Savage model 99?

Jipps, can you post pictures? If it is a Model 99 it was made in 1951 based on the serial number information you have provided.

Steve

Hang on to it. I had a 99-A (featherweight, or whatever similar term they used) in .250-3000, and I grieved the day I sold it. Hard times mean hard decisions. I used acraglass to fully bed the forearm (good luck getting that off again in one piece), and it was a tack-driver. It had a thin forearm and thin barrel, so it would shoot high if you fired too many rounds quickly on a hot day. Take your time, and it shot like a good bolt action. It shouldn't have, but it did.

My best friend had a 99-F in .300 Savage (which, honestly, is a better deer gun for the thick stuff), and while he could have afforded something far fancier he had no interest in such to take into the deer woods. His had the slightly odd trigger-guard safety which I didn't care much for, but mine had a tang safety I loved as old habits from my Savage 67 double made it natural.

I hope you get to use it, it's a shame to just set that in a safe somewhere.

My Dad bought, so the story goes, a Savage Model 99EG ,in .250-3000 just before he shipped out during War II for the grand price of $35.00.
He carried that rifle for years in the PA deer woods and was very successful with it.
It now resides in my brother's gun safe and we use it occassionally.
Great rifle, great cartridge and some falmilt history to boot.

It is a Savage 99. It's one of the strongest lever action rifles ever made. What caliber is it? I use my .303 Savage model G to hunt with to this day. Great guns.

Ya'll know that Arthur Savage also invented the radial tire, right? One smart cookie.

Thinking about getting the barrel refinished though, showing some rust and pitting along the outside that i cant get rid of.

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I wouldn't.
That is a mighty fine looking older Savage 99 in your pictures.
Re-bluing it would reduce it's collector value.

Try using some Extra Fine (0000) grade steel wool and oil on the rust and see what it looks like then. Used with a little common sense, it will not harm the remaining bluing.

And keep in mind what little rust there is was put there by your dads own hands.

rc

Here, take a look at this page and you can ID it. http://savage99.com/models.htm

I agree with RC - carefully remove what rust you can, oil it up good and enjoy it.

It's NOT an F Model (the featherweight) because their barrels were thin and easily distinguished by the hump for the rear sight dovetail. The E model had no rotary mag counter window in the receiver, so it's not that either. I suspect it's an A model, and AFAIK the S/N puts it as an early fifties vintage.

ETA - DOH! Steven Mace already provided the likely DOB in post #2 and I skimmed right over it...

I'm with rcmodel on this. I'd clean up the rust spots the best I could using the method he suggested and would not refinish.

Take it hunting and kill something with it. It's likely what your pops would have wanted.

I have 2 of the 99's from the 1930's. A .300 Savage and a .30-.30.

Definitely not an A model - they had a straight lever. Hard to tell with the scope, but I'll call it a G - is it a take-down, Jipps?

Definitely not an A model - they had a straight lever

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You sure that all of them had a straight lever? I had an A model in 243 (said 99A on the front receiver ring), and AFAICR it didn't have a straight lever....

rbernie - positive. Check out the link I gave above. I also have three Savage catalogs from the early 1900's with pictures. All A models had straight levers, at least, I've never seen or heard of one that didn't. If there is one out there, it'd be worth a ton of money! Officially, they didn't make a model 99 with a pistol grip until the G model, although there were some 1899 models that had pistol grips. Here, this guy has the definitive info: http://savage99.com/models.htm

Jipps - does the barrel come off?

Jipps said:

Take down? what do you mean by that?

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That means the rifle is designed to break-down into two parts. In other words, with a little manipulation, the barrel comes off. A normal Model 99 won't do that.

Jipps said:

Anyone have any information on the rifle? ... Chambered in 300 savage.

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Here's a link with lots of info, including handloads for the Model 99 chambered in .300 Savage.....

Savage 99 - Uniquely American by John Haviland, Rifle Magazine, The Legacy of Leverguns, Winter 2009:

http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/riSEpartial1.pdf

They have gone way up in value now that Savage has stopped making them.

Jipps,

Hang onto that old rifle, don't ever get rid of it either! I'm fortunate to have my Pop's old .300 Savage, and when he passed on, I've also got the old .250 Savage he'd gotten from a friend of his, not knowing he had it until he was gone. The .250 is really a shooter, I've reloaded some for it, shoots nice. The .300 is a knockdown round, Pop had used this rifle since 1947, many, many elk and deer met their demise by this one. Good luck with it, keep us posted on how your getting rid of the rust works out.