Hi Guys,

My Buddy, Mike has a Savage 99 in 300 Savage; says it belonged to his grandpa, supposedly 1950's vintage.

I (we) know zilch (although we're starting our research) about Savage 99's.

Lots of worn bluing, stock looks like crap, someone's added badly ground down, white-line ventilated Pachmayer pad to what appears to be a factory length stock so it's pretty long-g-g.

We took it to the range with some 180 gr. Federal factory ammo and the POS (3-9x40) scope in "See Thru" mounts was all over the target, if you want to call 7-8 shots in 6"-8" a "group".

Eventually, we decided to see what the open sights would do and reshuffled the sandbags accordingly, got a great cheekweld with the open sights/stock and after concentrating through the heavy (8 lb.?) trigger pull (when's it ever gonna go Boom?) managed to put three 180 gr. Federal factory loads into <1"!

To say we were pleased was an understatement.



The scope has already been removed for this week's range session and if we can re-produce anything equal to last week results with the open sights; we're gonna leave it just the way it is!

We would like to begin loading and were considering a .308" 150 gr. R.N., Semi-Spitzer or similar to start and thought perhaps the 160 gr. Flex-Tip(s) from Hornady (2 SKU's) made for either the 308 Marlin or 30/30 Win. might be a good place to start?

IIRC, didn't either Speer, Remington or Sierra make a nice, compact, cannelured, 150 gr. flatbase R.N.? Spent some time on the intenet looking and wasn't too successful.

Anyone have a suggestions for optimal 150 gr. R.N. bullets for this rifle/cartridge combo, we've got plenty of once-fired & new R-P brass, Dies, a Lee Factory Crimp Die and are gonna start with VVN-140.

Thanks in advance.

You know, my 300 will shoot 1" all day long with the open sights.


Congrats, they are great little rifles. Once you get the aesthetics sorted out you will have a fine little rifle there.

quote:

We would like to begin loading and were considering a .308" 150 gr. R.N., Semi-Spitzer or similar to start and thought perhaps the 160 gr. Flex-Tip(s) from Hornady (2 SKU's) made for either the 308 Marlin or 30/30 Win. might be a good place to start?

Why limit yourself to bullets intended for tubular magazines? Both the rotary and the box magazine version of the 99 will use spitzers safely -- one of the advantages of that lever action design. At the speeds the .300 Savage produces, any spitzer ought to open readily.

+1

Spitzers will give superior performance all the way around. Including proper feeding. But if you are determined to go with a RN, then there is nothing that any other 150 gn RN slug will do from your 99 that a Hornady will not do. That makes a great deer round within reasonable distance. I believe I have the remnants of a box of those, but unfortunatley I think that the production nearly all Hornady RN slugs has been suspended. If you are unable to find any then you might try Sierra.

Mike,

Thx, we'll see what we can do to take the rough edges off this little jewel. Don't want a complete refurb and take the nice patena away; but the stock needs some, well, let's say ..... attention.

I looked down the bore and it's filled with grime but after the way it shoots I'm almost afraid to even clean it!

Took a look at the Disassembly/Assembly Manual and it appears within my ability to polish the trigger a tad and while apart give it a good cleaning inside/out. The stock will be something to look forward to this winter.

asdf & Westnhntr,

Well aware of the spitzer advantages in the Savage magazines and was gonna try some of the stash of 150 gr. Remington Bronze Points that I've got squirreled away. Just wanted to Test the Waters and see if anyone could suggest some R.N. options - thx. It's not the spitzer/R.N. I'm so concerned with rather bullet length & seating the bullet with the short 300 Savage neck without infringing on the case capacity too much.

quote:

... without infringing on the case capacity too much.

I see, now.

Midway lists the 150 RN Hornady as "seasonal." The 150 gn Sierra FN, Speer RN, Winchester FN, Woodleigh FN, and Remsington FN are all out of stock, but at least they are not seasonal. The Sierra !50 RN is in stock, and if you like to spend money, so is the Swift FN. Hawk will certainly make you a batch on request, but they are regarded as more of a slow speed bullet. Barnes used to make a FN/HP X bullet, but I didn't look for it.

