Savage 99

[Cessnapilot89]

Well, After some deliberation and thought, I figured the way to fill the lever action void in my collection should take on the form of a Savage 99. I was wondering if anyone here had one and could give me some advice about these rifles?

[echo1]

I've got a 99F in .308 with a 2.5 X 7 Omnivison period correct scope. It is one of my most cherished rifles, very quick pointing, accurate and balanced. This is the onliest deer I ever kilt. PAX

[Fjold]

Anything other than the 99E. The E model was the economy model with cheap beech stocks, no round counter, etc.

[duckman1]

^^^^^What he said.

[Bainter1212]

OP.....
The 99 is a good choice. Have you considered the Winchester 88?

[Cessnapilot89]

Negative, which is the Winchester 88?

[Bainter1212]

Winchester made a box mag fed lever gun from the mid 50's through the 70's (?). They are excellent rifles but they never took off sales wise so Winchester discontinued them.

The neatest feature about them is that the entire trigger mechanism moves with the lever, so you never pinch your fingers.

The above rifle is mine chambered in .308. It is an early production rifle. If you can find one in .358 Winchester, those are the most collectible.

I would love to add a Savage 99 to my collection, but the only ones I have seen locally are all in .300 Savage. Would love to find one in a non-archaic cartridge.

[Cessnapilot89]

That Winchester is a pretty neat rifle!

[I Swan]

Most 99's I find are in 300 Savage or 25-35 or something or have gouge pricing. I did have a real nice anniversary edition in 308 I got for $350 but I sold it, too nice to hunt with and not really a target gun. Winchester 88's tend to be expensive as are the magazines.

I passed a worn example in 300 Savage for less than $150 this year. I have a line on another for around $200 but I think owner already sold it. Ammo is available, I've been seen it at Ammo Bros.

I'd take a decent economy example in 308 but it would have to be cheap. A friend had one he said the world reminded him of that used on cheap baby furniture.

[Bainter1212]

^^^^^88s may have gotten expensive recently, mine was a friend deal I got for $300.

[CHIEFone]

savage 99's are nice guns. I have a savage 99E, that was passed down to me. chambered in .243 it was my dads deer hunting rifle. old leupold 3-9x vx rifle scope on top

even though 99E are like red headed stepchilds of the 99 models, its still a fun gun to shoot. i take it out on once in a while.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

For nearly 50 years, THE quintessential American deer rifle was the Savage Model 99 in .300 Savage. Today it is an oddball caliber, but they still make brass for it seasonally. And Winchester and Remington still load new ammunition for it.

While the 99 isn't in production, they are still fairly popular in many parts of the country. And they came in lots of different calibers, though .300 Savage is probably the easiest to get your hands on. The later models in more modern calibers tend to command a bit of a premium. .308, .243, and .358. However, some of the other calibers, especially the .250-3000 are even more sought after. If you are looking to add one to your collection, I would recommend one with the rotary magazine. A feature that was omitted from the late-model versions. And don't be afraid of getting one in something other than .308 or .243. The .300 Savage is easy enough to reload for, and will give you nearly identical performance to the .308. Up until I switched over to 6.8, it was may standard hunting cartridge for deer and pigs.

-Mb

[TRAP55]

Did you know:
there's a milsurp Model 99? a 99-D in .303 Savage. Rejected by the Army, but used by the Canadian Home Guard in WWII, and the Mounties.

http://www.historicalfirearms.info/post/46347449950/savage-model-1899-d-lever-action-military

And Savage made a 99 with a stretched action chambered in .30/06, and one in .270 as prototypes, but were deemed a marketing failure because of size and weight, and never got produced.

And Charles Newton developed the Savage .22 High-Power cartridge from the 25/35 Winchester, the only .22 center fire to use a .227 bullet. Obsolete here, but very popular in Europe as the 5.6x52mmR.

[Enfield47]

I've got a Savage 99, they are great guns. Mine is from 1937/38 and chambered in 300 Savage. They have a very strong action with a solid lockup, plus the rotary magazine and round counter are pretty cool features. It's an interesting design that allows you to shoot Spitzer bullets instead of the round nose bullets that are used in the tube fed rifles. The receiver is made so that it fits well in the palm of your hand for carring which is one reason why they were popular with hunters.

Mine was missing the rear sight elevator but I picked up a Marble's elevator from Midway for $2 and it works fine now. BTW don't get curious and try take apart the rotary magazine, Trap55 warned me off that and I have since read many stories of people who had trouble getting them back together. You practically need to be an octopus to get everything back together properly.

You should definitely pick one up. If you get one in 300 Savage, you can share the same powder and bullets as your other .308 rifles so it makes reloading easy.

[Cessnapilot89]

Thanks guys! Now to find one!