Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors First post. Trying to ID my first savage.

Howdy all, first post on the forum. Been reading a good bit and learning a lot. Just not quite finding the info I'm looking for. I found the forum last week when I started trying to identify a rifle I put on layaway. Near as I can tell from a chart on another site that lists distinguishing features it is a 99f made in 1923. Problem is, in all my looking on the Web for pictures I can't find one exactly like mine. I read that the 1899's ended in 1920 but parts marked as such were still used for a few years just to use them up and also that sometimes guns were built but didn't leave the warehouse for a couple years. Not sure how true that is but I've run into similar cases in Marlin rifles. For the sake of simplifying things, I'll try to list the pertinent features here so those who know can figure it out easier.

Gun is marked model 1899.
caliber is 300 savage.
Serial# is 245xxx
Grip is straight.
Barrel is 24" (I think, didn't put a tape on it) certainly more than 20".
It is a takedown model.
I suspect it is the continuous thread type but did not have it apart.
It has a key slot in the bottom of the barrel and receiver that a key in the fore end locks into for alignment.
It has the brass rotary magazine with counter.
But plate is steel Shotgun type with savage logo.
Front sight ramp is integral, long type.
Rear sight is Lyman no. 6. One leaf is broken off though.
Has Lyman no.1A tang sight. Fully functional and complete.
Fore end is Schnabel style, fairly slim.
Bore looks nearly perfect.
Metal shows some age but bluing is actually pretty good. There is a scratch around the barrel I suspect is from someone using pliers to unscrew the barrel. Similar to a wear ring on a revolver cylinder but worse.
Toe of stock has a small piece of wood broken out.
Stocks are not checkered.
Finish on wood is weak in places.

That is all I can think of at the moment. I put in extra info about condition for the inevitable "what's it worth" question.

I've got pictures on my phone but need to upload them to photo bucket before I can post them. I'll get right on that and be back in a bit.

Thanks in advance.

You were right, it's a model 99F. Other option would be a 99D which has a heavier barrel.

The 1899 stamp continued into the 20's for several years, but it doesn't mean anything. The ledgers would call it a model 99F. The Lyman is a nice addition.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum Dave. A good source of information is a book by Doug Murray "The Ninety-Nine. A History of the Savage Model 99 Rifle." This book is usually available on Ebay. Lots of good information and a must for Savage 99 collectors.
I am sure once you post your pictures the "old timers" of this forum will be able to give you the information you are looking for.
The only problem with buying that first Model 99 is the addiction that comes with it. One is never enough. They just seem to continue to call and pretty soon your safe is going to be full of them.

Okay, got some pics uploaded, note trying to learn how to copy and paste on my phone. Let's see if this works.

First pic is the left side view.

Well never mind. Can't seem to move the pics. I'll have to do it from home later.

Welcome! Sounds like an F.

Dave:

Double click on the IMG window, come back to the reply screen and hit "command- V"

Should come up for you.

We love gun porn around here.

This should be posted in a sticky as a perfect example of "how to describe a gun".

That's what I thought, what a great first post!
Better than the "For Sale. Rifle. $450" ads.

Thanks for the replies guys.

One thing that puzzles me is that when I search 99f, so many of the guns look a lot different and certainly a lot newer.

Sounds like Murrays book is the 99 Bible eh? Probably like the Brophy Book on Marlins is the "go to" resource for them.

On the pic's, I know about clicking on the img link to coy and paste a photo. That's how I do it on the home computer. I just can't do that on my phone. I'll probably get the pics up about one or two am tonight after I get home.

So another question. At the marlinowners website we joke about "marlinitus" as the sickness that commonly follows the first purchase of a Marlin rifle. What is it called for savages? The 99 flu? Gotta be something. I can already tell there is a sickness here just like over there

Lastly, since this is my introductory post here, a little about me. I'm certainly not new to guns and have been shooting and hunting for 25 plus years. Grew up in rural Pennsylvania but have not lived there since 1984. Did a tour in the USMC right out of high school then got into aviation maintenance. Bounced all over the country for about 15 to 20 years until I finally decided enough was enough, left the airlines and started doing industrial maintenance. Done that ever since and I'm on the clock right now... Got pretty heavy into traditional archery years ago to the point I could go years without gun hunting. As my boys started to tag along and wanted to hunt I got back into guns again. My boy wasn't big enough at eight to pull a hunting weight bow but he could pull a trigger! I already had one Marlin in 45-70 so I picked up one in 35 Remington for my boy. I fell in love with the caliber watching him dump a dandy buck his second year hunting deer and got one for myself. Soon I needed a gun for my other boy and I got him a 1969 Marlin Texan in 30-30. By then I'd found marlinowners and was a regular. Pretty soon I had a 39a a 32-20, another 39a etc etc. Got into them pretty hard and still am.

Now this past week I stumbled on this 99f and feel like I'm starting all over again. I'm already eyeballing another 99f in 30-30 that is fairly short overall but I don't know if it is a carbine or just a 20" barreled gun.

So, it might be the start of an affliction I can't afford all over again. Growing up in PA there were quite a few 99's in the deer woods so I am familiar with them, just not first hand. That's likely going to change now eh? I still love my Marlins but I'm thinking the savages and the Marlins will go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Two great American classics and levers to boot. What's not to like?

Very nice to have you aboard. Sounds like an interesting road brought you here. The word you're looking for, you know, for the Savage illness, is "broke".

What you have is a prewar 99F.... what you are finding when searching online are postwar 99Fs. Two distinctly different models with the same name.

Finding two pre-war Fs to start your savage collection would be the right way to do it and might get some here very jealous.

and yes, Murray's book is the 99 "bible" but there is a lot of knowledge here that that will refine and add to the ground work that Murray laid.

Pre-war 99F:





Post-war 99F:

Calhoun-good pics and both very nice specimens for vastly different reasons...

Calhoun, that first one looks just like it but I think your tang sight is different. Is that the marbles sight?

As for the second savage I found, I don't know if I can swing that one. I've heard that the 30-30 is pretty rare. Is that true? They want more money for that one. They are asking $599 and it doesn't have the Lyman sights. It hasa Buckhorn rear that is almost like a ghost ring peep. Kinda cool but I suspect it is not factory. I think it's old though. The one I'm getting was $499 but they came down to $450. Not sure how good that is buti can live with it.

It's a Lyman sight, both it and the sling stud were added after market. Your sights might be special order, or more likely added by the owner after purchase.

If in good condition, $450 is a very good price and $599 is still good. Condition and alterations are everything.

Okay, I blew up the pic more and I see the little lock lever near the base now. That's the same peep as mine.

It's the 30-30 I DIDN'T buy that had the funky Buckhorn sight.

The fold down Lyman rear sight on yours isn't standard, nor is the peep. Standard rear sight on yours would have been a sporting rear sight, and no peep.

A full buckhorn also isn't right on the other one, as you guessed. Never liked those myself but some folks do.

Okay, lets see if I can get some pic's up now that I'm home.

Again, left side.


Forward half.


Closer shot of tang sight.


Rear sight. Note also the plier spin marks on the barrel. This is really the only significant blemish to the metal. Not sure if I should leave it or try to touch it up. I'll have to think about it a while.


And while on the subject of damage... the chip broken out of the toe. Again, I can fix that. Just a matter of getting lucky finding a good color match on the wood.


Got a few more but photobucket just locked up on me.

Receiver 1899 stamp.


Steel butt plate.