Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Tang cracks!

I just found a very nice, original pre-mil 99F in .308 Win in the mid $500 range. No sling swivels, no compass, no pad, and ~90-95% wood and metal. It seems like a very fair deal.

On first glance, I did not notice any major cracks or splits in the wood. Today, I took my glasses off and inspected a little closer with my poor old presbyopic eyes. Much to my dismay, I found two little cracks near the middle of the tang, one above and one below. They are hairline in size and look to be no longer than 1/4", 3/8" at the most.

I have a few questions. Are there very many 99F's out there that have been hunted with and used that don't have these cracks? I had a 99F fixer-upper .243 that had had the stock repaired for some major cracks/splits in the wrist of the stock... when I took the stock off, I was shocked at how "un-substantial" the stock was in that particular area. In my mind, it is not surprising at all that they crack in these areas due to recoil and moisture issues.

Would this be a red flag to others as to purchasing this gun or would you just try to do some discreet non-visible repairs with a dremel/epoxy to shore up the problem? This will not be my go-to rifle but I would like to be able to shoot it a little bit here and there!

Thanks!
Lundtroller

They probably won't get any better on their own. Perhaps now is the time to nip them in the bud with some discrete repairs as you mentioned. At the same time I would give a skosh of extra clearance at the back of the tang- make the relief below the visible surface of the wood leaving a RCH of wood on the surface to give the illusion of a tight fit.

I remain convinced that these cracks develop mainly from over tightening the draw bolt. Snug is good. Really torquing it down like your life depended on it is bad. Over tightening the bolt is akin to setting a chunk of firewood on Loggah's hydraulic splitter- those two wedges (tangs) are in effect constantly trying to turn the butt stock into kindling.

For a shooter gun with little collector interest, I would epoxy bed the whole shebang so as to spread the load over as much area as possible. I say that reluctantly though, for what is merely a shooter today may well be a rare gem 100 years from now.

Next question: Is $530 a fair price for this 99F in .308 or would the tiny tang cracks scare you away? Looking at the screws on this rifle, I don't believe the stock has ever been off this rifle.

Honest opinions appreciated!

They had a 98% scoped, cut checkered early 99DL in .243 for $600 as well as a 90+% press checkered 99DL in .243 for $400. All were nice and each tempted me but the pre-mil would be my first choice.

Strikes me as being eminently fair.

Regarding tang cracks, most of the 99s that have gone through my hands had them. I'm talking 10-12 rifles. The only one that isn't cracked is my 1955 vintage 99 F in 250-3000. I'm guessing there's not enough recoil to crack the wood.

My buddy has two 99s, a 99 R(possibly RS)in 300 Savage he bought used when he got out of the army in 1963 (he's 81), and his uncle's 99F 308. The R gun is a 1950 vintage piece, and it had a pretty good crack. It isn't a collector gun as it has been drilled and tapped and had a recoil pad added (badly), so epoxy wasn't a spoiler. I like to bed the upper tang, lower tang, and the two side pieces. The other rifle, which his late uncle left to him, also was cracked. When I removed the buttstock I found that one of the little "fingers" which fit into the side of the receiver were broken off. The wood is of poor quality and actually broke off. I made a piece to replace the missing piece and again bedded all four places where the wood meets the receiver. Of course, the receiver was full of sticks, dirt, etc. and I cleaned it thoroughly.

[quote=lundtroller

They had a 98% scoped, cut checkered early 99DL in .243 [/quote]

Let me know if you don't buy that! I would.

$530.00 would not scare me away if I was looking for one like the one you are considering.



When I epoxy bed a 99 buttstock, I try to direct most, if not all, of the recoil forces at the wood directly behind the bottom tang.

The wood behind the top tang and the wood that comprise the stock cheeks is thin by unfortunate design so is evidently prone to crack. I try to leave hairline gaps where the metal meets the wood at those interfaces.

I've heard stories of "unfired" 99s having tang cracks. No, not necessarily a deal breaker. On all my 99s, or 1899s I generally take a deep well socket which is 0.050 smaller than tang radius and wrap with 100 grain sand papaer and GENTLY rotate to create 0.005-0.0010 tho clearance from tang to wood. This area should not be weight bearing during firing. And, as prolly previously stated, DON'T over tighten butt stock retaining screw.

By the way, I have a couple with tang cracks that have been dealt with, and do not effect accuracy or have propagated.

^^^^ This.

I also coat the non-load bearing surfaces with un-thickened epoxy. Depending how much clearance the bolt has in its rear-most position some epoxy removal in the LH cheek is probably then necessary. Every little bit of epoxy helps.

I'll reiterate a past sentiment- all this is for an otherwise buggered up rat or a new stock on a shooter.. A "collectible" piece doesn't deserve such drastic treatment, nor a nice surviving "shooter", IMO- but everybody here knows that.

I have just bought a 1950 .300 99.
If it had had a box through it I would be surprised, no crack..condition almost new, two faint marks on left receiver(not scratches) and one line in stock,depression, everything else almost as new, shiny brass mag, bright as if just made, no drilling for mounts, never even had sling screws fitted.
I wonder what percentage of them develop one, almost a bit worried about firing the damn thing now, I will always be looking.

Welcome to the site. I wouldn't worry too much about a 300. When you figure it out post some pics, there were 3 models in 1950, an EG, an F and an R. Oops, there were only 2 models in 1950, the F didn't come out till 55, Joe.

Hi, thanks, am using a phone this second so cant quite upload any pics, should be back on a proper computer later or tomorrow, thanks again!

Post war Rs were factory drilled and tapped for scopes so it's likely an EG.

I knew when I read "98% hand checkered DL" that Roy would have a post below asking about it. lol

I begged. No good.

Too bad.

A 98% DL with hand checkering in 243 for $600 is an awesome price in my opinion.

I'd rather deal with a tang crack than plumbers crack. I don't think there's enough epoxy in the world to fix the latter!

Ah, he crack's me up!

I think you are just cracked!