Read this thread earlier today and had to dig out my ..300 EG Savage and shoot it. I have not mastered cast bullets for this gun gun yet so don't shoot it as much as some others but with 165 grain jacketed bullets it is a serious shooting piece of equipment. Surprisingly, the 99 or 1899 Savage was quite popular among Pancho Villa's gangsters during the Reveloution based on old photos I have seen. The closed action does keep out mud and dirt; mud and dirt which stops my 1895 Winchester.