Just thinking of getting a 99 if one gets within reach.
In the past I thought they looked a bit funny, but I've goten used to them now.

I thought the 99A looked the best and watched in dismay as they went to monty carlo cheap wood
etc. And then they were gone !

Still, i've seen a couple of old ones around here, one shot like a house on fire, a .243, but I let it slip away.

So, as they seem an ideal lever action, why wern't they more popular?

When did the tang safety come in?
Is the rotery mag generaly trouble free?

Why do I need one? (That's what our government will ask me.) I could give them a smart-arse answer, but I'll cost me $30 to apply whether yea or nay. Still, I'll think of something. They must have had tears in their eyes, reading my .458WM application.

I got a 99 made in 1937 in 300 Savage. The rotary mag works good. The "spinning thingy" in the magazine in mine is made of brass, which just makes it a little more special
I thought they were pretty popular, I've known many guys growing up that had one and quite a few guys that have them now....

quote:

Originally posted by JAL:
So, as they seem an ideal lever action, why wern't they more popular?

They were popular, but Savage went through a few corporate ownership changes in the post-WWII era (mostly throughout the '60s, '70s, and '80s) and the gun wasn't marketed to its fullest potential. Couple that with the overall high cost of manufacturing that particular design and its fate was sealed. However, it was a very popular rifle from the time it was introduced through the '50s.

quote:

Originally posted by JAL:
When did the tang safety come in?

1960, or serial numbers 1,000,000 onward. (Serial numbers preceded by a letter were also manufactured after 1960.)

quote:

Originally posted by JAL:
Is the rotery mag generaly trouble free?

Yes. There's nothing that can really go wrong with one -- unless some bonehead took it apart and didn't re-tension it correctly during re-assembly. It's a very reliable design.

quote:

Originally posted by JAL:
Why do I need one? (That's what our government will ask me.) I could give them a smart-arse answer, but I'll cost me $30 to apply whether yea or nay. Still, I'll think of something. They must have had tears in their eyes, reading my .458WM application.

Is the answer "ALL LAWFUL PURPOSES" acceptable in Oz? That's the answer I give in the U.S. for reasons for owning NFA weapons on my tax applications.

I have my Dad's RS he bought new in about '37. Great rifle. Think of how many million rounds of .22 go through the Ruger rotary magazines without a hitch? Find a nice older one and you will love it!!
BJB

quote:

Originally posted by Just Some Guy:
Is the answer "ALL LAWFUL PURPOSES" acceptable in Oz?

Well I wouldn't count on it as we are supposed to use the one we already have if suitable.
They don't seem to know much about guns at the registry, but I've heard of quiries if one applies for a calibre already owned.
They must think a .308 Browning lever is the same as a 1000y .308 range rifle.

Not many get knocked back as they are mainly interested in recording them so they can collect them in the future if they decide to.

Millions (literaly) went missing just before the last round up, and I guess more have been imported since. There is supposed to be 5 or so rocket launchers for sale around Sydney now.
So much for registrations.

quote:

Originally posted by JAL:

quote:

Originally posted by Just Some Guy:
Is the answer "ALL LAWFUL PURPOSES" acceptable in Oz?

Well I wouldn't count on it as we are supposed to use the one we already have if suitable.

I think you missed the point. ALL LAWFUL PURPOSES is just that: ALL LAWFUL PURPOSES. Collecting, shooting, presrving history, etc. It's a catch-all for any legal reason for owning.

Thanks all, and Just Some Guy, I got the point OK, you missed mine.

Mine was that our Politicians, bureaucrats, and police don't work by logic. God bless them all.

