Savage 99E .308

[eveled]

I put a deposit on one today. I hope to get it tomorrow.

Pretty interesting lever action, striker fired, with an internal rotary magazine. Some claim it is were Ruger got the idea for the 10/22 magazine.

Kind of unconventional looking, but a neat old classic lever action nonetheless.

Anyone have one?

 

[Busterswoodshop]

I have had several.
They are ( in my opinion ) the best lever action made.
When they came out , they were the only lever action that could handle magnum loads.
The best ones have the brass follower and cartridge counter.

I read an article about Teddy Roosevelt years ago in a gun magazine.
According to the article ,
Roosevelt said " The Winchester 95 is big medicine , but if I could have only one gun , it would be the 99."

 

[Bad Barlow]

I have had several.
They are ( in my opinion ) the best lever action made.
When they came out , they were the only lever action that could handle magnum loads.
The best ones have the brass follower and cartridge counter.

I read an article about Teddy Roosevelt years ago in a gun magazine.
According to the article ,
Roosevelt said " The Winchester 95 is big medicine , but if I could have only one gun , it would be the 99."

I had a 99 in 308,but I sold it to a guy that didn't mind the recoil. It kicked like a Tennessee mule!

 

[Jim Walsh]

When I was in my teens I borrowed one to hunt deer in Vermont one season. It was a .300 Savage. It was very accurate but it weighed a ton, maybe a ton and a half

 

[Mobuck]

They used to be fairly popular in my area before rifle scopes became common. Mom's middle Son bought one but the safety wasn't suitable for a lefty and it was traded away fairly soon.

 

[eveled]

$500 made in 1976

 

[kmoore]

I have owned 99s in C, D and E. Even some that didn't have a letter. .243, .250, .284, 3030 300, 308 and 358.
Being LH they were a good choice, side ejection and able to mount a scope on top. Actions tended to be smooth. Able to load pointy bullets. Triggers vary, mostly not what I want. Oh, did anyone mention this more than once there heavy.
I sold all of them, replaced them with Browning BLRs and LH bolt rifles like rem 700, ruger 77s.

 

[TDF]

They used to be fairly popular in my area before rifle scopes became common. Mom's middle Son bought one but the safety wasn't suitable for a lefty and it was traded away fairly soon.

Why let the scope revolution move you away from the 99. My 50's vintage 300 savage with a Stith mount, and a Lyman Alaskan. The Stith uses the rear sight dovetail, and the existing peep sight screw's as a no drill scope mount. I bought this set up all together. Would be expensive to build today though.

TDF

 

[eveled]

I agree. Some were drilled and tapped from the factory too. I don’t think the scope issue is the only reason their popularity declined.

 

[eveled]

I enjoyed a thread on a different forum a while back about old hunting photos and one caught my eye. I didn't know what one rifle was and I was going to ask here but got distracted. Anyway I found the picture on my phone and now I think I know what rifle it is!

Link to the thread if anyone is interested
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_forum/viewtopic.php?p=1174855&hilit=Hunting+camp#p1174855

 

[Gator89]

I had a 99 in 250 Savage, it was D&T'd for mounts and had a tang safety similar to the first M77's.

The.older 99's had the safety near the trigger.

 

[Aqualung]

My dad and I both have Savage 99s in .300 Savage. His is an EG and mine is an R. Both made in 1954. They've been our "Meat Guns" for years.

Aqualung

 

[41special]

I have an E in 308 Win, it's the carbide with a 20" barrel. It will definitely get your attention when you touch off a 180 grainer.

 

[Richard76]

I have an 1899 in 250-3000, 2 300's and a 308 love them all. they are very reliable and accurate. Not sure why they are considered heavy. All but the 250 are scoped and I don't find them any heavier than my Rem model 700 30-06's.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

As far as weight goes.
Compared to other lever action guns.
There is only a few ounces different in them.
Some weigh more , some weigh less.
I never thought of the Savage 99 as a heavy gun.

