...Savage 99 Ad...1941...
- Thread starter ParadiseRoad
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panther
Member
It's hard not to look at that price and not think that they were pretty cheap but I'm sure $53 was an investment back then.
A pawn shop near me bought a collection of 99's from the widow of the guy who had been collecting them. He had just about every caliber and variation, there were over 100 rifles in the lot. When they went out for sale it was mostly us older guys drooling over them. They were great rifles.
A pawn shop near me bought a collection of 99's from the widow of the guy who had been collecting them. He had just about every caliber and variation, there were over 100 rifles in the lot. When they went out for sale it was mostly us older guys drooling over them. They were great rifles.
DWalt
Member
Indeed, $53 was serious money in 1941. The USA was just climbing out of the Great Depression then (mainly because industry was reviving based on war orders) but there were still many Americans looking for work or working for low wages. Inflation calculator says $1 in 1941 was equivalent in purchasing power to $17.43 today. So that 99's 1941 price would be close to $900 in today's dollars.
No question that the Savage lever action rifles were far superior in every way to any Winchester lever action rifle.
No question that the Savage lever action rifles were far superior in every way to any Winchester lever action rifle.
Hang-Fire Hank
Member
INFLATION
$53.70 in 1941 would be $938 in today's $$ (due to 1,647% inflation).
Hank M.
$53.70 in 1941 would be $938 in today's $$ (due to 1,647% inflation).
Hank M.
Great rifles, fun to shoot. Got this one last year on GunBroker in .300 Savage. It's on loan to a friend right now who has some coyote problems.
DWalt
Member
I have two - an early takedown model in .303 Savage (with a Marble tang peepsight) and one from the 1950s in .300 Savage. .303 Savage is no longer factory loaded by the big guys but some of the custom ammo people still sell it. Not difficult to re-form .30-30 brass to use in it. .300 Savage ammo is still made, but not many retailers will have it in stock. But .300 Savage cases are easily formed from .308/7.62 NATO brass. Also I have several Remington 81s in .300 Savage. The .300 Savage will do anything the .308 Win will do - virtually the same cartridge, but with a shorter case neck.
At one time, Savage made a .410 smoothbore barrel that could be used with the old takedown rifles, making it into a single shot shotgun.
At one time, Savage made a .410 smoothbore barrel that could be used with the old takedown rifles, making it into a single shot shotgun.
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Sistema1927
US Veteran
I love the round counter on my .300 Savage Model 99.
charlie sherrill
Member
How do you like what the hunter in the ad is wearing compared to what is worn today? My Dad had a hat similar to that one that he hunted in, but it was a solid color. The ad makes it appear that all the hunter had to do was walk up on that critter without having to do anything to make contact. I'll imagine a little more that after the hunter made the kill a mule was brought in to drag the kill back to the hunter's car where they tied him across the hood for the ride home. The only people driving pickups back then were farmers and folks who worked with their hands. That dude wasn't either one of them. I also like old ads and old guns.
DWalt
Member
I don't know why, but when I was a kid, my father always wore Jodhpurs, high lace-up boots, and a leather jacket hunting. But he didn't hunt very often, mainly rabbits. All he had was an old single-barrel H&R 12 gauge.
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Wyatt Burp
Member
I still have gun mags from the early 70s with those great now politically incorrect ads showing real N.A's proudly holding Savage rifles. My 1948 .300 is also a Model EG. This model seems to be the most popular post war. And for good reason. They just point and balance perfectly. My other is a 1955
6 1/2 lb. "Featherweight" in .243, pictured here often showing off my dad's wood carving skills.
6 1/2 lb. "Featherweight" in .243, pictured here often showing off my dad's wood carving skills.
Wyatt Burp
Member
The 99 is absolutely a quality rifle of simple elegance that works as intended. Savage also has the 24 and other examples of old-school craftsmanship. Don’t see much of that in today’s mainstream firearms industry, especially from Savage.
Gene L
Member
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I've never yet figured out what the Models are on my 41 and 48 (or maybe 51) 99 rifles. I figure they're EGs because that's the most common model, but don't know how to tell the differences in the limited number of 99s I've seen.
Maybe I'm overlooking the obvious. Any guides to look for so far as model designation?
Wyatt Burp
Member
I’m 98% sure if you remove the forend you’ll see the Model # there. It was with my EG.
Grayfox
US Veteran
I've always admired and wanted a 99. But, alas, It seems that I was never able to get both the money and a rifle for sale together at the same time. Maybe some day. 
I would have loved to have paid just $53 for my Savage 99EG, chambered for .300 Savage, which was manufactured in 1951 in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts.
They were going for a lot more when I bought it a few years ago!
It's interesting to note that the .308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO) was developed directly from the .300 Savage.
The 99 has an interesting history, and I devoted a chapter to it in my book 101 Classic Firearms.
John
They were going for a lot more when I bought it a few years ago!
It's interesting to note that the .308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO) was developed directly from the .300 Savage.
The 99 has an interesting history, and I devoted a chapter to it in my book 101 Classic Firearms.
John
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DWalt
Member
At the local gun show today, there was a seller with about a dozen assorted Savage 99s, I'd say they were all in the 80% or better condition range. I had not seen him there previously, and someone told me that he was a collector trying to sell off his collection. His asking prices appeared to be in the $800-$1000 (each) neighborhood. I was short on cash or I might have been tempted to do a little dickering. And then I sure don't need any more rifles, as I really don't have enough space in which to keep those I already have.
"It's interesting to note that the .308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO) was developed directly from the .300 Savage."
Indeed it was during the post-WWII years. The Army wanted a new shorter military cartridge, and decided that the .300 Savage was a pretty good candidate but its case neck was considered to be too short to provide adequate bullet support for use in fully automatic weapons. So they just lengthened it a bit and changed the shoulder angle slightly, resulting in the 7.62x51 NATO cartridge. Another interesting fact is that Savage designed the .300 right after WWI to produce near-.30-'06 ballistics in a short case which would be capable of working through the already-existing shorter Savage action. That was a revolutionary step for a lever-action rifle.
"It's interesting to note that the .308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO) was developed directly from the .300 Savage."
Indeed it was during the post-WWII years. The Army wanted a new shorter military cartridge, and decided that the .300 Savage was a pretty good candidate but its case neck was considered to be too short to provide adequate bullet support for use in fully automatic weapons. So they just lengthened it a bit and changed the shoulder angle slightly, resulting in the 7.62x51 NATO cartridge. Another interesting fact is that Savage designed the .300 right after WWI to produce near-.30-'06 ballistics in a short case which would be capable of working through the already-existing shorter Savage action. That was a revolutionary step for a lever-action rifle.
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