Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Savage 99 Gunsmith and etc.

Hi:

Couple of questions:

1.) Looking for a GOOD Savage 99 gunsmith.

2.) Is it possible to make a Savage 99 in a .284 and rebarrel it to make it 6.5-.284 Norma?

I have several Savage 99's and if I post this in the savage section the purest will be all over me. I grew up hunting with a 99, with my dad who was a 99 believer so I was interested in making a bit of a wildcat version.

Thanks in advance,

John

Hello. I have some 99's in 284 that I hunt with and collect. The 6.5 is on my short list too. My plan is to use a 99C receiver I have with some .284 magazines I found at auction.

I suppose you could use a 284 DL or F with the rotary magazine but you'd be disassembling a $1000 rifle. But, if you did, it should feed and function as a 6.5-284. I say should, because I've been surprised what works and what doesn't a few times when rebarreling 99's.

The rotor is unique on the 99 in the .284 cartridge. It is very difficult to find .284 rotor parts for converting a different cartridge 99 to .284, but maybe if you have enough time....

Let us know how you progress.

Savage did chamber the 99 in .284 win. A few, I think in the 99C and 99F models. If you find one in decent shape it could be worth from $800 up into the 4 figures range.

You should be able to rechamber/rebarrel a late 50s or newer 99C or F. Hardest part might be finding a rotor (F) or magazine (C) to fit the parent 284 case and feeds reliably if you don't start with a .284. I know rotors are cartridge specific. Not sure about the 99C magazines.

However, if your desire for a 6.5-.284 is based on wanting to use the longer 6.5 bullets you'll run into cartridge overall length limitations pretty quick.

If you come across a nice 99F in .284 you could probably sell it and use the proceeds to buy a 99C plus cover a fair chunk of the conversion. I suspect you're much more likely to be able to get a .308 donor to start with.

Parting comment - I think the .284s are rare enough that it would be a real shame to convert a functional specimen.

Your conversion ought to work, if that's what you really want to do. As for a "good 99 gunsmith", any gunsmith worthy of the title should be able to work on a 99. They are very simple mechanisms, cunningly engineered. If a 'smith tells you he can't work on your rifle, find another 'smith, because he either can't be bothered or doesn't know his ass from first base.

Quite a lot of modern gunsmiths are no more than skilled armorers, only capable of modular repair/replacement. A true gunsmith knows his way around lathes, mills, etc as well as adept with files and abrasives and finishing techniques, along with a deep understanding of mechanics and math- a truly rare beast, and becoming rarer.

Where are you located, captjohn? I have a very good gun shop that works on anything that throws lead, and does it well. They've rebarrelled a bunch of 99s since I've known them, including a full custom 99 rotary mag .308 that is now a 6.5CM.

The apparent advantage of the 6.5 over the 7mm is all about high BC of longer heavier bullets available in 6.5mm, yes? And their velocities statistics are all derived from long-throated, long-barreled bench rifles, with long COAL.

You will not be able to get any more than 2.81" OAL to feed through a 99 rotary or box magazine, I've tried relentlessly. I think this eliminates all the advantages 6.5mm bullets might offer you.

There have been several 260Rem 99's built, you might ask around about their performance.

As a wildcat 99 reference point, I built a rotary magazine (originally 308) into a 270 Redding, which I was able to get 3150fps out of 130g, and 3050 out of 140g with COAL of 2.76" which gives me some room to experiment with seating depth, with no signs of excess pressure!

America needs a contact person and number for this!!

6.5 creedmoor is based on the 300 Savage case, so it might even feed through an older/more common 300 savage donor rifle!

Try Dan Coffin at Deadly Nostalgia in Victor, Mt. He's done a bunch

You're going to piss off the collectors with talk like this.

I have a 99 in 6.5-284 built on a 99C/CD action. The magazine is the limiting factor due to COAL with bullets heavier/longer than the 129 grain Hornady. If you want to shoot long, VLD, bullets in a short action 6.5mm bore rifle the shorter Creedmoor case seems like the best way to go.

If you're going to hunt medium game out to 1/4 mile, the Creedmoor, 260, or 6.5-284 will work fine with most of the current crop of component hunting bullets weighing 130 grains or less. I've punched a lot of tags with 100 grain Partitions, 100 and 120 grain BTs, 129 grain Hornadys, and 130 grain ABs.

Dennis Olson, in plains MT. Would be another guy to talk too.

Whitetail Gun Shop in Rauchtown, PA.
570-745-3456 Brad and his dad, Vaughn, are top notch smiths. The .308 99 is a bit longer in the magazine than the .300, so you'll do bette with one of those, whether rotary or box. Here's Brad holding my 99.