I have a M-99 with the same problem. It walks so badly I can't even get it sighted in. I tried fully bedding the forend with glass bedding. I then relieved the back end of the forearm where it touched the receiver. I then removed the glass except around the screw that retains the forend. Nothing worked. Then I removed the forend completely and shot it from the bench with the gun supported on sandbags with the barrel unsupported. Same thing. After the barrel got moderately warm, not nearly too hot to touch, the group stabilized to a round pattern of a little over one inch at 100yds. I wonder if the problem is that the mounting bracket for the forend screw causes the barrel to expand unevenly, but if that is the cause, why would any of them shoot? I have read that rebarreling for this particular gun is much more difficult than on a standard bolt action, so that is not something that I would tackle on my own. I have considered getting it cryoed, but haven't heard that much good about that procedure. I have read tests where it didn't significantly improve the accuracy of good barrels; has anyone heard where it caused a dramatic improvement on a barrel such as this? I have even thought of removing the bracket and drilling the forearm lengthwise for a long screw to hold the forend on in a manner similar to that of the buttstock. I would appreciate anyone's input, positive or negative. Thanks, Brady.

My .250 did give me fits for a while getting it to shoot as well as I expected. It has settled down now and does respectably with the right loads. Like the others have mentioned, the buttstock tension is important. I've found resting the front of action on the bag instead of the forend did wonders for group size. I shoot iron sights so moving to the 50 yard to dial it in helped me sort things out. Once I had a tuned load, 100 yard targets fell in line. It took quite a bit of practice to get it down right and groups do expand a bit as it warms up but my cold shot are spot on.

I can't comment or suggest regarding tuning 99's but my experiences with cryo have solved exactly this problem on a few of my rifles.

Cryo is typically accuracy neutral - neither helps nor hurts, but what is stops is "walking". Now, all mine were floated bolt actions so there weren't the 99s variables of screws, forends, etc. After freezing, all mine shot the same hot or cold. It may or may not work in this instance. I'd do it if it were mine, but I'm biased toward cryo given my happy experience with it.

FWIW, and YMMV of course.

Redial

Thanks for the info. I think I will send it in to be cryoed, as soon as I get time, $$, etc. I will let you guys know when I do. Thanks, Brady

Bedding the 99 Savage:

Lightly relieve the wood in the forend and aroung the circle base....use a lot of release agent (johnsons wax) in the action recess so as not to mess things up in there..put glass on the circle of wood and very lightly releived edges where the forend butts into the wood. fill the channal with glass and screw the forend on (be sure to use a lot of relief on that forend screw and fill the receiver hole of that screw with glass, along with the barrel and action, use liberally...let sit for a couple of hours then go give the screw a turn and back...wipe off the excess glass around the frame with a paper towel and alcohol, WD 40 or whatever, then be sure and trim the glass off that squeezed out of the barrel channal...forend should probably be taped prior to anything then waxed to protect it from glass.

When done trim it up and put it back together...

Now take off the butt stock, wax the metal, run a small bead of glass all the way around the inletting and make a pad in the very rear of the tang (releived under the wood line, using the original inletting as a stop for the tang, here is where a pretty good amont of glass should go to act as a buttress.

I expect most 99 to shot a one inch 3 shot group and 1.5 to 1.75 for 5 shots and in a group not a string...

On the forend I might add that I tighten the forend screw until the wood is half way up on the barrels side center line, then stop and let the glass take over from there..If you have any questions give me a call or email.

I am sure that I have done at least a 100 M-99s in this manner over the years...

Atkinson,
Have you put a Lothar Walther barrel on a Savage 99?