New Levergun - Savage 99

[Jeff Higgins]

Most of you know I'm a big fan of leverguns, constantly singing their praises for everything from hunting to self defense to just plain fun. There is one, however, that I have overlooked for my entire life - the venerable Savage 99. They just never seemed to appeal to me for whatever reason. They are certainly not a traditional levergun platform in the mold of the Winchesters and Marlins I like so well and, to be honest, I think they are kind of ugly. Just never held much interest for me.

Well, I finally took the plunge and bought one. Just for the hell of it. It was just in too good of shape at too good of a price to pass up, and it is the caliber and model I was always going to get if and when I ever did.

So, here it is, my "new" (1951 manufacture) Savage 99 in .300 Savage, replete with an old Marble's "Game Getter" peep sight:





I had to order dies for it, and I cannot find brass anywhere, so it may be awhile before I get to start working up a load for it. I'll be starting with some Sierra 150 grain round noses that I have on hand. I understand this particular number is a bit challenging to reload for, due to it's extremely short case neck and short magazine in the 99. The stubby little round nose 150 grainers are supposed to help with those issues, so, we'll see. I'm looking forward to playing with this thing. It sure is an unusual rifle...

[onewhippedpuppy]

Nice! My son has a Savage .22, nice little plinker.

[aigel]

I love these. My buddy has one from the early 1900s with the crescent shaped butt plate. What I love about these is the turret style magazine with the shell indicator on the receiver. You can shoot tipped bullets as well, as rounds are not stacked in a tube ...

These have gotten pricey, so if you can get a nice one under $500, jump on it!

G

[M.D. Holloway]

Awesome!

[theFONZ]

My hunting buddy uses on in 300 Savage. It's a pretty neat rifle. Everyone always asks about it.

[71scgc]

Certainly not a lever in the Winchester/Marlin/Henry vein.

Looks like a really nice piece. I know nothing of the Savage cartridge line, but if your gonna get a Savage lever, why not in a Savage round.

If nothing else, it's looks like a great conversation gun.

Carter

[sc_rufctr]

Interesting and certainly not the usual lever gun design but I wouldn't go as far as saying they're ugly.

You certainly have some nice guns Jeff. This is a good addition.

[shadowjack1]

99's are great and even better and more of a rare find in the Savage round. More $$.

[Jeff Higgins]

Thanks guys; I'm really looking forward to playing with this thing. It looks like it might present some new challenges while being a lot of fun to boot.

The old .300 Savage was, I believe, another Charles Newton designed round. He was well ahead of his time, always breaking new ground and pushing the velocity envelope. The old .300 was, essentially, a .308 Winchester / 7.62 NATO that beat Winchester to the punch by about 30 years. The case is darn near straight (not tapered) and the shoulder has a very sharp angle, both characteristics of far more modern case design. Most everything else back then had a pretty fair taper to the case and a very shallow shoulder angle.

The rifle itself may take a bit of getting used to. It's what we would call (in the bolt gun world) a "cock on closing" action. Where "normal" leverguns cock the hammer on the downstroke by having the bolt slide over it, this rifle is striker fired and has no hammer. Instead, a striker rides in the bolt and goes back with it on the downstroke, then forward with it on the upstroke. At the very end of the upstroke, the trigger hook intercepts the striker and holds it back as the bolt continues forward, cocking it against the mainspring pressure. It makes it difficult to cycle the lever all the way closed at the shoulder; you have to hook your thumb over the grip and squeeze it shut the last inch or so. It's a whole different feel and cadence than a "normal" lever.

Anyway, I'll start working up some loads once I can turn up some brass. I think I could form it from .308, but I would sure like to have the proper headstamp on it. The search is on...

[craigster59]

Funny you should post this, I just took my 99 to the Bakersfield Gun Show this weekend. It's a 1949 mfg in 250-3000. I also have the Marble's tang peep sight (plus an extra NOS in box). I got a lot of interest but no takers, it's in good condition but one dealer was questioning wether it has had some re-bluing done.

