Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General $700.00 for this seem right?

Savage 99

Maybe, if it didn't have the sling swivels. What cartridge is it chambered for?

It's a 300 Savage. So, the sling swivel is a deal breaker?

You should try on the Savage board. In my thinking the price is the deal breaker, and the swivels are what make that so. Maybe I'm wrong, but the F models did not come with factory installed swivels.

I think you're correct about the swivels, but I'm actually buying it more as a shooter, so collector value isn't high on my priority for this particular rifle. I'm not seeing even nice shooters from this period (1950s) for any less than that anywhere. You? And the collector grade (100% unaltered) guns all seem to be going in the thousands of dollars.

Very nice late 50's 99F featherweight in 300 Savage, the sling studs aren't factory..

Seen worse deals, seen better. It'd be a great hunting rifle, but 300 Savage usually drags the price down a bit. $600 would make me happier.

Calhoun, I was surprised by your statement "300 Savage usually drags the price down." Please explain.

I would have thought that the signature cartridge would be the most desireable. What cartridge would be the most desireable in, say, a Savage 99F, and why?

Rarity is what drives collector price up. The .300 Savage was very popular, so there were lots made, driving the price down. It was, however, popular for a reason, i.e., it's an excellent round for big game hunting, so I was specifically looking for one in that caliber, in good shape, made prior to the 1960s.

It is a great hunting round, and it's what I use to hunt with. But the 250 Savage is much less common and much more popular, and the 243/308/358 will also bring a good premium.

I've got a couple of 99F's, one in 308 and another in 243. They are very nice rifles, and probably one of the best setups for hunting. The only thing they were missing was the sling, and yours has that. You're going to love it.

$700 may be a bit much for that one , but I wouldn't let that stop me if I wanted it. The 99s chambered for the Winchester cartridges tend to bring a bit more , easier to find ammo is my theory.

Mike

Thank you. I think so, too.

If you like this rifle, then buy it. The 99's are getting harder to find these days and they have no other place to go but up in price. The 300 Savage is a great round for deer, elk and black bear. If you are purchasing this rifle for hunting then the 300 is a much better choice that the 250 in my opinion. The swivels and sling are a big plus if you just want this rifle for hunting.

That's what I want it for. Thank you. Oh, and for cuddling with, too.

I would assume a featherweight would be a schnabel forearm gun, which that doesn't look to be.....

What is the difference between a featherweight and whatever else Savage sold from that same era? I will be perusing gun shows now that I have a C&R and wish to buy a second M99, and need to educate myself.

Thanks
Allen

The true featherweights have an interesting feature: They drill out the buttstock. The early 1899H and the 50's 99F are the only two models I know of that do this, any other 99 would be lightweight due to short barrel and schnabel forearm. But the featherweights are the lightest.

The other two models of 99's from the same era as the 99F was the 99EG, which is a normal weight solid frame 99 with 24" barrel, and the 99R, which was a heavier model with a wide forearm and 24" barrel.

This is from a 1957 99F.

Interesting! That answers my question on drilling out stocks. Thanks. Hey, you could store cleaning materials and spare parts in there, couldn't you? Even a little survival kit.

You could.. would throw the balance off, and you'd have to have a philips screwdriver handy out in the wilderness when you wanted to get to it.

Well, anyway, it would be a good place to stash contraband.

Its a freakin' rifle, not a storage locker!

[it would be a good place to stash contraband]

That's where I stash an old hunting license, in case I ever have to prove ownership, in the field or on an out-of-state hunting trip.

On guns w/o such a recess, I use a number stamp or a Sharpie on the buttstock endgrain, under the buttplate, to etch my driver's license number.

Those .300 Savage's are a great hunting cartridge - pretty much a .308 in performance - but in much nicer-looking rifles.

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