Our interest today is in the Savage Model 99, a unique rifle that is missed dearly but will probably not make a comeback in the near future. What makes this gun so unique is that it is a lever action rifle with a rotary magazine. Yes, it really exists, and it was well liked by whitetail hunters.
VIDEO HERE (11:42 minutes)
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I've got a 99E that my dad passed down to me probably 25 years ago, a strong, sturdy rifle. There's nothing delicate about that rifle, but it handles very well and the action is smooth.
I agree wholeheartedly, I have my grandfather's 99 still, chambered in 308, personally my favorite whitetail rifle
ReplyDeleteMine's in 308 also.
DeleteI wonder what that ol rifle is worth now? Ohio Guy
ReplyDeletePriceless to me.
DeleteThat same rifle is the first centerfire rifle I ever fired.
So why does a company with a successful quality product decide to discontinue it?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, thw machinery used to manufacture the 99 finally wore out. Making brand new tooling to replace was deemed too expensive. So Savage gave it an honorable discharge. I think there were over 3 million 99s made, with 100 years of production (save WWII years).
DeleteThose rifles are generally worth quite a bit. If you have one in .358 winchester that's worth quite a bit more since those have a cult following and .358 is kinda rare.
ReplyDeleteThe 99 is on my wish list. If I could find one with the brass round counter and a snoogle ( spelling ) fore end in 308, I'd burn up a bunch of kitchen passes at home
ReplyDeleteSchnabel?
DeleteThat's the exact one I inherited
Delete900-1500 on Gunbroker. Hunted a season with a fellow who had one in .300 Savage. Nice gun. I still have an eye out for a Ruger #1 in .243 for purely sentimental reasons, not that I have any use at all for one at this point in my career.
ReplyDeleteI have a 1B 'Liberty' (1976) model in .243. Very clean, low mileage. Beautiful rifle.
DeleteThat must be a beauty. Cherish it.
DeleteI was looking for a 99 in 250-3000 Savage a few years ago and just looked around on-line to see what they were going for these days. Prices really haven't gone up much from what they used to be. Prices start around $800 for a gun with wear to $1200 to $1400 for a clean one. Figure double that for takedown models and some of the more unusual calibers always go for more.
ReplyDeleteI found one beauty that was engraved for a mine owner around 1910 and the asking price was $45,000. Another engraved 99 was almost $40,000. They both looked like the one Robert Duvall used in 'Joe Kidd'.
Savage Arms got their old Indian logo because of the Model 99. Chief Lame Deer of the Utica had one and loved the hammerless lever action. Savage being located in New York, he wanted to get more Model 99s for the men in the tribe. So he went to Savage and said something to the effect of, "You're Savage, I'm a savage, make me a deal and you can use my likeness." Savage Arms made the deal, and until the PC caught up, the Chief was their logo
ReplyDeletehttp://2ht1mik98ka4dogie28vqc4y.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Savage-Arms-Logo.jpg
I'd like to get a Model 99 in .30-06, but they're REALLY expensive. They came right at the end of the production run when the machinery was getting worn. I wish Savage would re-tool and reintroduce the 99, as Wirecutter said, it's a winner.
I've got my Uncle Frank's 99 in 300 Savage. Got to be from the forties. Right after he got it he dropped and bent the front bead sight over. Shot with it so long he wouldn't let anyone fix it.
ReplyDeleteThese were totally unknown in the South when I was growing up but having now gotten to handle and fire several they're on the short list to own. I try to keep an eye out for auctions and pawn shops now but never seems to pop up when I've got fun money in my pocket.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I'd give someone else's kidney for one.
Winchester Model 88 has a rotating bolt as well. Not sure it is any cheaper
ReplyDeleteDad had a .243WIN Model 99. After dad passed my Brother-in-law lost his deer rifle in a brake-in. I gave him the 99. I wish I had given him the 270 Remington 7400 instead.
ReplyDeleteI have a 22 High Power 99. Dad gave it to me before he passed and my grandfather to him. At First ammo looked like it was going to be a tough find, I was pleased to find out Sellier and Bellet still makes it.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine went Target shooting at his Dad's place, I brought that 99 and had just bought a brand spanking new colt AR-15. After tacking a target to an oak tree about 18 to 20 inches thick we commenced to firing.i went for the head shots he for the body. Upon examination the savage was going THROUGH the oak. Him and his pap shuffled off to the side and started whispering, and they came back and offered that colt in a straight up trade. Tempting, but being a family heirloom of sorts, I declined. Love the rifles, out of all mine it would be the last to go.
They are awesome rifles. I own a pair of them, one a pre-WWII 99T carbine in .250 Savage, the other an early 70's 99A in .308 Winchester. Arthur Savage is a genius and led a very interesting life.
ReplyDeleteFirst time I went deer hunting one of my uncles loaned me his 99 in .300 Savage. Sweet rifle. I don't know what happened to it when he died. Probably one of his sons has it.
ReplyDeleteNemo
Loooong story.
ReplyDeleteMy dad had a 99 in 300 Savage, and one day on the way in to hunt camp, he put it in his pack basket on the platform of the H Farmall tractor we had to haul our wangan on.
When we arrived at camp, we discovered that the 99 had dropped through a hole in the basket, hit a crack in the carrier, and been dragged on the ground, bending it about 45 degrees.
We normally had a spare gun, a Remington 81, also in 300 Savage, we called the "Crowbar", but it had been forgotten that trip.
The old man and my uncle took at that thing with a hammer, splitting maul, and a few pieces of hardwood firewood.
Amazingly, they got it back to what looked straight after about three hours of grunting, groaning, and swearing. They hung it on a couple of spikes on the side of the camp and tied a string to the trigger to test it.
It went off with no problems, and then they sighted it back in with the scope.
He hunted with it for another five years.
He and I were riding the tractor back to camp just after dark one day, and when we got there, he realized that his gun was nowhere to be found.
Thinking he'd laid it up against a tree, and forgotten it, we decided to wait till morning to retrieve it.
About halfway back to where we started, here's the 99 laying in the tire track with another 20 degree bend in it.
He'd laid it on the front shelf we had put on to increase the amount of supplies we could carry, and it had fallen off and been run over.
Same scenario, but they didn't even bother with the string on trigger thing.
That gun is still in use today and has probably shot a couple dozen deer since the early seventies when this all happened.
Gads I miss those days of hunt camp.
We'd be in there for two weeks and not see another soul unless they made the 5 mile walk to visit.
Years ago borrowed my uncle's 99 in 308. Have wanted one ever since. Just can't justify it yet.
ReplyDelete