Be aware the Hornady flextips are very, very soft and have come apart on the 100 pound whitetails I have shot with them. They are in my opinion 'varmit bullets' although generally very accurate in the .308 ME. Go with a better bullet. I like the 150 grain or 180 grain Sierra Gameking for deer. You can use partitions or Barnes in your gun. You need not use a roundnose with the rotary magazine in the Savage. If you must use a round nose, use the Sierra 170 round nose for the 30-30. Its built 'well enough' and short.

asdf,

Thx for taking alook for me on the R.N.'s. I can't find anything "In Stock" either; Midsouth has bulk Remington Corelock's that appear to have the cannelure located a tad further back on the bullet where I might desire it. I'll keep an eye out and see when they may be in stock.

Buckeye,

Thx for your opinion on the Flex-Tips. I do not need a "soft" bullet for this Boomer; I'll by-pass this option. Nice to know that the Sierra 170's may have potential.

Guys,

Appreciate everyone's contributions; solid advice .....

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry:

Well aware of the spitzer advantages in the Savage magazines and was gonna try some of the stash of 150 gr. Remington Bronze Points that I've got squirreled away. Just wanted to Test the Waters and see if anyone could suggest some R.N. options - thx. It's not the spitzer/R.N. I'm so concerned with rather bullet length & seating the bullet with the short 300 Savage neck without infringing on the case capacity too much.

Your Savage chamber should have a deep enough throat to run 180 gn slugs with no problem. With 150's you should be able to easily seat spitzers out as far as you want.

The Rem bronze points are fast expanding I use them for years in my 308 cal rifles 300 sav include.

I now shoot 165gr rem corlokts.

The 300 Savage is a nice caliber, about perfect for deer...I would buy the 150 gr. Corelokts from Midway, they are dirt cheap and work great on game...

Any 150 gr. 30-06 bullet will work fine in a model 99 300 Savage, I like the speer, Sierra, flat base bullets, Nosler partition 150 for elk. There is no shortage of bullets suitable for the 300 Savage..

I like to glass bed the forend and the buttstock on a 99 to get that last drop of accuracy out of it...See thru mounts are a disaster IMO, give an obstructed view of iron sights, and too high for a proper hold with the scope.

Apparantly your scope or mounts are flawed or perhaps improper mounting was the problem with your first shooting..

Sounds like you have a nice gun there, sometimes pretty is just pretty. lots of ugly beat up guns shoot great..My .308 savage, having spent much of its life in a saddle scabbard has perhaps 15% blue remaining, stock looks like drift wood, but it shoots and inch all day long with a 3x Leupold scope in old old Redfield mounts. Has a peep sight attached to the Redfield base for and auxillary sight. A nice set up, its my deer and elk rifle when hunting horseback..

My advice would be...don't screw with the trigger unless you make yourself a jig (fixture) to hold the trigger/sear so that you can't change the angles on it/them when stoning. It takes almost no change of engagement angle to end up with a trigger/assembly which won't stay cocked.

When that happens you'll probably have the pleasure of a l-o-0-0-0-n-g search for a new trigger. And unless someone shows you how to do it, putting the trigger back in (either the old one or the new one) is not child's play either.

I've seen too many of those Savage '99s with home made trigger jobs which were nothing but expensive mistakes for their owners to ever want to see one again. So, I'd suggest you take it to a good gunsmith and let him/her do the work.

I'm sure everyone here is an "expert" who will tell you how easy it is, but for a lot of newbies to M'99s, without a bushel of luck that just doesn't seem to be so.

Of course you may get it done perfectly, but then again, where ya gonna get a new M '99 trigger assembly or parts these days if you end up needing one/them?

You could improve that 99 by boring it out to 35 REM .
Don't touch the rotary magazine spring -that's what they said in Gunsmithing school !

Neumrich has Stocks for the Savage 99
They also list a trigger and spring.

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Ma.../99-34396.htm?page=9

Isn't the Savage 99 chambered in 308 win? So could the 300 Savage be loaded to a higher pressure safely?
Looking at Quickload it seems like you should be able to get it to just 100fps less than the 308 with 150gn bullets.

DON'T try to turn a 300 Savage into a 308 Win. If you rifle is an early 99 receiver it was designed for the 52KPSI pressure of the 300 Savage NOT the 62KPSI of the 308 W.

Savage did a whole lot of changing of the receiver size wise, steel wise, etc. when they wen to the longer 308.