The other "flaw" pointed out was that it had been tapped for a scope, and the screws lined directly through the "Savage" on the top of receiver. Apparently if it was factory tapped the Savage would be off to the side.

Lots of collector interest in these spoons, but the market right now is more into "black rifles" right now so I just brought it back home. As usual, everything you're trying to sell is a POS and everything they're trying to sell you is a "creampuff". Nice gun BTW.

[craigster59]

I know with mine I can reload with 250 Savage brass or 257 Roberts. Found this on the 300...

.300 savage reloading - Optional brass? - The Firing Line Forums

Edited to say that the main reason for selling is I don't have a re loader and 250-3000 can make the gun a little pricey to shoot.

[Craig T]

The peep sight is one of the coolest features of the rifle. I like the way Lyman brought it way back off the tang. Post a close up of that.

[HardDrive]

I didn't think I need anymore guns, but then I found out you can hunt with straight walled rifles here in OH. Otherwise its shotgun only. So I've been looking at a lever gun, a Marlin .45-70.

[Jeff Higgins]

Here's a close-up of the tang sight (it's actually a Marble). It is pretty slick how it's formed down around the tang:



HardDrive, I couldn't think of a better rifle for midwest deer hunting than a Marlin 1895 in .45-70. It would offer you distinct advantage over a shotgun, that's for sure. I've used on for close-in brush hunting for decades. Nothing better. And now that it has become popular again, there is a wonderful variety of ammo available in .45-70. I think you need another rifle...

[craigster59]

My tang sight is a little different than yours Jeff....

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by craigster59

My tang sight is a little different than yours Jeff....

I have a similar Marbles Flexible tang sight for my 1894. They are just cool. It looks great on that Savage.

[targa911S]

NICE!! Those are really great guns. Rare in cals other than 300. We had one come in the shop in .243! It was gone in a matter of hours. Yours is the best I have seen. Good job!

[aigel]

My buddies' aforementioned rifle is in .303 Savage. Good luck finding ammo for it!

I have seen these in .243 as well, but always gone before you can touch them.

G

[tabs]

Is that all you got? You need a real spoon, a mans spoon!

U need an ED BROWN CUSTOM A3 Tactical spoon in 308 with a Unertl Commercial Marine Corps Sniper Scope. Features a hand lapped Shielen Barrel a MCMillan A4 Marine Corp Stock and an ED Brown 702 Action...Yeah BABY, now that is a mans spoon.

It is 11 3/4 pounds of pure tack driving pleasure...

[Jeff Higgins]

Finally got some .300 Savage brass; boy, it's not easy to find right now. So, I got some fire forming, plinking, and general familiarization loads put together tonight. I don't like to get very serious about a new rifle until I have some once fired brass out of it to work with, so here is a chance to just play with it a bit and get to know it better.

My first load is the 150 grain Sierra round nose in a Hornady case, seated over 40 grains of IMR 4895 and lit by a CCI 200 primer. I seated these out quite long; the Sierra manual recommends an OAL of 2.35"; mine are seated out to 2.50". The Savage magazine will accept up to 2.60".

Studying the photos below will reveal why I did this. The old .300 Savage has about the shortest neck of any rifle case of which I'm aware. Seating this bullet to 2.35" would put the canalure even with the case mouth, but we don't crimp these, so that really does not matter. What matters is that is also puts the base of the bullet well into the powder space, far below the case neck. 2.50" puts the base of the bullet even with the bottom of the case neck and still feeds from the magazine. It also lowers pressures and velocities, so my 40 grain load of IMR 4895 is really quite moderate with this arrangement.

Here are a couple of photos. The other cartridge is the .30-'06, loaded with a 200 grain Nosler Partition. You can see how diminutive the .300 Savage really is. For comparison, that '06 load is a real stomper - it cracks 2,600 fps with that 200 grain Nosler. The .300, with that 150 grain bullet, will eventually top out at about 2,550. The loads I've assembled probably won't break 2,400, but that's o.k. for now. Let the shooting begin...