New guy here. I was told y'all are the go-to guys for answers about Savage 99's. I inherited this old gun, it says Savage .303 on the barrel and has a brass counter on the side. Barrel isn't round, more like a pentagon or octagon, or whatever you call it. Someone went and had it all engraved up with deers and leaves and what look like grape vines- pretty much covered the whole gun. Pretty cool. It also has a lot of checkering all around the grip and all over the front piece of wood. Can anyone tell me when it was made and what it's worth?
I have a Leupold 4-12x I plan on mounting as my eyes are getting pretty bad. What's a good mount? I have a box of odds and ends Weavers and can probably cobble something together. Do I need a drill press to drill the mounting holes? I have a good old DeWalt cordless drill I am pretty handy with.
What's a good finish for the stock? I already got her down to bare wood with 60-grit. The metal is next. Will 60-grit be too coarse for the engraving, or will it kinda enhance it. Guess I'll start on one side and see what it looks like. Good idea?
I would appreciate any and all comments. Not tech savvy, but I have some Polaroids I can mail to the internet guy if someone would share his address.
> Rifle is worthless! Go ahead with scoping plan.
> Be sure to oversize the mounting holes you drill/tap, by at least 100% of intended size, and install inserts to reduce back down for your mounting screws. That makes things stay nice and snug. The old drill will work fine. Be sure you have some JB weld on hand in case you mis-drill any holes.
> Mounts are really not worth the money these days, I'd recommend making you own while you have your tools out. Some bar stock you might have laying around would work good... Angle iron works good too, as long as it is not 2" or more...any bigger and you cant get a good cheek weld when shooting competition.
> Since you already have the stock down to 60-grit, be sure and dont forget to sand down and remove all the "lines" that make the cheek panels on the sides of the butt-stock, just behind the receiver. This makes it much easier to carry the rifle in the field and enhances the balance of the rifle when taking quick snap-shots at big game. BUT, just a reminder it's best to remove your scope when big game hunting and use your iron sights. So you might want to install some kind of "quick-release" lever on your scope mount while fabricating things..
> Also, a good finish coat of flex-seal can protect that stock finish from just about any of the harshest environments on the planet. I think it comes in white, or black colors. BE SURE to not get any flex-seal on the metal parts, as it could cause issues later with trapped moisture under the sprayed on finish.
..hope this helps
Couldnt resist! gnoahhh started it...
dave