I'm considering buying a detachable magazine Model 99 in 308. This one appears to be an earlier version (late 1970's?) of this type. It's obvious that the workmanship doesn't compare to the 1950's EG's and F's.

My concern is reliability of feeding/function. Are these things finicky? I'd like to hear from those of you that know your 99's

I have several detachable magazine Savage 99's and they feed and shoot extremely well. My preference is for the solid frame guns.

I think that most 99C and 99CD rifles are quite reliable. The only cartridges that I have had any trouble feeding were an occassional 284 and a 257AI. If you are buying face-to-face, I would ask the seller if you could run a few rounds through the action, since sometimes the magazines do get damaged and won't feed properly.

Savage started cataloging the 99C in 1964 and continued to catalog them after the rotory magazine rifles were last pictured in the 1983 catalog. The 99CD was cataloged from 1976 through 1980.

Since 99Cs are not (currently) held in high esteem by Savage 99 collectors, the prices haven't got nuts except for 99Cs in 7MM-08. You should be able to scope an excellent 99C in 308 somewhere between $300 and $400.

Jeff