester 88 and a Savage 99, both in .308. I would take either one hunting any day of the week.

[Sutcliffe]

Damned good guns

Pretty much a classic

[RNE228]

That's funny, cause you dont hear about bolt action much less 410 very much.

My grandmothers Steven's .410 bolt action controls varmints in our blueberry patch... Works very well. Grandma got it back in the 1930's.

dad managed everything with a 336 30-30, BLR .308, and a 39A for little critters..

only bolt gun he had was a .410 shotgun but indeed, times have changed..