Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors savage 99 .243 questions?

I'm not very knowledgable on older Savges including 99's. I've been helping my dad look for a quality lever or auto .243 and came across an older Savage 99 #999xxx in a .243 with a 24" ? medium barrel, checkered pistol grip stock with a metal buttplate, and a rounded checkered forend. It does have sling studs, and is drilled and tapped for a scope. It is in ~90-95% condition and none of the screws are buggered up. The price is $425. Based on a crash course on this site and Savageshooters on 99's, this sounds like a 99R model as best I can tell. Does it sound like a reasonable deal? We've considered Winchester 88's, Sako Finnwolfs, Browning belgian BLR's and BAR's. How does the Savage stack up wrt accuracy, performance with these others beyond its classic status. Thanks for all of your knowledge and insight.

Yes that is a good deal. Should you pass on the gun please send a PM with the info.
Thanks

The pre million serial #'ed Savage 99's were the best lever action rifle ever made...
You can quote me.

The Rs have been consistently the most accurate 99s I have owned.

If you can get that for $425 grab it quick! That's a genu-wine bargain!

I'll second what lightfoot said.!! DeBull

could be an F . Does the barrel have a boss of extra material where the rear sight dovetail drifts into? Does the forearm checkering go all the way under the wood ?If it is in that condition , pre - million serial # ...... buy it , buy it , buy it !! I have one ( F in .243 ) and it is my favorite shooter .

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads...&PHPSESSID=


I got it for $325 ...... I'm told a steal!!!

That serial number is really high, doe's it have a cartridge counter on it?

Most of the high ones are put together E's from old stock parts so they could use them up before the tang safety models came into play.

I think maybe it's 969xxx?
Do we know of any 999xxx's?

Crud... someone else runs into a pre-mil 243 for about $400. Sigh..

Whether it's an R or an F, if it's in anything other than rat condition grab it and run. Good deal. Very good deal probably.

One of the last 1000 pre mil guns. That in itself is pretty neat. Any more 9's in that serial number?

Weagle

keep your eye open Calhoun and leave $$ in the sock draw just for the day .... it will happen if you look hard . Seeing you are a nice guy , I will keep an eye open for ya , being from the East , there's alot of 99's around . For as long as I can remember , you have wanted one ....

Appreciate it gd.. Not picky and in no hurry. Would actually enjoy a nice project gun in a 243.. Would appreciate any pointers. Could have grabbed a couple auctions for low-mid $400's, but weren't that impressed with them and I'm patient. Getting a 243 is actually why I picked up that 99E 308 that I refinished. Soon as I find a 243 shooter the 308 may go on the block to finance it.. sob.. selling a 99 just seems so wrong, somehow?

Actually almost bought a 243 barrel off of ebay that 260Remguy was nice enuf to point out to me until the seller responded to my email telling me the barrel had been d&t'd. The barrel? Eh? No...

Anyway, good pick up Lund and we'd love to see pics when you get a chance! Series 9xx,xxx rifles are few and far between, I believe.

Like 2 boys kissing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

No problem .... It could be a year , it could be a week .... stay tuned , I'll let you know .

Or one doing a happy nekked dance at night in the soft glow of his computer..

ha , ha , ha , ha <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

My 1953 "EG" in .300 Savage consistently shoots �-inch 3-shot groups off the bench rest with my handloads that average 2680 fps with a 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet.

Not too bad for an early '50's rifle. Few bolt-action rifles built in that era will do as well.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

Savage 99 .243 update : Based on your replies, I decided this was worth pursuing and I drove 80 miles back to the pawnshop to look at it again. I was afraid someone else might grab it this weekend knowing my luck! Anyway, it was still there and I bought it .... owner would not budge on the $425 price however (he had 2 newer versions in .243 and .300 for $369 and $320 respectively). It is the R model I believe ... no barrel bulge at the rear sight or checkering completely around the forend like the F. The serial # is 947XXX ( I don't know how I thought I saw 999XXX before, SORRY! ). The lever still shows some case colors, and the magazine rotor is brass. The gun does have the cartridge counter. The wood is an honest 95% I think with complete finish, light handling marks, no cracks, and almost perfect checkering. As mentioned earlier, none of the screws are marred at all which is amazing in a gun that was used! The blueing is more like 90%, maybe slightly less, with some wear at the muzzle, 4 marks (rubs) on the top of the barrel (? rack), and some real fine surface rust specks on the receiver. The bolt has a faintly jeweled suface. Anyway, it has a new home, and I am interested in learning more about the history of the rifle as well as shooting it. I will try to post a pic or two when my daughter returns home this weekend ... she is the digital nut, not me. How does the .243 compare with other calibers wrt rarity? What about the R vs F vs T etc. variations wrt frequency? Interestingly, my first encounter with a .243 Savage 99 was with my neighbor 25 or 30 years ago who had what I also believe was an older model but in more of a carbine version with the fine forearm. I gave him some handloads of mine with 100gr Noslers and they jammed his gun while shooting at a spike elk ... as I remember he wasn't very happy! Anyway, when he died in 1984, his wife asked me to choose one of his guns for myself, and I found myself choosing between a nice round knob sweet 16 Browning and the Savage 99 (tough choice!). Not knowing much about levers and liking my handloads, I chose the shotgun and still cherish to this day! Enough wind for now! Any other thoughts on this gun are welcomed! Thanks!

Two more 243's for < $400? What condition were they in? Hmm.. hmmm.. Crud!

243's with serial numbers less than 1,000,000 aren't too common, so you've got yourself a good one! They are a lot less common than the 300 Savage or 308 rifles.

Great find, looking forward to pics!

Calhoun,
There was only one other .243 for $369.00, the other was a.300 Savage for $329.00. I didn't look at them very long but do remember that they seemed to have very nice metal and smooth actions. They both had the lever safetys. I believe the forends were trimmer than the 99R I bought. No cartridge counters as I rememberand the checkering was stamped. The finish may have been a little rough but the wood wasn't beat up. The .243 had sling swivels and I remember did not have the Chicopee Falls address on the barrel. One of them, can't remember which, had a C at the start of the serial #. It sounds as if these are not as desireable from a collectable standpoint, but if you are interested let me know!