Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors ejecting problems in a 99F 308

Hi guys, Im new here. I just got a savage 99F in 308 in a trade. The gun has a great bore and is in overall fine shape. However I noticed when shells are cycled it doesnt eject them very well. Sometimes they dont eject at all. I havent shot the gun yet....I just noticed this problem when working the action. What would be the most likely cause. I looked at Numerich parts and they have the automatic cutoff spring and the cutoff itself.....as well as the ejector and pin. How hard is this gun to dis-assemble?? I want to get some parts as I bought my wifes grandfathers model 99F as well. That gun is still being imported and although it's in good shape would be nice to have the parts. Will parts for the 99F interchange if one is a 308 and one is a 300?? Thanks

To work best, the 99 action needs to be cycled briskly. If you are going slowly as you would tend to do with loaded rounds indoors it doesn't work well. It also doesn't eject loaded rounds near as well as empty cartridges.

The magazine and ejector were changed when the .308 cartridges were introduced in the 900 thousand serial range. The ejector is on the auto cutoff as you referenced. The new design is just not as good as the old.

The 99 is relatively easy to disassemble but be sure you need to before plowing ahead. I have dressed up the ejector tip on some guns without totally replacing the cutoff.

Parts would be interchangeable if the .300 is also a 900 thousand and up production.

I have had similar problems with my 900,000 series F in 308. Lightfoot can you explain what dressing up the ejector tip is.??

Thanks Circuit Rider

Yes, Yes, Please. We incessant tinkerers need to know.

I just use a small file to sharpen up the leading edge of that ejector tip on the auto cutoff. You can also relieve a little metal in front of the tip so it takes a little more bite on the rim. Usually doesn't take much.

My EG (.250-3000) will sometimes refuse to eject the LAST round unless I work the action briskly. It's the only pecadillo of an otherwise excellent rifle.

Thanks guys. How hard is it to remove the auto cut-off??

Not terribly hard. Sometimes it will pop out if you remove the bolt stop and push the bolt all the way back. Otherwise you have to remove the bolt for it to clear. Remove the butt stock and it will be pretty obvious.

Be careful removing the stock! Don't put side pressure of any sort on it or you will spawn a tang crack.

G'luck!

have you shot it?

The last day I hunted with my 99F 300 I was working the action slowly so I didn't drop the cartridges in the snow and one round didn't eject. I had a hunch it was because I was being to easy, thanks for the confirmation Lightfoot.

good info to know, should one of my Savages have such a problem.

Yes I have shot it now....first shot I had the only case head separation I have ever seen...think the ammo the fellow gave me was to hot . Got the case out with a brush, handloaded some of my own and it shoots and ejects spent casings fine. It shoots very well too. The fellow I got it from had cut 3-inches off the stock.....so Im looking for a new one.

You will probably have to make that stock work for quite awhile so..be prepared.

I've always tried to restrain the receiver when twisting the screw driver when removing the stock, but still grasp whatever sometimes to maker it happen. I'll watch twisting the stock as quoted from now on....Great Tip!... (sorry if I jumped the post..twice)
Thanks!
RF

This probably won't make any sense, but I have a 99F in 243 that doesn't like to eject loaded shells. What I found is you need to push them back (toward the buttstock) while loading. If you put them in the middle of the carrier when loading, it will chamber them fine but the front edge of the loaded round gets hung up when unloading. Never had the problem with the 300 EG's no matter how you throw them in...so it may just be me!

No it's not just you. I had a .250 Saddle Gun that behaved like that. I blame it on the stretched magazine design changes.

Sounds like it could be a post 243/308 but pre-900,000 gun issue. Why wouldn't the newer stretched magazine designed for the 243/308/358 work with a 243? Or, you say loaded ammo hangs up on ejecting, is it handloads left too long? Just curious, you got a serial number?

Fireball-mine is just barely post-mil. I don't reload so all my issues have come from factory ammo. However, I have found that Federal ammo is much less problematic than Winchester...but it is a limtied sample size.