Savage 99R

[Frank46]

I have the above rifle in 300 savage. When I put more than three rounds in the magazine they self eject. Ok, At this point I have one of two problems. The spool may needed to be ajdusted or the piece to the left side of the bolt has a weak spring. Anyone have any ideas?. Frank

[JDL]

Frank,
I suspect it is the automatic cut-off but, go to the Savage Collectors at www.24hourcampfire.com. They are very knowledgable and will steer you in the right direction.
I have an R model in the same caliber and it is very easy to get to shoot accurately. Is yours' pre or post war? Some years ago, I had a post war, 1933 I believe, and like an idiot, I sold it :-(. -JDL

[Frank46]

JDL, whereabouts are you in loosiana??. I live in new iberia. My 99R was made in 1959 or thereabouts. Some fool did some bubbaizing on the feed ramp. Feeds ok but I have the problems perviously mentioned. Will check out the site you mentioned Thanks, Frank

[JDL]

Frank,
I'm between Monroe and Ruston. My R is a 1953 vintage, a bit unuusual, with a steel, case colored rotor instead of the brass one. -JDL

[Frank46]

JDL, my rotor is also case colored. Bought it at the houston gun show some years back. Was looking for a 30-30 but could not find one. Frank

[stocker]

Your spool may have too much spring tension. I think 1.5 to 2 rotations is supposed to be about right for correct pressure. After having a gunsmith rebarrel and reblue one of my 99's he wound the spring tight enough loaded shells streamed out like empties from a Tommy gun. All was fine after retensioning.

The 99R is a nice rifle by the way.

[versifier]

I think Stocker has the right of it. I have seen similar problem and cure. I had a good friend who spent his life collecting and working on 99's, I wish he were here as he would have detailed the disassembly and reassembly for you and made it that much easier. In my biased opinion, the Savage 99 is the best lever action deer rifle ever made, with the Win 88 a rather distant second. You have one of the real treasures in the shooting world - get it up and running, care for it properly, and pass it down to your grandchildren. Their like will never be made again. ;-)

I would not be embarassed to be seen in the woods with any Marlin or BLR on a rainy day. While I think the Win 94 is the best looking lever, I find them (the .30-30's) too abusive on my shoulder with full charge loads due to their light weight - by the time I'm done practicing before the season I have a developed a nice flinch. You can keep the foreign copies, I have no use for them and consider them to be generally of good finish and poor quality metals and workmanship. :razz:

Understand I am commenting here exclusively from the viewpoint of a deer hunter. :violin: There are worlds to explore and enjoy loading and shooting and various targets, CAS, etc., with the whole range of available lever guns, and much, much pleasure to be found in the persuit. I love shooting cast out of the Win 94 (a .30-30) that has been in my family for four generations, when I can sneak it out of my brother's gun closet (he has official custody). I load for lots of w94's, w88's, m94's, m336's, s99's, blr's, (I'm kind of the ammo depot for my circle of shooting friends) and enjoy shooting all of them.

But, one of these days I'll find the right 99 up for sale when I actually have the money (maybe in .250) and my daughter will have it to use and to pass on down.

[Frank46]

Versifier and Stocker thanks for the tips. I found one takedown here in loosiana. Was a 22 imp. Bbl was cut down, stock had been cut up and severly shortened like it was to be used by a woman or small child. Price was WAY too much considering what had been done to it. Like $500. Thanks Frank

[Shepherd2]

I'm a fan of the Savage 99 also. We were in Cabela's in Wheeling last week and I spotted a 99 in the used gun rack. It tag said 250-3000 so I grabbed it to take a look. Unfortunately it had too many problems to justify the $500 price tag. Sure would love to have a decent .250.