Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Since we are ogling R's need expertise on mine

I'VE been viewing for a while but just got curious about some of my 99's. I posted a picture of my 303 pre-war R in the previous thread and it seemed to make a big splash. So I was curious about some other details on it. The biggest are the d and t holes on the reciever. LH side, there have been previous threads about factory d and t and what is original and not. I suspect mine are factory. SN 343,9XX, I bought the rifle last summer from a friend's mother-in law in nothern Wisconsin. The butt pad and grip cap are as I bought it. The front sight I put on to get the POI correct for deer season (good thing I did!). The other detail is the marbles rear sight. Factory or not? All in all its the finest deer rifle I've shouldered since the butt pad lengthens the pull perfect for my long arms, and I think there is no better substitute for open sights for the north woods of Wisconsin. And I crumpled that buck with a single shot to the neck. I know, a 250 would have done the same, but what an impression for a hunter who hasn't shot a deer with a caliber previously! So without further ado...














[img]http://i614.photobucket.com/al...20Uploads/HPIM0890_zps8lzcx1lt.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i614.photobucket.com/al...20Uploads/HPIM0889_zpse5uhmjzr.jpg[/img]

Pre-WW2 99R's in 303 are seriously tough to find. So unusual that I would consider sending for a letter to find out who it was sold to and confirm it was originally in 303 ($25 is all it costs for a letter).

Now to lay out the facts... Not dinging the gun, just stating the facts.

Buttpad is aftermarket. Sights are replacements. Sling studs are aftermarket. Can't see all of the grip cap, but that looks like a replacement also. The side holes... MAY be factory for a Weaver T-7, but there's no way to prove it was done at the factory. And the odds are that they aren't factory because more were d&t aftermarket than at the factory. I've got 2 guns with the Weaver T-7 side mount holes and I wish I could prove they were factory, but I can't. But on the other hand... nobody can prove they weren't done at the factory.

So it's been changed for hunting purposes, but it's a seriously classy hunting rifle in a unusual model/chambering. It's even one of the really early 99R's with 3pt checkering.

I knew the butt pad and grip cap were aftermarket from the get go. Glad to know about the rear sight. I think I will send off for the letter. Thanks!

and swing swivles

I added this to the thread on Weaver T-7 mounts. Getting a string of rifles with very similarly positioned holes there.

Long as you can find ammo, it is a damn fine deer rifle.

Classy to boot.

It also looks as if it's been well cared for.

A collector gun it isn't.

I doubt the drill and tap are factory.

I'm sure the recoil pad isn't.

My reasoning for factory d and t are:
1 screws are rounded as the tang screws.
2 chamfer of hole the same as tang
3 came from unknown source, if aftermarket, no filler screws would have been used, or would have been of more common square head design. I've seen guns where tang peep has been installed then removed and square heads used because they were redily availabe. Between round heads and same thread chamfer as the tang, I'm incline to belive it's factory. As stated above I'll send for letter to find out for sure, hopefully.

4:co-location of holes as evidenced by Calhoun.

Do we know of any factory letters that denote side mount D&T?
My 1899H 22HP w/ Weaver T7 does not.

My understanding is that nobody has seen a letter showing a factory d&t with T7.

The S-7 (later T-7) mount was not cataloged till 1937. So maybe they would be on rifles mid-1936, or in the 355xxx(?) range at the earliest. Savage stopped recording info in the log book at serial 372100. That would be less than 20,000 rifles that were in the range of serials that might have been D&T'ed and logged in the books. To date, we have not seen a rifle that has lettered as factory D&T'ed in this range.

The 5Savage rifle was made 1933 so very unlikely that it is factory D&T.

I recieved my letter today from Mr. Callahan, and it confirmed that It was originally shipped as a 303 to G. Sommers and CO, no address given. Also it was not recorded as having any holes D and T'd on the side of the reciever for a scope mount. I was hoping I had the one that could confirm those hole locations as being factory. Oh well, it's still a pretty neat gun, also from the first year the R's were made. Thank you for all your help and I hope I've helped add a bit to the knowledge base here.

Thanks for the follow thru 5savage!
You still gotta nice rifle... enjoy it.