I have always wanted one of these and finally found the perfect one for me.

It's a 99A in .308 Win. with a straight stock and steel buttplate.

Mint but for a small chip at the heel of the stock and some fool's having buggered the sights--the rear screws are mucked up and the front is missing the bead. Need to replace these.

Also, the receiver ring has been drilled and tapped with two 6-48 holes for a Weaver base.

She has nice wood, although it's dark with factory finish.

I paid $350 for this rifle. Did I do good?

Any ideas for spiffing this baby up? I'm thinking new, replacement sights, front and rear, a 0.5" Pachmayr Presentation pad, two piece scope bases (make TBD) and a Leupold 1.5-5 scope.

Thoughts, criticisms, ideas would be appreciated. Muchas gracias.

Yes, you did good.

I recommend a stock refinish with some Tung Oil.
I did that to my old 22 Hi-Power and it brightened it right up.
If the chip is not too bad, you could leave it as long as there are no cracks in it. Adds character you know?

I would decide whether it is going to be scoped or iron-sighted. No need to do sights if you are going to scope it and vice versa.
A peep sight would be the way to go for irons.
If you dicide to scope it, you will find that a fixed 4 power will be perfect.
May I recommed a Weaver K4.
Helluva stout scope and great optical clarity.
Perfect for a lever action, especially in a nice cartridge like the 308.

-Spencer

99As were cataloged between 1970 and 1981/82, first with a 20" and later with a 22" barrel. They all came d&t from the factory.

I hate recoil pads, but if the stock is chipped, ya gotta do what ya do. I don't care for the 1.5-5x Leupolds and think that the current production VX2 2-7x33 with a heavy duplex reticle would be a pretty good New England scope. It is the scope that is on the deer hunting outfit that I keep at our place in NH, for those few occasiona when I get to hunt deer there.

Jeff

Thanks, guys.

260remguy especially thanks for the info on dates of production and what the factory provided. Mine has a 20" barrel and is incredibly light and handy.

The only reason I would put a pad on this carbine is because of the chip. I may just try to fix the chip with some kind of filler. It's small, but noticeable, and I'd like to do something about it.

I want to fix the sights, mainly because they're broken, but also because I may want to use them from time to time.

In any case, in their current buggered up condition they detract from the appearance of what is otherwise a nice-looking rifle.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Depending on the length of the chip, you can get a thin pad from Brownells that wouldn't be so overpowering

srt,

Yes, I'd prefer that to a pad that made the carbine look butt heavy.

I'm leaning toward tne wood filler approach.

The 99A is a great rifle, I have one in .308Win and .358Win. A 4x scopes is all you need