JohnBT
Member
A number of folks didn't like the previous Savage trigger. The designer wrote an article for Precision Shooting not too long ago and said that it did what it was supposed to do - have a 3 to 10 pound pull.
John
John
When did Savage rifles "get good"?
- Thread starter DigMe
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Detritus
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two things made savage go to the level they are now, and both were mentioned above.
first they dropped the 99 lever from the line. i am told, but have no confirmation of, this was due to the, then owners not wanting to fork over the bucks for a new set of machinery as the then existing setup was getting worn out.
this of course left the company with ONLY the M-110 based CFs and the canadian built rimfire line (yep all them rimfires come from north of the border). as mentioned sales dropped.
second savage changed ownership. the NEW owners believed/beleive that the way to make a firearms company grow is to produce a good rifle at a good price. these are the folks who started the incremental changes that we've been seeing in the past few years, i.e. accu-trigger, dropping the scout (they should have kept it) and various other lower sales items to facilitate focus on the "core models" and making them better.
maybe in a few more years we'll see the models that were dropped brought back in limited production. or maybe even a return of the 99 using CNC production techniques.
first they dropped the 99 lever from the line. i am told, but have no confirmation of, this was due to the, then owners not wanting to fork over the bucks for a new set of machinery as the then existing setup was getting worn out.
this of course left the company with ONLY the M-110 based CFs and the canadian built rimfire line (yep all them rimfires come from north of the border). as mentioned sales dropped.
second savage changed ownership. the NEW owners believed/beleive that the way to make a firearms company grow is to produce a good rifle at a good price. these are the folks who started the incremental changes that we've been seeing in the past few years, i.e. accu-trigger, dropping the scout (they should have kept it) and various other lower sales items to facilitate focus on the "core models" and making them better.
maybe in a few more years we'll see the models that were dropped brought back in limited production. or maybe even a return of the 99 using CNC production techniques.
To address your specific situation- A four year old rifle. The button rifled barrels tend to be uniformly good, with consistent accuracy. Wood stock may need to be bedded/free floated. Shoot first and see if this needs to be done. Synthetic stocks tend toward 'floppy'. Sometimes can affect accuracy. Again, try it first. Trigger will not be Accu-Trigger (Introduced 2003). Depending on the model of Leupold scope, you are getting the rifle for $150 to $250. Sounds like a decent deal.
Hi, Todd3465,
The rifle you are thinking about was the probably the Model 340, an inexpensive bolt action made from 1950-1985. It was fairly successful in terms of sales, but was never more than an low-level economy rifle for hunters who could not afford or did not appreciate quality guns. There were a couple of other Savage CF bolt actions pre-WWII, notably the Savage 1920 and the Model 40. Both are quite rare today and the 1920 has a decent collector value.
The Savage 99 was dropped for the same reason so many other good rifles fell by the wayside - it was machined out of solid steel and simply cost more to make than it could possibly sell for. As for quality, the 99 suffered a bit toward the end, but quality was never really bad. The old guns were, like most guns of the 1900-1940 era, made like watches.
Jim
The rifle you are thinking about was the probably the Model 340, an inexpensive bolt action made from 1950-1985. It was fairly successful in terms of sales, but was never more than an low-level economy rifle for hunters who could not afford or did not appreciate quality guns. There were a couple of other Savage CF bolt actions pre-WWII, notably the Savage 1920 and the Model 40. Both are quite rare today and the 1920 has a decent collector value.
The Savage 99 was dropped for the same reason so many other good rifles fell by the wayside - it was machined out of solid steel and simply cost more to make than it could possibly sell for. As for quality, the 99 suffered a bit toward the end, but quality was never really bad. The old guns were, like most guns of the 1900-1940 era, made like watches.
Jim
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