Savage 99H special order pre war takedown

bracebeemer · Apr 28, 2020

I’m pulling guns out of my safe to share them with you and give them a little social distancing. This rifle is a Savage 99 H. It is a high polish pre war 20” barrel take down from circa 1915 in .303 Savage cal. It obviously has led a sheltered life but what appealed to me most was the beautiful buttstock. The stock does number to the gun and I’m sure the original owner wanted to pay a few dollars more for an upgrade to the wood. I love the early high polish and case hardened Savage 99’s. The .303 Savage was in the 30-30 class of cartridges. Bill

Gene L · Apr 28, 2020

Beautiful! Got a pre-war, barely, in .300 Savage and it in no way looks as great as that takedown. I love 99s.

smitholdtimer · Apr 28, 2020

I sure do admire the beauties you've allowed to wake from their slumber.....

The High Class Remington and now the Special Savage, you sure had a good eye when you began your selection process. Can hardly wait for the next goody to appear, thanks!

moosedog · Apr 28, 2020

Unless you order a custom built rifle, you will not find such quality in todays firearms market.

Chubbs103 · Apr 28, 2020

Although I do not own one yet, I have always loved the Savage 99s. Yours checks a lot of boxes that I really like. My eyes are aging, but I do not like scopes on lever guns, so that Lyman tang sight is about perfect. The wood is gorgeous, and it is a take-down.

Thank you for sharing.

Wyatt Burp · Apr 28, 2020

That’s a beauty. In the 1990s there were Savage 99s and Remington Model 8s and 81s in every pawn shop and used gun rack around here for $175 to $275. I was amazed how common they were and I bought a couple. Then soon after that prices skyrocketed.

gregintenn · Apr 28, 2020

Could be a special order upgrade, or could be just the next stock blank someone grabbed.

I think Savage is still providing letters even though Mr. Callahan retired. This might be a good candidate to have lettered.

Drm50 · Apr 28, 2020

Wyatt Burp said:
That’s a beauty. In the 1990s there were Savage 99s and Remington Model 8s and 81s in every pawn shop and used gun rack around here for $175 to $275. I was amazed how common they were and I bought a couple. Then soon after that prices skyrocketed.

Was selling guns up to 91. It got to the point if we sold a sav 99, win 94 or Mar 336 out of used rack we would close and go have a beer.In 80s it was more like $100. Rem 8,81,14 and 141 in same boat. Worse if one chambered for obsolete ammo.

DWalt · Apr 29, 2020

I have a very similar takedown M99 in .303 Savage with the same tang rear sight, but mine is not in such high condition and the wood is fairly plain. I was shooting it a couple of weeks ago, as I hadn't been out to play with it for 3-4 years. I form cases out of .30-30 brass. The .303 Savage case has a little fatter base, so I wrap two turns of 1/4" strip masking tape around the .30-30 base ahead of the rim to act as a centralizer for the first firing. After that, the tape is not needed. .303 Savage cases can also be formed from .220 Swift brass, but it's a lot more work than using .30-30 brass. There was also a .410 barrel made for the takedown M99, which made it into a single shot shotgun. I saw one of those barrels once.

There is really no significant difference between the ballistic performance of the .303 Savage and the .30-30. But the factory .303 loading used a heavier 190 grain bullet which provided better penetration in larger game. I have loaded 220 grain bullets in the .303, and they seem to stabilize OK.

gregintenn · Apr 29, 2020

I have just what you need for that baby...a 410 barrel!

Just teasing. It isn’t for sale.

federali · Apr 29, 2020

Great gun.

I owned a Savage 99 in Cal. .300 Savage for a time and It was so pleasant to shoot. Unfortunately, when the .308 Win was new and found its way into the the Savage 99, purchasers rapidly lost interest in the .300 Savage chambering and it was eventually dropped from the offerings. After all, isn't bigger automatically better?

Puller · Apr 29, 2020

Very nice. I've always got my eye out for a nice 99.

I've never seen a takedown 99, would be interesting to know how it comes apart.

gregintenn · Apr 29, 2020

Puller said:
Very nice. I've always got my eye out for a nice 99.

I've never seen a takedown 99, would be interesting to know how it comes apart.

Remove the fore end, open the lever, turn the barrel 90 degrees and pull.