You can get 2800 fs out of the 300 S and 2900 fs out of the 308 W in a MODERN Savage 99 receiver because of the MODERN steels, but I wouldn't push an old 99 receiver past it's rated pressure of 52KPSI.

I have an OLD take down 99, 300 S, with a 26" barrel, tang receiver sight, well used and lots of character...I shoot Hornady 150 SP #3031, with 41.5 gr of IMR 4064 that gives me 2700 fs at just over 48KPSI...no straining the boiler room, takes anything I point it at within reasonable ranges without a problem.

It rides with me more often than not whenever I'm out looking around the boonies, and I have a couple of dozen rifles/pistols/etc I can choose from.

DONT' FOLKK-I-TUP by trying to turn it into something it ISN'T.

quote:

Originally posted by Lar45:
Neumrich has Stocks for the Savage 99
They also list a trigger and spring.

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Ma.../99-34396.htm?page=9

If Numerich can provide new trigger assemblies for the M99 Savage, I would strongly advise buying one of them and having it in your hands before removing the trigger from your rifle.

Then when you take your original one out, set it aside and put in the new one. (It may be better than your old one without any stoning/honing.) If it is, you might want to settle for that.

If you still want to try stoning, then I'd recommend stoning whichever assembly is the poorer one...saving the better one in case the "stoned" one ends up FUBAR.

Gerry,

There is a lot of good information on AR on the 300 Savage in the Model 99, bullet selection and reloading. Here are some pertinent links to review:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...511038881#2511038881

http://forums.accuratereloadin...931086431#9931086431

http://forums.accuratereloadin...621029801#5621029801

http://forums.accuratereloadin...701090911#8701090911

http://forums.accuratereloadin...=137101199#137101199

Good luck, PM me if you want more details or have questions.

Paul

The .35 Remington is a smaller cartridge than the .300, therefore cannot be rechambered from the Savage case.
Theoretically, it could be rebarrelled or rebored and rechambered to the .358 Win, but, like was said earlier the receivers are different from the later .308, and .243 guns.
Have fun,
Gene

The 300 Savage is fine just like it is..My uncle killed a pot load of elk with his and I don't recall him ever shooting twice. He use whatever factory ammo he picked up at some store. It is a 300 yard deer and elk gun if you can shoot well...but that applies to a 300 Win also.

To sum up its balistic performance look at it this way, it will shoot a 165 gr. Nosler or whatever at the same velocity as a 30-06 will shoot a 180 gr. Nosler or whatever..15 grs. of 30 caliber bullet ain't all that more better!

+1 on Ray's comment. .300 Sav is a beautiful cartridge. I had an Arisaka that had been re-barelled and chambered for .300. Shot MOA all day long. wish I still had it. Being a .30 cal, you have a vast selection of bullets to choose from. I'd go with something around 130g; should be a great, flat round.

Just my 2cents

My 1960 Savage 99 featherweight started to shoot erratically. turns out it was a scope mounting problem. I used my entire vocabulary getting this mess figured out. New base/rings was the fix.
My scope is an early 60's Weaver K4 post/crosshair which has been really great in low light conditions.
With 42.1 gr IMR4320 pushing Hornady 150 gr SP [#3031] groups of 1" happen whenever I am having a good day.
Reloading the 300 S is a little tricky because of the short neck and that [at least for me] the cases tend to stretch requiring trimming to length.
the 300 Savage is a fine deer cartridge by any standard.

Flash,
the only downside to a 99 is cases do stretch and you have to trim, and you have to full length resize as a rule, but thats not a bad way to spend a cold winters day in the shopl. Also annealing will make brass last a long time, but that's a lot of trouble....

Alberta,
My jig for a trigger job on a 99 is a small vise, set the trigger at the correct angle and let a very small amount protrud up at that correct angle, file/hone it, try it for function and test the poundage.

I agree any trigger job is not for the inexperienced, but then how do you get experience other than gunsmith school..

The 99 trigger is simplicity personafied and the replacement is cheap if you mess it up..the major problem is its not a target trigger and never will be, and most folks try for a 2 pound let off, and it will slam fire if you take it to far.. I also have drilled and tapped a 6/48 screw in the lever to serve as trigger stop to get rid of the over travel and it works pretty good. I go for crisp let off and the poundage can be 3.5 as far as I am concerned...I do think it would be a good idea to case harden the tips of the pot metal sear and trigger, but have never tried that.

