.303 Savage 1899H

[muskeg13]

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42493

Not too bad for a $150 armload of parts winter project gun, eh? There were several at the January gunshow at Wasilla HS, and I got the cheapest one. It's a .303 Savage 1899H made in 1913. Unfortunately, all of the small metal parts were missing, including the take-down hardware. I fashioned a brass block and barrel stud to attach the forend, so it's still easy to remove the barrel. The Williams receiver sight is too modern looking, but a Marple or Lyman would cost as much or more than I paid for the rifle, and I need an aperature sight to be able to shoot accurately.

I'm still working out loads, but the 180gr RCBS flat nose gas check using acww with a bit of tin and XMP5744 looks promising. I won't be able to chronograph anything for another month or so until it gets up above freezing.

[starmac]

I turned down one last year that I probably should have picked up.
How hard is brass to find for it.

[muskeg13]

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/12638
It's not cheap, but it's very good brass. I'll form cases if I have to, but as long as I can get Prvi cases, I think it's worth paying a little extra.

[starmac]

Those prices are not that bad compared to other rifle brass.

Sportsmans gets 28.99 for fifty here for 300 savage (when they have it)

[Haggway]

great rifle and good classic cartridge.

[gnoahhh]

Nice job! Gotta keep those old girls singing. A man who tries a Savage 1899 carbine often has a hard time going back to a Winchester or Marlin!

[muskeg13]

Nice job! Gotta keep those old girls singing. A man who tries a Savage 1899 carbine often has a hard time going back to a Winchester or Marlin!

How right you are, but I can't abandon my 86 and 95 Winchesters. The little Savage just points so well that it makes it easier to get on the target. I wish it was in a bit heavier caliber for Alaskan work, but with full house 180gr boolits, it's still more powerful than a .44 Magnum.

We'll have to see which rifle spend more time out of the gun safe launching boolits.

[gnoahhh]

Try some soft 190gr. flat nose, driven as close to 2000fps as you dare. Might surprise you what the old .303 Savage is capable of. Not very far off the original .30/40 Krag 220gr. fired out of a carbine.

[starmac]

I shoot left handed, a model 99 in 300 hundred was my first big game rifle, and is still what goes with me when I want something dead.
I like all my levers, but they are not in the same ballpark.
I always hear about truck guns or utility guns or whatever, but I reckon my old 99 has fit the bill for my everything gun for lots of years. lol

[runfiverun]

see what knoah said.
the 303 savage was designed to shoot 311 bullets from a 308 bbl just to beat the 30-30 by a few fps.
during the 50's it was ranked right up there with the 303 brit and such as a moose cartridge with 180-190 bullets.

[Canuck Bob]

Very nice work. The 303 Savage is a great heritage cartridge. As a lever gunner I feel it is time I considered a Savage 99. Can a guy brag about being a lever gunner and have never owned a 99? I think so but it is debatale.

The heavy bullet really seemed to be important to early writers and sportsmen. A 190 gr 30-30 or 32 Spec should offer the same big animal performance? I think Buffalo Bore loads a 190 for the 30-30.

[ajjohns]

I saw Graf n Sons has 303 Savage Hornady ammo for sale. 150 gr. though. Not to get off the subject but is there any receiver sight made today that fits the 99? I have one of these 303's, my first rifle, but always wanted a peep for it. Any of the Lymans or such made today fit?

[gnoahhh]

I believe Lyman and Marble's offer a tang sight. Check their web sites. I stick with vintage Lyman tang sights picked up on eBay or gun shows. Better quality than the new ones, but pricier too. I believe also that Williams offers a receiver sight for the Savage 99, but I also think they are only of the type that utilizes the existing factory scope mounting holes, requiring a drill/tap if it's an older gun.

All vintage 99's came from the factory with holes in the tang for mounting a tang sight. Lyman, Redfield, Williams used to offer receiver sights that utilized those tang sight holes but sadly not anymore. Again the used market is the only source for them.

Frankly, I would prowl the used markets for a good quality early tang sight, but that's me. Note also that some of the aforementioned receiver sights require some wood removal too. That's not a good thing for a collectible vintage Savage. Nor is drilling fresh holes.

[ajjohns]

Well thank you for the reply. I've also read on a m95 Steyr post that I can put one from a Mauser on that model Steyr backwards. Now I have two to make better! My 303 Savage is an alright gun, ok shape. Had many years of hard use in the woods of North West Angle, Mn. I'm not entirely sure but it seems the headspace is getting bad. The cases are bulging just above the head anyway. Solid receiver, not a take down. I'm thinking that a cast boolit load and partial sizing can help keep it going.

[starmac]

I picked an old williams that uses the existing holes at a gun show a year or so back, just in case i find another 99 that I can't live without. lol

[muskeg13]

As a lever gunner I feel it is time I considered a Savage 99. Can a guy brag about being a lever gunner and have never owned a 99? I think so but it is debatale.


It's very questionable. Being a dyed in the wool Winchester man, I didn't give it much thought until a year ago when a neighbor asked me to clean and store a .300 Savage 99. Not owning a Savage, I was interested in looking it over, and I was amazed at how well made and ergonomic the 1899/99 is. And they shoot real good too, even a 1913 relic parts gun with the forestock duct-taped on. It seems with a Savage 99, they don't just launch boolits, they are lead tipped guided missiles.

[gnoahhh]

Uhoh, another convert to the dark side!