Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 99F buttstock: factory lightened? or is mine damaged?

I have 2 model 99 Savages. One is a 99EG in .300Savage and the other is a model 99F in .308Winchester.

I was taking the 99F apart upon getting it from the LGS this week for its' first real cleaning. When doing so I noticed something different between it and the 99EG: the buttstock.

Both have pistol-grip buttstocks. However, the 99EG has a single hole bored the length of the stock for the mounting bolt.

The 99F has that hole bored, but two others above it, for a total of three similar diameter holes bored to about the same depth.

IS THIS NORMAL?

Is this one of the ways that the 99F was made lighter?

Is this possibly why I read of a few people complaining that their .308 kicks more than their EG .300?

Just wondering if this was a major bubba job, or factory.

Lastly, did the factory EVER sell 99F savages with Pachmayr F345 recoil pads? This is a 1957 99F with a Pachmayr pad on it. I like it, but wondered how original it is.

Thanks all!

Stock holes normal, you are correct, to lighten. You are also correct that some say the recoil is harsh on a 308 F. The recoil pad is not original, to my knowledge. Perhaps someone is privy to the factory doing something I am not aware of, I am by no means an expert. The 99F is a fine rifle and I carry a 358 99F myself. Also enjoy a 250F a great deal, and of course recoil is no problem. Surprisingly, the 358 is fine too, but it was cut when I got it so it got a nice 1" soft pad. You might try one of the thicker soft pads to help with yours if recoil is heavy, if it's already cut and messed with.
If it's uncut, the buttstock has a double curve to it, one top and one bottom. If cut, most likely it will be straight.
Have you had opportunity to shoot it much?

Thanks for the quick response.

Nope: no range time with it.

I have shot my .300Savage and found it so nice I jumped on this .308 when I found it at the right price.

I have a Saiga in .308 and a Garand M1 in .308, so am familiar with the cartridge. I'm not worried about kick. Just wondering what I got into.

The rifle butt is relatively flat, so I don't know if it was cut or not. Pachmayr pad fist without gaps.

I am looking forward to trying it out in a week or so. In life it is family, work and then fun for me.

My only issue with the recoil pad is that it is a longer pull for me than the .300Savage 99EG. Same pre-million action, same scope and bases-different reach. I'm thinking of a pad for both rifles to make the fit the same for both.

Thanks for the response!

No problem, enjoy shooting it. You can get different thickness pads if you need to alter the LOP. Hate to see anybody cut an origianl uncut rifle, even the common EG. They're not makin em anymore!

I have to pull the 99EG out next weekend to evaluate. The .300Savage did not kick enough to be an issue when I was shooting it. Much more pleasant than my MosinNagant M44 Carbine! The 99F had the Pachmayr installed, so I didn't ruin that one [it came that way].

Since my 99EG didn't hurt me when shooting it, I doubt I'll put a Pachmayr on it unless I can without cutting it.

It has the 'shotgun' stock, not the 'perch' stock. I thought that was basically flat to begin with.

Again, I won't alter the 99EG stock's wood. If I can add a Pachmayr without altering the wood, I probably will. If I have to cut the buttstock to make it work, I'll leave the 99EG as is.

Thanks again!

Welcome to the campfire, Historygeek!

The 99F in 308 can be a bit harsh to shoot off the bench for sighting in or practice, but you won't ever notice it shooting in the field. The pad is definitely after market, if it's too long of a LOP I'd look for a replacement pad that's thinner or a buttplate for it rather than modifying the EG. You won't find a pad to fit the slight curve on the buttstock of the EG, at least I've never seen an uncut buttstock with a well-fitted pad. You could add a slip-on pad to the EG to make them similiar.

Here's a thin buttplate I put on a 99 to replace the seriously ugly red recoil pad that someone put on it. Had a gunsmith grind it to find, and I like the outcome.






And Roy is right about the buttstock, this is the standard 99F with extra wood cut out.

English style pads work and, in black or red, look good on a 99 IMO. Wouldn't screw with an uncut gun tho yours is.

Yeah Rory I like that buttplate, big improvement. I've got 1or 2 that could benefit from that treatment. Nice add on. Simple, clean, doesn't look gaudy and out of place.