Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 mystery . . . .

So I have a mystery Savage 99 I inherited. Pictures will be attached but the story so far is this. . .
It says Savage 99 on the top of the breach where it should, the serial number is clearly visible and matches on the the barrel and receiver. The date mark on the lever boss stamp says "3D" making it a 1952 manufacture. There is no address for Savage anywhere on the rifle. What I thought was the caliber 25-20 from a string of numbers on the underside of the barrel, according to my research, is not right. The front stock is missing and I was looking into replacing it which is why I need to know the exact model. I want to do this right. Another oddity is it appears to have NEVER been blued. Even in the places where bluing is difficult to remove and get all of it off there is nothing. If there are other angles or pics you want just ask. I would like ot know the specific model 99 and of course caliber. Also if anyone has run across anything like this before. I pondered the possibility of it being a Stevens gun or even being a prototype? I'm just not up to speed on Savage 99's . . . yet. . . I really want to shoot her. One last thing is the barrel is very thick for the caliber. Excessively so. Makes the Ruger Mark I look like a thin barrel. . . .

I take it that it appears to be a .25 caliber barrel? Most likely a .250 or .25/35 and you might check to see if either of these cartridge will chamber easily. You will likely need to do a chamber cast to be sure of the caliber.

By the way, you mentioned you inherited the rifle. Any sort of story come with it?

It could be this was a .25/20 barrel (maybe from Sarco?) that was rechambered to a caliber suitable for the M99 - such as .250.

Not really a story. . . well there is always a story. . . so here is the brief. It was given to my father 25 years ago from a co-worker who had a violent death in the family, not by this rifle, but he got rid of everything. Typical over reaction to a human error (self inflicted gunshot wound, his brother.) It has been in the gun safe for all that time. A few days ago upon learning I had been accepted to Gunsmith school he handed me the rifle and said fix 'er up and she's yours. I have been teaching myself the basics, more than simple arms maintenance, since I left the Army and finally decided to get my degree in gunsmithing :-) I Figured hell the economy sucks, I'm already doing something I hate every day to pay the bills, why not do what I want to do while I have the chance. I plan on doing the chamber casting just to be 100% sure. But figured I would go to the net and see what the experts ;-) thought

The oddest thing is the serial matches on the barrel and the receiver. it's not pieced together or a lunch box gun unless they made 30" lunch boxes back then, the barrel is 24" I should have mentioned that. I thought it was 25/20 but every bit of research so far indicates that was not made in 1952, in fact several years before it was discontinued. The proof mark looks like Ruger, not colt who did the development or part of it on the 99. . . . I am going to send the $30 to Savage and get the factory report but thats 6-9 weeks away from being in my mail box.

I'm sure you know not to send the $30 to Savage for the letter, but rather Mr. John T. Callahan. Interesting that the barrel is serial numbered to the rifle....

Do you have any cartridges such as .250 to try? If you were next door I could sure help you out.

Oh yeah I saw the address and thought it was going to Savage, but thank you for the heads up. Unfortunately i'm off to the salt mines right now. I'll check for updates when I get home at 0530 tomorrow morning and again before i go to work. No cartridges that are close. I am taking it into my buddies shop Tuesday to have him take a look. He is curious as all get out too but was out of town this week. Ill post info I get here as well. I am intrigued by this rifle and no worries have no intention of selling it. From what I have read about the 99 they are amazing shooters.

It would seem if you could figure out the caliber thing and insure headspace, etc. is correct, about all you would need would be a forearm and you'd could be out hunting

Well, if you're headed off to gunsmith school it seems like a great time to do your first chamber cast. I'd guess that it's a custom fit barrel, probably put in around December of 1967. Might very well be a 25-20, or started out as a 25-20 and got rechambered to 250-3000 (or something else, which is why a chamber cast is mandatory).

I'm sure you won't get any information from Savage on the barrel.


1952 is going to make it a 99EG or 99R. I'd start looking for a 99EG forearm to put on it.

By the way, is there a forearm hanger on the underside of the barrel? Again, if you were next door we could try a variety of forearms to see what would fit the barrel contour, match up with the forend hanger and so on.

I'm getting a forearm from Cabellas it should be here on friday. I cant wait! It needs a scope there are no fixed sights on it at all and it does not look like there were any on there ever. Some odd holes drilled and threaded on the side of the receiver as well as for the scope on top.

Yes there is a hangar there.

To Calhoun the oddest thing about that theory is the serial number on the barrel matches the receiver. I know it could have been stamped the same to match but i'm just not sure thats the case. It has very little wear on the inside of both. If I had to estimate based on other weapons I've fired with similar wear I'd say less that 300 rounds. It's very new on the inside. I'm getting the generic forearm and plan on carving my own custom to match the original in Walnut but that's going to take time and patience. . . since I want it operable and don't plan on hunting with an oven-mit ;-) I'll use the generic for now I have a feeling this would have been a nice one to take to class. I may even wait to carve the new one till that part of school, 2nd semester I think.

That mark on the bottom of the barrel sure looks like a Ruger stamp. But I don't believe Ruger ever made any rifles in 25-20. The numbers: 25-20----- smacks of Ruger as they used a numeric prefix followed by a dash, then a number. The 25- doesn't seem to match up with one of the Ruger serial series though.

Also, there is blue in the indentations of the receiver stampings. The blue was removed mechanically and/or chemically at some point. Likely in prep for a re-blue.

Is there any question about this just being a pieced together gun drilled for the Williams side mount?

No.

Shoot a photo of the forearm attachment point, the muzzle end of the barrel, and a close side shot of the holes in the receiver. Thanks!

I have seen several Ruger 77V barrels in 25-06 recycled on Savage 99 actions as 250-3000s. It certainly appears to be a parts gun that was rebarreled with a recycled Ruger barrel. For safety sake, you really should have the headspace checked before you shoot it. Remember that Savage 99s are among the worst actions when it comes to handling escaping gas from a blown primer or separated case.

JEff

The barrel's origins are a mystery, but no more than a Winchester barrel on a 99. Somebody put it on, maybe a custom shop associated with a manufacturer, maybe a talented gunsmith later. Glad somebody's bringing it back to life, but I wouldn't waste time or $$ getting a letter or stressing about it. Letters from the 1950's have very little information besides dates.

I had a 1960's 99C with the receiver and wood in GREAT shape (not that 1960's stocks were great, but it had almost no wear). But it had an aftermarket 243 barrel on it with no markings except "243 WIN". Why did somebody switch barrels on a 99C that didn't have enough use to wear out the first barrel, rather than just buy another 99C in 243? Heck if I know.. Didn't worry about it, it was what it was.