Dented receiver????what did it?

[nekshot]

Years ago I bought this 99 for a very reasonable price because of this dent. I often pondered what might have done it ranging from a crawler tractor running over it to a cartridge going off in the rotary mag and nothing really makes sence. It handles 2 cartridges perfectly but try another one and you will spent alot of time playing with it to rotate. The gun is a 303 that shoots speer 130 full steam moa every time we shot it. The long barrel makes very nice quiet shooting sub-sonic. I invite your thoughts and ideas as to what might have caused this because unless we talk to previous owner (long deceased) I guess all we can do is assume. I am a sucker for novelty issues which is why I have this savage.
nekshot

79627

[gmsharps]

Could be impact from 00 Buck pellets at close range. Just a thought

[Stephen Cohen]

I have seen marks like this on 92s and Martini cadets, some fool tried to remove barrel holding action with shifter spanner. As gmsharps said maybe oo buck perhaps the savage owner was a poacher once too often.

[Artful]

Doesn't look like it to me but could it be if you fell forward onto a rock and the receiver took full force of the fall?

Or what if it was in a scabbard on a horse that rolled - any other marks?

[nekshot]

Artful the rest of the gun is real nice. It is missing the rear sight but no sign of being broken or forced off. The wood is original savage and if replaced it was done at same time as the color is the same on both pieces.

[Cosmiceyes]

I wonder if it was used,by a Law Enforcement Agent,or criminal during a shootout? It looks bullet impact related as just lead,and not j. The one screw at the rear is off center too as if the impact shrank the receiver a tad.

[starnbar]

It could have been someone trying to disassemble it because if you look a little further back there is another dent and a spot that looks like the receiver slipped a little in a vise or a fixture. Just saying.

[nekshot]

you fellas are broadening my scope of ideas. The screw is off center and not bent so something is shrunk. I cannot get the picture right but it appears somebody might have heated the area and beat it out from the inside. The patina is old and you can only see the difference in the bluing in sunlite. I would take it apart but I take seriously all the input how hard these are to get back together. The action is smooth as butter, just don't put the third cartridge in it. I kinda like the heavy old clunker for what it is.

[fouronesix]

Most definitely a large amount of force. First impression is an impact, like a couple of buckshot. The other is a claw hammer or other similar, hard object hit or fall against a hard object. The idea posted about a vice crumpling in the wall- very possible. The other I can think of was a hit from directly from the bottom, thereby wrinkling the wall above it. There's also the possibility that after the impact or damage (whatever it was) an attempt was made to peen or press out from the inside to at least partially free-up the action/magazine. That could also account for the stretching showing around the screw head.

[Hamish]

He was cut off in a box canyon by a trio of dangerous desperados, but doing well till one of 'em flanked him and shot his faithfull '99 out of his hands,,,,,,

[nekshot]

yes it is a take down but it will not rotate by hand and for the way this gun shoots I was not going to put it in a vise and try. I heard a knowlegable savage 99 expert say one time if you have a takedown that works good never take it apart if you must force it. I do know this gun will shoot with any lever gun and hold its own and I don't want to lose that accuracy.

[TMSCU]

A pointy towed deer stepped on it.

[Cosmiceyes]

Most definitely a large amount of force. First impression is an impact, like a couple of buckshot. The other is a claw hammer or other similar, hard object hit or fall against a hard object. The idea posted about a vice crumpling in the wall- very possible. The other I can think of was a hit from directly from the bottom, thereby wrinkling the wall above it. There's also the possibility that after the impact or damage (whatever it was) an attempt was made to peen or press out from the inside to at least partially free-up the action/magazine. That could also account for the stretching showing around the screw head.

Clearly when a dent occurs the metal is pulled in towards the dent,and away from the screws. A press will be needed to push the dent out,and thus pushing the metal away from the indention. This would be a total take down so only the action was pressed.

