A "Brush Gun", "D" SN prefix/1980. Rescue of several decades ago; cheap! Sucker for straight grip stocks and those days, .375 Win ammo available! That heavy forend and barrel bobbed at 16"; horrible aesthetics! A light powdering of rust not even showing in pix! Bore is decent. But she's one homely critter.
Not for sale, but seeking ideas. Re-barrel & rechamber if any options?* Maybe just recontour existing forend & find a surplus stock band to fit??? Something 'Creative!', without shootin' the $ moon?
*My understanding whether Savage Or Mannlicher, "spool magazines" not tolerant of rechambering . True?
"Usual Suspect" pix below! Thanks for any ideas! Best! John
I would re-barrel it with something more sane than a 16" barrel, and chamber it for .375 Winchester. Brass is out there as are bullets so who cares if factory ammo isn't available. .38-55 comes to mind too, no reason it wouldn't feed through the .375 rotor as the cartridges are for all intents and purposes identical.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
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Why not add black synthetic stocks, a few picatinny rails, flashlights and lasers and call it a one of a kind/ rare and desirable “tactical sniper” and sell it for $3000 plus on gun broker.
While the barrel is a little short for my tastes a recontoured forend or Mannlicher forend and it would make a handy very thick brush cartridge with that added benefit that all your hunting buddies would know where to find you when you shoot a deer😁.
Junk it and start with something that doesn't need anything,
Now where's the fun in doing that?? Some ( a lot) of people don't like to feel constrained and worship at the altar of conformity. Hell, I'll betcha even old Arthur Savage would've been delighted to see customization of his guns - he was anything but a conformist himself. Heck, the reason we have the 99 today is because of a sense of non-comformity 130 years ago. Ergo, an abhorrence for altering/customizing a 99 is actually an insult to the thought processes which birthed the gun in the first place!
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
As car guys express it, in progressive stages of tune I would do the following:
Stage 1 - leave it alone and shoot it as it is. Stage 2 - redo the stocks, fix the buttplate and shoot it as it is. Stage 3 - do the above and add a good peep sight or low power scope. Stage 4 - do the above but shorten the forearm enough to balance it out with the short 16-in barrel. Stage 5 - do the above but don't shorten the forearm. Instead, replace the barrel with a full length tube, which I believe was 22-in.
I remember reading Ken Waters Pet Loads article on the 375 Winchester. He used a 99 Brush Gun and found fault with the shallow rifling of the factory barrel. I have never owned one so take that comment for what its worth.
Best of luck with the hot rod 99 and keep us posted!
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Thinking about it further, IF that rifle fell into my lap today (hint hint) I probably wouldn't do anything other than relocate the front sight and have the muzzle threaded. The thought of a suppressed .375 is appealing to me, just like my 16" .45-70 Trapper. I love finding rifles like that, it opens up possibilities you wouldn't consider with a pristine example.
Charter Member Ancient order of the 1895 Winchester
"It's an insecure and petite man who demands all others like what he likes and dislike what he dislikes." szihn
As car guys express it, in progressive stages of tune I would do the following:
Stage 1 - leave it alone and shoot it as it is. Stage 2 - redo the stocks, fix the buttplate and shoot it as it is. Stage 3 - do the above and add a good peep sight or low power scope. Stage 4 - do the above but shorten the forearm enough to balance it out with the short 16-in barrel. Stage 5 - do the above but don't shorten the forearm. Instead, replace the barrel with a full length tube, which I believe was 22-in.
I remember reading Ken Waters Pet Loads article on the 375 Winchester. He used a 99 Brush Gun and found fault with the shallow rifling of the factory barrel. I have never owned one so take that comment for what its worth.
Best of luck with the hot rod 99 and keep us posted!
Quite logical!
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
Thinking about it further, IF that rifle fell into my lap today (hint hint) I probably wouldn't do anything other than relocate the front sight and have the muzzle threaded. The thought of a suppressed .375 is appealing to me, just like my 16" .45-70 Trapper. I love finding rifles like that, it opens up possibilities you wouldn't consider with a pristine example.
May actually be the best idea yet. But for the aspect of an ungainly can hanging off the end of what could/should (IMO) be a world-class slim trim ergonomically ideal hunting rifle is kinda anathema to an old-school aesthete!
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
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