I have 3 1899/99 Savages, that had the tang crack when I bought them. All have had many rounds shot thru them since I bought'um. My 99D, that I bought in '66 had the worse. Since, all 3 of my daughter, 6 of my grand daughters, and both of my wives learned to shoot with that gun (.300). It has not shot hundreds of rounds, but thousands of rounds. None of my rifles cracks have gotten any worse! There fore, I can not believe that these cracks are caused by recoil. MHO, that as thin as the wood is at this point, those cracks had to be caused by a side wise force. I have a 99E, that has a chip out, directly behind the top tang. That was caused by recoil! However, I am very open minded, and would welcome any proof that I am wrong! By proof, I mean showing me that you can crack the side of the wood, at the upper tang by recoil!
