I've been offered a chance to buy about the nicest 1899 I've had my hands on today but I'm not 100% sure as to what a fair price would be. You gents are about the most knowledgable bunch of Savage guys I've ever seen so maybe you can shed a little light for me.
The gun is an 1899 T/D in 250-3000, no holes or cracks in either wood or metal. Not reblued, easily 85-90% of finish remaining on both wood as well as metal. Takedown is snug, bore is pristine. Has one scratch about 1 inch long across the checkering on the grip on the left side, other than that I cannot see any other major mars or scrapes anywhere. It dates to 1915, according to the seller who is an acquaintance if bought some thing from in the past.
With it is a mint box of Savage brand ammo, small Indian 100gr. And a copy of the savage 99 book. Inside the book was a sheet of paper with info that the previous owner had jotted down pertaining to this rifle. It has a handful of special order features it seems, windage adjustable rear barrel sight, tang sight with disc, checkered trigger, factory eyes, hooks and sling. The list tallied up to around 11.00$ worth of extras when new.
I have the whole set at my house and am kicking around whether or not to buy it. It's certainly a neat rifle, and I would shoot it, but I don't know how much I would be safe to spend on it. Thanks in advance guys.
That question comes up time after time after time. AFAIC, there is NO right answer. It's worth is whatever it's worth to YOU. Chances are that if you have to ask, "Can I afford this?", than you can't afford it. Each and every one of us have spent more on a rifle than we wanted to. But if you spend too much for a nice original rifle it will only hurt once. If you spend too much for one that is not, it will hurt every time you attempt to sell/trade it. In my case, I don't sell what I buy. I look at rifles and if I don't get "turned on" I just put it down and move on. If I get "the feeling" there isn't much that will prevent it from coming home. A quick look at the sites that move guns will give you an idea of what others are asking for/ paying for. Ultimately, you're the ONLY one that can answer your question. All other answers will be "what would I pay". Good luck with whatever you decide.