DWalt · Apr 29, 2020

federali said:
I owned a Savage 99 in Cal. .300 Savage for a time and It was so pleasant to shoot. Unfortunately, when the .308 Win was new and found its way into the the Savage 99, purchasers rapidly lost interest in the .300 Savage chambering and it was eventually dropped from the offerings. After all, isn't bigger automatically better?

There is very little ballistic difference between the .300 Savage and the .308. In fact, the only dimensional difference between the two is that the .308 has a longer case neck and a slightly shallower shoulder. One of the simplest case conversions is converting a .308/7.62 NATO case to .300 Savage. Run a .308 case thru the .300 FL die, and trim the neck shorter. The .308 is the direct descendant of the .300 Savage because after WWII, Army Ordnance considered the .300 Savage as the perfect candidate for a new, shorter, and lighter military round, except it wanted a longer neck for better bullet support for use in automatic weapons. The .308 caught on with civilian buyers mainly because the military had adopted it (as the 7.62x51mm NATO), not because of its superiority to the .300 Savage. Passing up a good Model 99 (or any other rifle) chambered in .300 Savage just because of its "antiquated" caliber is not too smart. So long as you have a set of .300 Savage dies, and can find .308 brass, you can always make all the .300 Savage ammunition you will ever need.

Muddyboot · Apr 29, 2020

DWalt said:
There is very little ballistic difference between the .300 Savage and the .308. In fact, the only dimensional difference between the two is that the .308 has a longer case neck and a slightly shallower shoulder. One of the simplest case conversions is converting a .308/7.62 NATO case to .300 Savage. Run a .308 case thru the .300 FL die, and trim the neck shorter. The .308 is the direct descendant of the .300 Savage because after WWII, Army Ordnance considered the .300 Savage as the perfect candidate for a new, shorter, and lighter military round, except it wanted a longer neck for better bullet support for use in automatic weapons. The .308 caught on with civilian buyers mainly because the military had adopted it (as the 7.62x51mm NATO), not because of its superiority to the .300 Savage. Passing up a good Model 99 (or any other rifle) chambered in .300 Savage just because of its "antiquated" caliber is not too smart. So long as you have a set of .300 Savage dies, and can find .308 brass, you can always make all the .300 Savage ammunition you will ever need.

No worries about 300 Savage, it's still factory loaded. This is my late 40's Model 99.

DWalt · Apr 29, 2020

True enough, it is still loaded and available. But it's not widely distributed and can be difficult to find. When I got my first Remington Model 81 in .300 Savage about 10 years ago, I found no place in town that carried .300 Sav ammunition, didn't see any even at gun shows. That was when I started making my own. I did luck into finding around 50 .300 Savage empties at a gun show cheap several years ago.

Most of my .300 Savage shooting is done with lighter lead bullet loads. Shooting full factory-power reloads in a Remington 81 can be a little unpleasant.

Nice Stith mount on your 99. They used to be made here in San Antonio. Factory was in the basement of a downtown building.

Gene L · Apr 29, 2020

Got a 1941 and a 1946, both in .300. Great caliber, maybe 150 fps below .308, but not enough to make a real difference. Especially since I don't hunt. I have plenty of brass, too.

Both of mine are in high condition with just about all the case hardening remaining on the lever and they shoot great. Plain walnut stocks, nothing fancy at all. I put tang sights on them because that's how I was introduced to the 99 years ago. When I got my first one, it had an old 4X Weaver scope on it and shot very well; can't remember how tight, but very well.

22lrfan · Apr 29, 2020

That's a beautiful gun. I've got a pair of them in .303 Savage, an 1899B (1904) and an 1899H (1914). Neither are takedowns or anywhere as nice as yours. Is yours marked 99 or 1899?

Muddyboot · Apr 29, 2020

Mine in marked Savage Model 99, and has an old Weaver post 2.5 parked on it. I also have a Remington Model 81 in .300 Savage. I've not purchased a die for it yet, but am planning on it soon..

I'm well stocked in factory ammo for my two rifles. How hard is it to find .303 Savage ammo?

22lrfan · Apr 29, 2020

I think I read that the change from 1899 to 99 was made in the 1918-20 time frame. I'm not sure anybody sells .303 Savage ammo currently. I piced up over a dozen boxes at a pawn shop in Ft Smith, AR about 15 years ago for $10/box. I shot a couple of boxes and I'm still reloading that brass.

Savage 99H special order pre war takedown

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