Hello,

First Post. I am looking to replace my father's 99 with something as close to what he had as possible. Late 60's or early 70's 99c in .308...
I have found a c in .308 but savage99.com does not recognize the serial number as valid. I have heard that later models are not built as well so I wanted to check the year of manufacture of this one before purchasing.
Serial # is B9577XX. I can PM the full # if someone is willing to date this for me...
I thought I read that anything over 1,000,000 was lower quality. This seems to be close enough to that magic # to ask if it may be suspect. There is no letter on the front of the trigger guard.
[img:left]http://www.snapagogo.com/photo.php?id=59710[/img]
I plan on hunting it so not overly concerned about collectability and value. The current owner is a dealer and has not fired it to comment on how it shoots or handles.


Thanks

June, 1975. Some don't like the tang safety. Fit and finish is lesser than with the earlier one but it will kill deer same as the others.

Looks like a winner. Take off Uncle mikes White Washers. Put on a leupold and your good to go.

The early 99C's from 1965 to about 1969 had a lightweight barrel. The serial numbers with letter prefixes started in Dec '68 and were placed on the left side of the receiver. These are not to be confused with the pre-1960 six digit serial numbers that were on the bottom of the receiver in front of the lever boss.

Thanks for the advice. Sincerely appreciated. I have another one to go see for a second look at a local dealer for comparison. Older with the rotary mag and slim forestock. Lots of wear on the wood and steel. Has the lever safety, not tang... but in a .308. It sure handled nice... sight picture just naturally lined up in a swift single motion. I'll grab the serial of it and research that one too.

I know the mag is one of the highly desirable features of these guns, but the convenience of the clip for a truck gun has merit.

I wonder if the older one with a bit of wood restoration would be the best option...

Sounds like the older one is an EG. Fairly rare to be found in .308 and usually the price reflects that.

I have one post mil 99 now, and have had several others in the past. All have been tack drivers! If the looks don't dissuade you, the quality is there.

Many don't like the pressed checkering and inferior wood. I personally don't care for removable mags, but being left handed and used to double shotguns, find the tang safety a welcome change.

I just looked at this older one. It is a 99 E in .308. The serial number is 11454XX.the wood is rough but could easily be refinished.rotary mag is brass not aluminum.very small crack above lever. short barrel carbine seems quite light.
does 1953 seem right to you?
price is just $350.

Don't look to me for advice....I'd bring em both home!

yep! what Gregintenn says.

That's the post 1 million E-conomy model. Made in the '60s. Price sounds right for the condition.

Well I bought the local one... I'll take a few pictures when I get a moment. I plan to restore the wood as best I can and leave the natural patina on the steel. Will fire it late next week and bring it along on the deer hunt.
Can anyone narrow down the year a bit? Certainly looks to be 60's vintage... 11454XX

Barrel: 18 inch. bright bore, sharp rifling, no pitting - looks super clean.

Sights: front....gold bead on raised ramp rear... rear is a leaf with no more than a tiny dimple to see the front bead through.

TAPPED for scope mounts

Forearm: Straight tapered with V shaped checkering and rounded tip

ButtStock: checkered pistol grip

ButtPlate: black plastic (maybe rubber?)

SAVAGE MODEL 99E (on frame ring top)

Barrel Address: (need to check once I disassemble) - going to use it first...

SERIAL NUMBER: 11454XX (located on underside of receiver in front of the lever boss) (no lever boss code)

FEATURES: Drilled for scope mounts, lever safety. No jeweled bolt or gold plated trigger.

I will wait a bit on the other one... if another one doesn't show up I may get that as well... if it doesn't sell quick.

Is there a factory load available with a 150 grain Barnes TSX? Any recommended choices for deer out of an 18 inch barrel? I have used Nosler partions in my 7mm but have only seen 180 grain for the .308 which I suspect might be a bit heavy for a Muley.

Thx!

Good for you. Try the Barnes 130 ttsx.

1967

should be a 20" barrel, measure from the rear of the receiver ring.

You are correct. Measured at 20"
Pictures... one of the 'least desireable' 99 ' s according to a recent thread.

[img:left]http://smu.gs/1jIf43B[/img]
[img:left]http://smu.gs/1VxFDt7[/img]
[img:left]http://smu.gs/1KUTsKe[/img]
[img:left]http://smu.gs/1jIfneN[/img]
[img:left]http://smu.gs/1KUTxgS[/img]
[img:left]http://smu.gs/1Gr8KSH[/img]

Just the thing to lurk through the dense brush with.

