99 Savage

[Bret4207]

Many years ago a good friend gave me a 25-35 WCF Savage '99 carbine. Serial number in the 54,000 range. The muzzle was shot and I was forced to trim it back of that lovely machined in front sight base. It shot ok after that. Through a long, unfortunate series of mis-steps and poor decisions the action was crushed in the area of the magazine. Lets just say one should think things through before applying more force. I've had my eye out a for a replacement action for sometime and stumbled onto a '99 stripped action. I paid more than I wanted, but it was a package deal. This ones serial number is in the 21,000 range, so it has the old style bolt and bullseye saftey. I intend to use the good parts from the "old" 99 to rebuild the "newer" one. I will try the original 23-35 barrel, but its rifling is more a suggestion than a fact. I'm sort of thinking a 22" medium wt contour would make a real nice walking around gun in 25-35 or maybe the Ackley version. My son has had complete sucess with his 250 Savage and the 100 Nosler Partition out of a 20" barrel and the Ackely approaches the same velocity. Plus I have the 6 banger 25 DJ PB and GC, the Lyman 85 Loverin and the 75 gr FP, along with the cruise missle Cramer 25A 100 Gr RN which everyone assures me is the cats in the 250 and 25WCF. I regret I haven't shot many, if any, so can't say the same yet. Stocks are through the roof for 99's these days, so the search is on. The present stock is one of the reasons I'm a Trooper and not a stockmaker. Maples a bear and I was not always the long suffering, patient, new age kind of guy I am now. I'll keep you posted on how things go.

[Scrounger]

Bret, here's a couple of thoughts that are worth every penny you're paying me for them. There's a nice wildcat known as the .25/308. But I'd rather go with the 6.5/30-30. Just a little better bullet selection. Knew a guy in CA that had one of those and he loved it.And you could have your shot-out barrel rebored 6.5 with a 10 inch twist.

[Urny]

Another angle, Bret, does the thought of relining that barrel hold any appeal for you? I think several members of the ACGG can do that for .25-35. Maybe a local gunsmith could/would tackle such a job.

[floodgate]

Tpr. Bret:

You're gonna have trouble withthat stock. The old "square bolt" 1899's, below serial 90,000, had a shorter frame sidewall behind the bolt recess (and sometimes started to crack on the left rear corner), so the stocks for these have longer side-cheeks by about 1/4" - just enough to make reinletting a b***h of a job. Though I've never seen or heard of one of those actions coming apart (and I tried to blow a junker one up with gross overloads and a long string; blew the barrel loose, but the frame held, even though already partly cracked) Savage warned against them and would replace them free. So while I'd be comfortable with stock .25-35 loads, I'd hesitate to push that old one any harder.

Floodgate

[Buckshot]

............Bret, enjoyed reading your post. I don't chase M99 Savage's but I think your decision to buy the stirpped reciever seems sound as I doubt they happen along all the time? Maybe I'm wrong there but if you WANT, and at the same time really NEED a particular thing, and it comes along, a premium for the opportunity would seem to be worthwhile?

Again, not knowing anything about 1899's, Floodgate's words sound like good advise to me. No flies on the 25-35, and brass is easy to make.

..............Buckshot

[floodgate]

Guys:

On the topic of Savage 99's, I have a barrel taken off a total junker (even worse than Tpr. Bret's, as "someone" who had crushed the action in the magazine area tried to build it back up with weld!!!). Barrel is a solid-frame octagon 26-incher in .303 Savage. Bore is so bad you can't even tell which way the rifling twists (I kid you not!!!), but the outside has only light rusting and should clean up with maybe a bit of draw-filing. I'm cleaning up my work-space, so it goes to the first PM (if any) for the cost of mailing it (I'd guess under $10.00, including mailing tube). Being a .303, it won't fully clean up for a rebore to anything based on the .30-30 case, unless cut back an inch or so, but....?

Floodgate

[floodgate]

RE: Savage 1899 Barrel

The barrel has been spoken for by one of our esteemed charter members.