[starmac]

My old savage takedown is very easy to screw the barrel off, but I heard long ago that if you sent one back to savage for any repair that they would for some reason make it a fixed barrel, eliminating the take down feature.

On mine the wood is also marked with the serial # making it very to see if it is the original wood or not.

[fouronesix]

Clearly when a dent occurs the metal is pulled in towards the dent,and away from the screws. A press will be needed to push the dent out,and thus pushing the metal away from the indention. This would be a total take down so only the action was pressed.

Well clearly and obviously that's the case! And your 100% sure absolute analysis would be?

But until someone comes forward who was witness to the misfortune, all that's left is guessing- come one, come all. I think that was the point of the OP! Just looking at the damage, it is also possible that some effort may have been made to push it back out from the inside.... increasing the stretch thus increasing the evidence of the stretch shown near the screw head. The other possibility is a compression wrinkle from below where also an attempt was made to re-straighten the wall. I also see some small peen marks around the damage- could be that the damage WHATEVER it was caused an internal jam- thus the various possibilities and guesses about what the total try story is.... from the initial damage, through the attempts at repair and on to the present as we see in the photo.

[500MAG]

I suspect the original owner got it for Christmas and took It right outside to shoot it. The first shot ricochet and hit the receiver while shrapnel broke his glasses. Afraid his spouse would be upset, he told her an icicle fell from the roof and broke his glasses and dented the receiver. Anyhow, I don't know where I got this. It just popped in my head.

[waksupi]

Looks like he hit it with a ball peen hammer a couple times, trying to get that third round to chamber.

[williamwaco]

I am betting it got et by a bench vice.

[Sensai]

Obviously a Chupacabre bite.

[Janoosh]

+1 Hamish..He obviously survived the shootout and it is clear that he retrieved the 99, cleaned it up a bit, and passed it on, but... sadly...without this accompaning saga...which would have made a great dime novel...

[scb]

I saw one sort of like that one time. The guy "said" he was putting it in the car and a gust of wind slammed the car door on it. Suppose anything's possible.

[EMC45]

Maybe a round let go in the mag, in turn puckering out the metal of the receiver. Tapped it all back flat, but couldn't "unstretch" the pucker, hence the 2 divots and the dimply look of the metal. There appears to be hammer marks present too.

[maglvr]

Somebody forgot to remove the pipe grip jaws from their big old bench vise before tightening.

[smithywess]

Only an ex-wife could leave an ugly looking dent like that in a nice rifle.

[OverMax]

From a rampant rumor. I think I know what happen to this rifle. Someone operating a pulp skidder seeing a nice buck hanging around daily in the skidder's slashing decided why should he take a chance in loosing his 28 point trophy visiting him daily. {Not more than 20 yards away just a calm monstrous size deer observing what's going on. One of those once in a lifetime wall hangers} Affectionately named Oscar. So the skidder's operator. He decided to take his 303 Savage take-down along one day to be his companion while operating his skidder. Well as anyone knows who has ever driven a skidder. There isn't a whole lot of room on a pulp skidder for its driver let alone his rifle. Well Sir. Without knowing his his rifle fell out of the skidder's cab and got run over one afternoon. But something much worse happened to the operators pride & joy. His rifle ended up getting tangled in the skidder's chokers. With so much heart felt disappointment. The skidder's operator didn't have any further use for his current love. Now 2 shot rifle. So he decided to trade it in at Cab_la's even up for a Weatherby Mark V Sporter 300 Mag. From what I heard Oscar the same 28 point buck died of old age back in a green swamp a year later. A snowmobiler found its remains. But a porcupine. And a few mice. Dinned on its antlers before hand. So now you know the rest of the story. Aren't you glad you read all this.

If its still loadable and shoot-able why not enjoy it. No reason not too.
Not just a gunsmith but a good gunsmith should be able to pull them dents out. A rifle such as this would be a perfect candidate no doubt for a gun-smithing school course. Like the one I know of: Pine Technical College located in Pine City Minnesota. Perhaps a simple call to that school may be all that's needed.