For the person that isn't familair with the 99, I would think a good gunsmith would do a trigger job for $50. to $75. on a 99..????????

I have fired several box stock Savage 99's over the years. Some were many years old, some brand new...
They are hunting rifles...

I never felt ANY of them needed a trigger job...

As to the "Power" of the 300 Savage.

With Factory ammo, and 150 grain bullets, it is plenty enough for any deer, antelope, goat, sheep sized game, and with factory 180gr bullets it is plenty enough for elk, moose and even big bears within normal hunting ranges, it has been there and done that, many times...

Just IMHO

Just picked up one of these myself. I am powerless when I find an old levergun with aperture sight. Mine was made in 1938. Just for grins, I'm going to see if the 125-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip shoots, powered by 748.

Bill,
I also fall by the wayside on those old Lever action rifles, but then you know that!

Nice rifle good cartridge,
Its capable of just about any thing a .308 is.
If your lucky you can get about 2700 out of a 150 grain bullet, and i usually get about 2800 to 2850 with a .308 .
Since it is drilled and tapped you might get a negc rear peep that mounts on a weaver base...tj3006

BTW, when you do a trigger job on the 99, you do not polish anything, you simple cut the top of the trigger portion of the sear off a tad as they are too long for safety and to discourage law suits..not a bad idea to start with,

I have always felt a trigger is just a process of learning its "let off" and dealing with it..I can shoot any rifle after I fire it a box or two I guess. Guess that's from shooting a lot of old Mausers, springfields, and Win lever guns and Savage 99s, that smooth long creep takes a bit of getting used to but once mastered its a good enough hunting trigger as far as I'm concerned...

Sometimes a wonderfull 2 lb. trigger is a recipe for disaster.

Give me a 3 to even a 3.5 lb. crisp breaking trigger on any rifle and I'm good with it, and demand it on a DG rifle.The "breaking clean" is a real plus. My doubles break clean as an icecicle at 9 to 10 pounds.

My varmint rifles have 2 to 2.5 lb. triggers, as do my pistols.

12 and 16 oz. triggers have no place on a hunting rifle with perhaps the long range shooters that have cropped up recently, but those rifles aren't exactly "hunting rifles".

quote:

Give me a 3 to even a 3.5 lb. crisp breaking trigger on any rifle and I'm good with it, and demand it on a DG rifle.The "breaking clean" is a real plus.

+1

quote:

Be aware the Hornady flextips are very, very soft and have come apart on the 100 pound whitetails I have shot with them.

I used the 160gr lever evolution in a 30-30, 336 BL this past season on a 160lb whitetail buck. Hit him on the point of his shoulder(he was slightly quartering to me) and bullet would has exited right behind the off shoulder. He went 25yds and was dead. Dug out the core just under the skin, didn't find the jacket, but the core weighed 100grs, not bad performance in my book. Deer was about 35-40yds away. He was in some real thick scrub oaks, i was still hunting real slow and he didn't even see me. At the first shot i saw a branch fly and he just stood there, cycled another real quick, shot and saw another branch fly, he was still standing there, so i shot again and thats when he lunged and went into his death run. Thats what a lever action is meant for, had to mow down some brush just to get to him. I figure the three shots were under 3 seconds, not brag gin, anyone can do it with a little motivation.....

The flex tip is designed for 30-30 velocity, not 300 Savage velocity..I believe them too soft for the 30-30 and never could understand trying to make a long range rifle out of a 30-30..

The 30-30 is at its best with a 150 or 170 gr. Corelokt or Silvertip. The factorys over a century or two have perfected the 30-30 bullet thru trial and error, and those bullets perform todau with perfection on any animal or a box full of wet magazines and that is why some folks just can't understand how half the ranchers in the USA can kill elk with it year in and year out and a few in-be-tween! Simple as ABC a properly constructed bullet at a reasonable velocity stuck in the right place kills well 99.9% of the time.

first of get rid of the see throgh mounts.I have 4 sav 99's in 300 savage and none of them will shoot the federal 180's.If reloading i like the partition 165 and factory had good sucess with rem and win 150gr.i've shoot alot of deer with the old 300sav.I got 4 this last season with a 99eg

please post pic of yours and what is the code on the lever boss