Thanks, Jim

Floodgate

[Bret4207]

WHOA! You mean I'm not the only one who crushed the magazine area of a '99!!!!??????!???!?!?!??! For 18 years I've been kicking my self up one side and down the other thinking I was the worlds biggest zipper head-brain dead- plant life IQ-moron! That may still be true, but at least I know there's 2 of us!

Thanks for the pointers guys. Re the action length- That has been a problem for me before. At least now I know I wasn't crazy when I found that problem. As far as re-linning goes, I cut the barrel back years ago. If it was still original with the machined front base hump It's be worth doing. I won't hotrod the ol' girl too much.

[floodgate]

Tpr. Bret:

"WHOA! You mean I'm not the only one who crushed the magazine area of a '99!!!!??????!???!?!?!??! For 18 years I've been kicking my self up one side and down the other thinking I was the worlds biggest zipper head-brain dead- plant life IQ-moron! That may still be true, but at least I know there's 2 of us!"

And here's the proof (note the square bolt, upset left rear corner and starting crack on the upper specimen - 13,000 ser. range; and the deeper sidewall and rounded bolt rear on the lower one - 98,000 range):

[Bent Ramrod]

I found a .30-30 clunker Savage 99, in the 24,000 range, for $75. It was the only rifle I've ever seen which was really and truly shot out. I got it relined and rechambered to .25-35 by Beinke and Beinke of Klamath Falls, OR. Cost about $195 ten years ago. The liner has a 10" twist, shoots cast and jacketed very well. I do stick with standard loadings on this one; no sense straining a rear-lockup action, of whatever vintage.

[Bret4207]

Flood- Man, you did even worse than I did! You may not have intended it, but you made me feel a little better knowing I wasn't the onlyist guy in the history of mankind to do this. Thanks, and sorry about your action.

[floodgate]

Flood- Man, you did even worse than I did! You may not have intended it, but you made me feel a little better knowing I wasn't the onlyist guy in the history of mankind to do this. Thanks, and sorry about your action.

Bret: Actually, I DIDN'T mash the #98,XXX action (the lower one in the photos); it was that way when I bought it, to see what I could salvage (the barrel has gone to another of our charter members). And, I was wrong when I said the previous owner had tried to repair it with weld. When I got into it after wire-brushing the action shell for the photo, I found that, instead, he had tried to spring the big dent out by banging on it with a bar through the action top; all he got was a big lump as shown in the photo. But I will take credit for the top action (the #23,XXX one), which I deliberately tried to blow with a 25 gr. load of Unique, to see if the crack that had started at the back corner of the bolt recess would let go. It did not, but the TWO pairs of scope mount holes the previous owner had drilled in the receiver ring weakened it to the point IT opened up and sprung the front of the action. In the top photo, note also where he had drilled a rear hole for what must have been a bridge-type mount with the bolt half-way open, and drilled right on into the top of the bolt. I wonder if it was the same "Bubba" did both??? Lotsa fun, eh? Floodgate

[Trailblazer]

I know absolutely nothing about 99's except Savage made 'em and they are lever actions. Sooo, I gotta ask, is there any reason a fellow couldn't mill the crushed area out and fit a plate over the hole? Doesn't seem like you would lose much action strength, but I don't know.

[Bret4207]

I thought about doing that same thing. The problem is that you'd end up getting the tempered parts of the reciever pretty warm. That brings in a resultant loss of temper and more importantly, IMHO, warping of the reciever. I used my boogered 23-35 99 as a single shot. It worked fine and if you look at the 99 action it's pretty much a falling block sigle shot with a magazine. The secret is not to booger the thing up in the first place. Maybe modern mig welding rigs would produce less heat and make it a viable option.

[Trailblazer]

I was thinking you could screw the plate down. Maybe mill a ledge into the side of the receiver for the plate to lay against. Of course it wouldn't look original but still might make a shooter.

If you welded it you could have the receiver heat treated too.