I am looking at getting a Savage 99. I would like to get one in 308 but I understand the 300 Savage is a good option more commonly produced. What is the largest caliber this has been produced in and any comments on problems associated with certain years ect.

Thanks

Wow, now that is an open-ended question!

Savage 99s were made in a wide variety of cataloged, and some non-cataloged, configurations. They were made in 22-250, 22 Hi-Power, 243, 25-35, 250-3000, 7mm-08, 284, 30-30, 303 Sav, 300 Sav, 308, 32-40, 358, 375, and 38-55.

If you want to get into 99s, you should buy Doug Murray's book and go from there. Probably the most common 300 Sav configuration is the 99EG, but there are so many possibilities.

Good luck!

Jeff

wish i had one in 375

boom stick:

You and me both!

I am currently looking to find a new rotary magazine for my 300 to convert it to .358. Anyone know where to get these?
Thanks.

To answer the above question in my opinion.
The 300 is the best middle of the road cartridge but I would look for the 250-3000 to be the one to buy if I could only have one.
Frank

Frank: Tried Numrich http://www.e-gunparts.com/?

-WSJ

You can occassionally find them on ebay or try savageparts.com, they have everything. The 243, 308, and 358 all share the same case, taper and shoulder angle, so you may not need to locate a 358 specific rotor......savageparts should know

I have read that the older 99's in 300 Sav. etc. are short actions and that the 308's etc are longer actions.

As to what one to buy matters more on what appeals to you. Most of the older 99's are heavier guns but lower in price.

In summary just keep shopping. A 300 would be fine for hunting as long as your happy with the gun.

Swiftshot,
Go with a Savage Mod. 99F (1950s gun) or a 99EG in .308...The .308 is so much more versatile and considerably more powerful at proper pressure levels...The F is a featherweight, both have underlever safties and the best of workmanship..There is always some F models in the Gunlist...

Frank,
Your going to have a tough time finding a proper rotor, as they are not marked, and they are out of production..Dennis Olson may be able to convert that gun for you..I looked for a 250 Sav. rotor for 4 years before I found one and only Dennis could make it work..The 99s are not condusive to change these days...

BTW all 99 actions are the same size, the rotors are all different as to caliber...

Thanks for the update Ray. My gunsmith had done this in the past and pretty much said the same thing. I have been looking for two years now. Only two more to go to find it. LOL.
Frank

The 99 is sold.

For anyone who is contemplating a Sav 99 conversion, get ahold of the very detailed "Converting the Savage 99" article by Robert Snapp written back in the 70's in Amer Rifleman. It is listed on http://www.savage99.com under the other publications link towards the bottom:
Savage 99 publications

The 284 rotors are very different from all of the other rotor and 284 rotors can't be installed in a non-284 action without quite a bit of specialized machine work.

I have a 99E that was originally a 300, but is now a 22-250 with the installation of a GPC barrel, that works fine. I also have a 99R that was originally a 300, but is now a 220 Swift with the installation of a reworked Winchester 70 barrel, it also works fine. Any of the 308 family, 243/260/7-08/308/358, will work with a common 243/308 rotor. It is much easier to wildcat a 99C/CD, since the staggered magazines are much easier to adjust to other non-rimmed cartridges. The only cartridge that I have tried to wildcat in a 99C/CD that did not work well was a 257AI. The 40 degree shoulder has always given me feeding trouble. Ray Montgomery did the work and suggested the plain 257 Roberts, but I wanted the AI and will have to live with it.

Jeff

Jeff,
I have made several 30-284s out of several 99Fs (1950) by simply re-chambering to 30-284 and replacing the 308 rotor with a 284 rotor and they all worked fine...

How did you keep the rotor in the receiver?

The 284 rotors that I have seen aren't retained in the receiver with the long screw that is used to retain the rotor for all of the other cartridges. The 99PE, 99DL, and 99F that I have in 284 all use a spring clip to retain the rotor, but none of the non-284s that I've look at were machined to take the spring clip.

Jeff

Atkinson, i hate to disagree with you seeing as I am new, but the bolt on the .308 model 99, the 300 Savage 99are different lengths. Pull them out and mic them. the the 300 Savage and 250 use the same bolt. The 243, 7mm-08, 308 and 358 use the same bolt. the 284 is a whole different animal. And not to get nit picky but the 303 has it's own bolt. the 22 Hp and 25-35, 32-40 are interchangable and the 38-55 is it own monster. Just an observation. You are correct on all of the rotors being different other than the 22 HP and 25-35. Les

It's not always as simple as the rotor. There is a little arm along the right side of the receiver that follows the case and sometimes that takes a little fiddling too.
I have a takedown in 22-250,250 Savage and 300 Savage. It took some fiddling by a gunmaker to get it to feed reliably. The barrel part was easy. Mounting the scope was tricky too so that I could have a scope calibrated for each barrel. I can't shoot irons anymore after cataract surgery.
Mine will shoot MOA with all three barrels when I do my part.

IIRC at the time they introduced the 308 they also changed the steel or heat treat to handle the higher pressures so it's not a good idea to convert an older one to 308.

not sure its still there, but there was a 99 in 284 on Guns Ameirca if I remember correctly, think it was about a grand if I remember correctly, to rich for my blood, but it looked to be in good shape.

Glad to get all this information but I have built 3 284s from .308 Mod. 99Fs (1950 99Fs) and they all fed 100% and I custom stocked them and sold them to happy customers...All had the spring clips..The very early 99fs have no spring clips...

Ray,

I've only owned a few hundred Savage 99s, so I don't know much about them, but the only rotory magazine 99s that came with spring clips to retain the magazine in lieu of the "long screw" that I have seen were 284s. If you do another conversion, could you post a picture of the rotor and spring clip? BTW, did you use 284 rotors or did you rework the 308 rotors?

Jeff

Don't know if these are common or not but I saw a 99 in .308 at this location. Selling for I believe $450.
707 764 5744

260,
The modification of rotars is a nightmare for even the best of smiths..the problem is everyone of those rotors are different, most 284 rotors are alumininum...spring or long screw is of little importance as long as the rotor fits and works...I don't recall off hand what the .308s I converted had, I do recall they all had underlever saftys and were 99Fs, at least I think they were, so they probably had the C clip locking spring.