Interesting post on the 99's, when I was growing up I remember that, while never super popular, one could always find new ones around, I used one briefly and always thought about getting one. Then when I REALLY wanted one, of course they were out of production and use dones hard to find, which is the way things usually go. I have read several articles over the years that mentioned that the 99 was prohibitively espensive to make in today's world. I seem to remember one in Rifle- I think- that quoted someone from Savage saying that no one at the company seemed to be able to figure out a way to make the 99 at a price that the public would pay-not an exact quote as I am doing this from memory. But when one considers how expensive new firearms are now, just how expensive would it be to make the 99 again? Of course they would be more than Marlins or BLR's, but there are a good many rifles that sell from $1500 and up, not to mention the customs that run from anything to anything+. Consider the 1886 and 1895 models that have been made overseas in the past years, while some say they are not well made, my overall impression runs contrary to that opinion. My point being, it seems to me that a re-issue of the 99 would sell, although I do not have any ideas as to what the price might be. I suspect that if these rifles were made again that they would sell out quickly, of course that's my opinion which is worth what you pay for it. The other thing I have wondered, considering how old the design, does Savage still hold the patent on the 99, which would prevent some enterprising company from producing copies?

quote:

does Savage still hold the patent on the 99, which would prevent some enterprising company from producing copies?

I'm of the opinion that the patent run out about 100 years ago......

The last I remember, Savage made them from their custom shop for about $600 each.....year, about 1975 or so.....

No one missed them when they stopped making them as no one was buying at that price.

quote:

When did the tang safety come in?
Is the rotery mag generaly trouble free?

Mine has a tang safety and it was bought in 1962 IIRC...it's a 308.

The rotary magazine was great...worked very well.

Always popular in NY .In gunsmithing school they told us 'don't mess with the rotary magazine'No they didn't tell us how to adjust it ! The big change was one of metallurgy when they introduced the 308 ,to work with the higher pressures.

Though the rotary magazine is hard for the non-professional gunsmith to alter for cartridges it wasn't made for, it is a piece of cake to remove, re-tension and replace.

In my experience with 99's, and I've owned a couple of dozen over the years, the rotary magazines always worked flawlessly if fed ammo of the right length.

One nice thing about those magazines is that you can use as pointy a bullet as you can find, with absolutely no danger.

I suspect the reason the Savage 99s disappeared is because as their prices went up, their quality went way down.

Nobody I know liked the white metal spool that replaced the brass one. Fewer still liked the detachable magazine that replaced the spools altogether. The wood declined in quality, and so did the wood/metal fit, the wood finish, and the checkering. The metal parts also seemed a bit less well fitted...not enough less to actually clank as you carried them, but the newest ones always made me think more of a Daisy than a Savage when I saw one. Also, a lot of the old calibers sort of "unappeared"...gone were the .25-35, the .30-30, the .303, the .38-55, the .22 Hi-Power, and others. And gone were the full rifle length barrels of the early days, and gone too the take-down versions. Always amazes me how a company builds its reputation on particular models and calibers, and then does away with them in the name of marketing "progress".

Having said that, among the new ones were some in .358 Winchester and .284 Winchester. You oughta grab one of those if you see one for less than a King's Ransom.

And all the Savage 99's I ever saw in .250-3000 were definitely shooters of less than MOA groups. Might wanta grab one of those too.....

All personal opinion, of course. YMMV

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
The last I remember, Savage made them from their custom shop for about $600 each.....year, about 1975 or so.....

Not true. Savage manufactured the rotary magazine versions until 1983 and the clip versions until 1985. I gave $240 for my 99C in 7mm-08 in 1983 -- new. Savage tried re-introducing the clip versions in 1995 (investment cast and rough machined in Spain by Llama, finished and assembled by Savage in Westfield, Mass.) and made them on a limited basis until around 2000 or so when they were discontinued for good. These last 99Cs sold for a little under $600.

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
The big change was one of metallurgy when they introduced the 308 ,to work with the higher pressures.

The receiver was also lengthened slightly.

I used a M99EG in .250-3000 for years, it digested any handload I fed it without a burp and put paid to many Woodchucks and crows in upstate NY. Was always disgusted in NYS with how you could hunt varmints with a rifle, but deer were shotguns only. Anyway, I shifted to a M99A in .375 WCF many years later. The 99A did not have near the fit and finish of the old 99EG, and only began to look and function better after a serious restocking. Today my only 99 is a .22 High Power 1899 model. I have to agree that Savage's problem with the 99 was management and cost. They didn't figure out how to control costs or obtain a proper work force until recently, of course, the M99 was dead by then. Still, I wouldn't turn up my nose at the offer of a good M99EG even today.

LLS