 

[Klondike Mike]

I was born into a family of Savage 99 men. My grandfather and all of his brothers except one carried a 99 in one model or another. I inherited my grandfather's 99F that is a post mil tang safety version from 1961 in 308 and acquired my great uncle's 99R in 300 Savage. The R version is much heavier than the feather weight F but the man who carried it was a WWII vet that was issued a Garand and a Thompson so he never complained about the weight. I have another 99 in 30/30 currently in the collection from 1916 and compared to other 30/30's of the time period there's no doubt that the Savage is the superior rifle. After 1954 or so they were all drilled and tapped at the factory for scope mounts. The easy way to tell is if the Savage 99 stamp on the front receiver ring is centered or off to the left side. If it's centered and drilled through it was not done at the factory. They're very interesting rifles even to Ruger folk. After all Bill Ruger converted one to semiautomatic as a project.

 

[Richard76]

My 1899 250-3000 was made in 1917 the year before they started calling them just 99. for as old as the gun is it still amazes me how well it shoots. It actually was my wife's grandfathers gun and I had bought it from her brother years before I knew her.

 

[jmca]

We have a 99 in 300 Savage!
It's my wife's gun, at least that was the excuse I used when I bought it!

 

[Mobuck]

"Why let the scope revolution move you away from the 99. "
It wasn't 'the scope revolution' that turned many away from the 99. It was the revolution that many other rifles were much more accurate. Using open sights, the average shooter was shall we say 'mediocre' at best. Accuracy of the rifle was rolled into the shooter variables and taken for granted. Scopes changed this and although 3MOA was considered pretty good back then entire classes of rifles got a black eye.

 

[Jim Walsh]

As far as weight goes.
Compared to other lever action guns.
There is only a few ounces different in them.
Some weigh more , some weigh less.
I never thought of the Savage 99 as a heavy gun.

As a teenager wandering the hills in Vermont it was indeed a handful. As an adult, not so much, but there are prices to be paid for choosing a lever gun which could safely handle modern pointed cartridges.

 

[The Norseman]

One of my favorite Local Gun Shops
had two for sale. 308s I believe.

They didn’t remain for sale within
12 hours.

I’ve always liked the Savage 99s, but
they continuously escape me.

 

[Tomcatt57]

I have a 99F in .308. It's not terribly old, made in '71. Shoots great.
Tomcatt

 

[eveled]

Drilled and tapped the tang for a Marble sight. Can’t wait to shoot it now.

 

[eveled]

Replaced the stock with one from Boyds and added sling swivel studs. Still haven't shot it with the tang sight yet

Needs more fitting, but I only had so much patience today. At least I got it to fit on the rifle.

 

[kmoore]

Replaced the stock with one from Boyds and added sling swivel studs. Still haven't shot it with the tang sight yet View attachment 72368
Needs more fitting, but I only had so much patience today. At least I got it to fit on the rifle.

Did you add a taller front sight? Most rifles need taller front sights when adding a tang sight. If you haven't, shoot it 1st. But don't be surprised if the factory front sight is too short.

 

[eveled]

Did you add a taller front sight? Most rifles need taller front sights when adding a tang sight. If you haven't, shoot it 1st. But don't be surprised if the factory front sight is too short.

I did not replace the front sight. The tang sight goes as low as the factory rear sight. I’ll be able to use either rear sight. In theory the tang sight will be for longer distances.

Thanks.

 

[kmoore]

I did not replace the front sight. The tang sight goes as low as the factory rear sight. I'll be able to use either rear sight. In theory the tang sight will be for longer distances.

Thanks.

Ok, I have installed tang sights on 2 rifles and 5 peep sights on rifles. Everyone but my 99e in .243 needed a taller front sight. You might not need it.

 

[eveled]

I went through that putting a skinner peep on a 39a. The fun never ends.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

Ove always admired 99s but have never owned one. The E supposedly stood for "Economy" model as they had non-walnut stocks and so were a little cheaper. When I lived in the mountains in New Mexico, there seemed to be a lot of them around, usually in .300 Savage.

 

[Paul B]

I have one of the later models in .358 Win. It has a big beavertail forend and is heavier that I care to lug around out in the hills. It does shot close to MOA those with select handloads.
Paul B.