Reboring a 1899Sav

[kaiser]

I own a 1899 Savage in an almost original condition. It is in30/30 caliber with a 26” BBL and has never been drilled and tapped, or altered in any way. The serial number indicates it was made in 1907.

If I had “Jess” rebore this rifle to a 38/55 would it devalue it, or would it be worth more in the market place? Does Jess rebore this particular cartridge to more than one bore size?

[missionary5155]

Good evening
First.. if the condition of your 1899 is 90% or better you have a collector grade that is worth the $$$$ to either sell or hang on to. As soon as you do a modification figure 50% loss.
You can find descent 1899's for less than $500... $350 if the bore is ugly. That is what I would send to JES Reboring. You can get a 30-30 rebored to numerous calibers. But remember the rotary mag can be sensitive to calibers that are much bigger. Some have had to change the spindle when going to 38-55. I understand a .35-30 seems to be OK and anything smaller. Someone who has "been there" will pass on their experience. But JES does not modify the mag area. He does the rebore and chamber.
You really should look at his website 35caliber.com Everything is listed there plus his phone #. He will call you but do read through his site. Most of your questions will be answered.
I have never sent him a 1899 or a model 99. Do not plan on it either. Already have all the rebores we will ever need all the way up to 50 Alaskan.
Mike in Peru

[gnoahhh]

In a word, only do it if you want to devalue the gun by about 50%.

As stated above with any change in caliber in an 1899 or 99 (1907= Model 1899) one has to consider the rotor. In the instance of going from .30-30 to .38-55 the rotor would probably work ok, even if all it'll take is two or three cartridges. More importantly the cartridge guide would have to swapped out for sure, and .38-55 cartridge guides are made of unobtanium.

Of paramount concern though is the receiver of that gun. Is it cracked? Pre-1909 guns had the bolt mortise cut with square corners and many many of them have developed cracks radiating out from them. (Mortise= the cut in the back of the receiver where the bolt butts up against- the point of lockup as it were.) The square cuts are classic stress risers and it's anybody's guess how that design fault made it through into production. Look closely, those cracks are tiny, and unfortunately they don't heal themselves. Weld them up? No, the heat engendered in that critical spot will draw the temper out of the steel and continued shooting will batter it/peen it quickly and headspace will deteriorate rapidly, not to mention the cracks will re-appear anyway. In 1909 the design was changed to a rounded mortise and the problem went away.

All in all a conversion of that nature with that gun is an ill conceived idea, IMO. But, it ain't my gun...

[kaiser]

Thank you both for the information and sound advice!

[richhodg66]

Don't do it. Much as I like 99s and the .38-55, a better option if you want a .38-55 is to find a donor Marling or Winchester.

[pietro]

.

Actually, IMO there's nothing a .38-55 can drop that a .30-30 cannot.

I use my .303 Model 1899-H, which has .30-30 ballistics (and a .308" boolit), and has taken everything I shot it at...…

.

[Shawlerbrook]

Pretty much covered above. Unless you have a bad bore, don’t fool with an original,old rifle. There is a JES 38 55 rebore in the classifieds right now.

[Beerd]

well,
it IS your gun
and this is a FREE country
BUT
if you do it you may loose a few friends

just sayin'
..

[Pioneer2]

.

Actually, IMO there's nothing a .38-55 can drop that a .30-30 cannot.

I use my .303 Model 1899-H, which has .30-30 ballistics (and a .308" boolit), and has taken everything I shot it at...…

.

A 38-55 will certainly make things sicker than a 30-30 which one you wanna try on grizzly? A .303 Savage with a 190gr bullet is no powerhouse if the 30-30 didn't have a 1-12 twist you could handload the same bullet and it would be indistinguishable.You would need a new spool as well for the 1899 or BUBBA the existing one.Would destroy any value of the original gun.

[OverMax]

Yes No yes.

[gnoahhh]

Pioneer: Not sure I understand what you're saying.

As an aside, I shoot 190 cast bullets in every .303 Savage and .30-30 I own. I've killed a bunch of stuff and made a lot of tiny groups on paper with same.

Grizzlies? Not many of them hereabouts, or in Flyover Country where the OP is from. Moot point.

[pietro]

Pioneer: Not sure I understand what you're saying.

As an aside, I shoot 190 cast bullets in every .303 Savage and .30-30 I own. I've killed a bunch of stuff and made a lot of tiny groups on paper with same.

Grizzlies? Not many of them hereabouts, or in Flyover Country where the OP is from. Moot point.

Thank you...…..


.

[Pioneer2]

You may not have grizzlies but we do in here in Alberta.The majority of .303 Savages have a 1-10 twist started out the first couple years using actual .311 bullets then changed to .308 The Win 94 30-30 is a 1-12 twist that at low velocities may or may not stabilize a 190gr bullet.Some 30-30's used 1-10 like the 788 and would make no difference.Wouldn't be much in velocity between either round with the same bullets either.Cyanide or cyanide light ...38-55 or 30-30......they will both kill you in the end problem being is if the game kills you as well you both lose.I'll go 38-55 with 273gr cast in my 336 at 1600fps.

[richhodg66]

Niether one is exactly a power house. Use on grizzlies is a stupid argument, if you live where they are and are worried about it, you can buy a new .338 Win mag for what the rebore will cost you and not worry about screwing up a collector piece.

For white tails, I doubt you'd see an iota of difference.

[gnoahhh]

For what it's worth, all Savage-built .303 Savages from day one had 1-12" twists. I've driven 180/190 grainers out of these guns at velocities as low as 1100fps with zero problems.

The thing is Savage used sine bar machines to rifle their barrels. Said machines accuracy was dependent on the skill/attentiveness of their operators. Human frailty being what it is, it's possible to encounter barrels from that era having slightly slower and slightly faster twists than nominal.

[Speedo66]

Possibly the OP is in a state that mandates straight wall cartridges. Sounds like there are better, cheaper candidates for the conversion though.

[Drm50]

Possibly the OP is in a state that mandates straight wall cartridges. Sounds like there are better, cheaper candidates for the conversion though.

Exactly right. 30/30 won't do it Staight Wall states, neither will 30 cal. Still boring a nice old 99 in any cal is going to kill its value. Hi condition older 99s go in $1K to start around my area. I would look for anther gun for a donar.

[Texas by God]

I believe that the 1899 came in 38 55 caliber as well as 3030 so the rotors would probably be the same. But your rifle is too nice to mess with so like others have said I would look for a doggy 1899 to send to JES.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Cheeto303]

If you want a 38-55, Henry just came out with a side loading model. Please don't ruin a classic.

https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/side-gate-lever-action/

[Dan Cash]

The Savage will not feed .38-55 ammo unless the spool is changed and possibly the internal receiver configuration. I am not sure about the latter and am certain about the former. If it is as pristine as you indicate, you are going to invest $250 + in a gun that will bring $700 to $1000 now but won't fetch the price of the rebore afterwards.