I found a Savage M-99 for sale, crescent butt plate, .303 Savage, the barrel and chamber look ok.
Now is it worth $450?
Where can I find a peep sight for a M-99?

The Savage forum here is a good place to start. I have bought tang and receiver sights for 99s from Gunbroker & Ebay as well.

Ask the folks at the Savage forum if its worth the $450. I know that if it was in a gun shop anywhere in Central Florida they'd want a lot more than that for it as long as it still has rifling in the barrel and hasn't been drilled full of holes or chopped up.

Probably, if its in very good condition..most of the less desirable and older 99s, meaning in less than desireable condition, mostly beaters, sell for about that. A good clean 303 would easily be worth $450....

I took your advice and posted on the Savage Forum.
I did go look at the rifle.
It's .303 Savage M99 Take Down. The stock still has some of the original finish on the butt stock and all of it on the forearm is gone.

Most of the blue is gone on on the action and barrel. The bore is bright and so is the chamber. The action is smooth. There is no take up in the trigger but there is some over travel.

The barrel is a carbine length but the muzzle is cut flat.

The leaf sight is a Savage sight but the muzzle sight has been bubbarized and will need to be replaced. In between the 2 sights about 1� from the leaf sight are 2 threaded holes with no screws. I have no idea what these holes are for.

If you buy the gun, I have aset of Redding dies for the .303 Savage that I no longer need. Make me a reasonable offer and they're yours.
Paul B.

Well, if you posted on the Savage forum here you probably got all the answers you need. I'm definitely not any kind of expert on any particular kind of rifle but a flat muzzle that looks like its been cut off is correct for a lot or the early ones.

It sounds like one I'd buy at that price IF my biggest client wasn't 90 days behind in paying its bills.

A Savage 99 in the condition you describe is commonly referred to as a "gray rat." It's value is as a shooter if it does indeed still shoot safely and reasonably accurately. The 303 is a worth-while hunting caliber, but brass historically is hard to come by and loaded ammunition is very expensive. The 303 shoots for all the world like a 30-30. Most folks that desire that level of performance would be better served by a rifle chambered in 30-30, whether Savage 99 or other. I have purchased these 99s in 303 and other calibers for $300-$350. If I wanted this rifle I would try to get it for less than $450.

Good luck.

I offered $300 and he declined.

Just flat declined? No counter offer or anything?

It has been circumsized and drilled and tapped for tube type scope mount, my guess it once had a Lyman Alaskan 2.5X scope on it as many 99 of that day did..With the condition, and cut barrel and d&T I would say it reduced the value from $450 to no more than $300 and that would be stretching it IMO. I think a fair price would be $275 for a ruined shooter..Without the D&T and cut barrel and a clean,bright, shiny bore with good sharp lands it would fetch $400 to $450 IMO..

I was watching one at a household auction two weeks ago and thought if it went for $400 or so, I would be interested since I have some brass sitting around. It went for $600. Not an expert on the 99's but it appeared to be clean and original to my eye.

Just a note somewhat but not too far off the original point: .303 Savage brass is made by Bertram, and Huntington usually has it in stock. Norma also made some not too long ago, but I'm not sure if they kept on making it.

I had that rifle in hand today. It's pretty tight but the barrel has been cut and the riflings are pretty rough...

I'm like you $300 about it..Have a goodun

Mule Deer, Norma brass is still out there for the moment, and is the easiest to find. Runs about $1.25 per piece, though. A few years go it was impossible to find any new brass. Anybody interested might want to search and buy some now if they're interested.

Bertram and Jamison brass isn't as good as the Norma, though they are cheaper. Jamison kind of sucks by all accounts, actually.. probably best to avoid that.