That pattern of pressed checkering is referred to as the Double-Diamond. It was the first pressed checkering pattern used. This E does not have a counter window but other wise the action and brl are the same as the pre-mill's. It will kill deer with the best of them.

It looks about like the one I mentioned in the "least desirable post" above. Can't go wrong at that price if the bore is good.

Is there a factory load with that bullet? Thx.

Couldn't say for sure, seems like I heard about one. I handload so I don't pay much attention.

Well, it shoots straight with the Hornady 150's. Didn't have a deer walk in front of it though. I was very surprised with the recoil. It kicks more than my 7mmMag. Quite dramatic that the difference in weight would have that much effect on felt recoil. Don't think my 10 yr old will be shooting this one for a couple more years.

Maybe these can help. Remington sells reduced recoil ammo as well.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/18...n-308-winchester-125-grain-sst-box-of-20

Since this is a beater, I plan to strip it down to the bare wood and refinish with sanding and boiled linseed oil over the winter. I have seen mention of various stains in my searches here as well. Should I stain it before linseed or just go with the blo?

If I decide to refinish the steel, what method would be recommended? Cold Blue wipe? rust blue? parkerize? maybe a ceracote?

Just looking to clean it up and make it look as good as a non-collector can...

Oh, what exactly is a 'grey rat' I am guessing this gun would qualify for that designation?

Don't sand, instead steam dents out. There's nothing worse than wood taken down below the level of the metal. I'd also use something better than boiled linseed oil. Boiled linseed oil provides no moisture protection.

I own a grey rat - a mid 50's G (I think) that has oddly placed sling swivels, a somewhat poorly installed recoil pad and the rear sight has been removed in order to accommodate the Tasco scope that was on it when I acquired the rifle.

While your rifle is grey, I would not consider it a rat. If you cerakote the metal it might qualify as a rat.

If it's unmolested (in terms of having been previously refinished, d/t'ed, recoil pad, etc.) a strong argument can be made for leaving it alone as its "rattiness" was gained honorably.

That said, rust bluing would be my vote for the metal- reasonably period correct, durable, and you can do it yourself with a little coaching/research, and it looks good. As for the wood, the previous advice regarding steaming before doing anything else and avoiding BLO is to your benefit. (Straight linseed oil is a piss-poor moisture barrier, although it was commonly used by all the arms makers and arsenals for stock finishes. Why? Because it was cheap and quick not because it was the very best finish.)

I believe we are talking about a post mil E with birch stocks if it's the one in the pics above. Appears to have a previous refinish attempt on it from the blotchy appearance.

Might be a good one to turn into camo?

If it was mine I would go over the metal with some Vans cold blue and let it go at that. Vans is good stuff but not well known for some reason. Warm the metal to about 110 degrees, wipe on and 0000 steel wool after 24 hours.

Never heard of Vans. There is a discussion on cold blues on the Gunsmithing forum with much said about Oxpho Blue. Which is my "go to" cold blue. Without robbing this thread, how does Vans compare?

PS - your stocks look good. Steam the dents and only do a very light sanding to knock down any roughness after "feathering." When you have the stocks off clean the metal and then go over it with several coats of Oxpho Blue. Be sure to steel wool with 0000 between coats and keep the metal heated. When done drench everything in Remoil and place it in a warm area for several hours. I usually like doing this on a hot day in the summer around here as the temps will get well above the century mark and the metal will stay way too warm to handle. I think the heat helps draw in the blue and preserves your efforts. Much luck!

http://www.vansgunblue.com/

What I really like about Vans is that it doesn't stink and it doesn't turn to rust if you don't oil it right away. That gives you time to apply several coats to get a good blend before putting the oil on.

Looks like some good stuff. TAG.

I would love to get my hands on that wood, easy to make it look great again.
Refinishing the wood is a great winter project.
I've done many and used spar varnish, polyurethane over minwax stain and Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil.
I've found the Tru-Oil the easiest to use and gives a great wood finish that's pretty weather proof. Just follow the directions.
Here's a couple of pictures of an old GI stock that I recently redid.




Part of owning a beater is the ability to make it look good again.

Thx All. I pulled the wood off yesterday and this is what I found...
old wood

Birch, how awful...

I wonder if stripping, steaming, light sanding staining and then finishing is even worthwhile... I

Maybe I should look into getting some decent walnut from somewhere. Boyd's, Macon, Gunstocks inc., others?- any comments on who has the nicest wood and easiest fit?

Vans seems the easiest bluing option with nice results.

You can make it look a lot better but it takes a lot of work and the will to try different ways to go about it. It will never look like walnut.

update:

Seems staining uneven, mildew damaged birch is a fools errand. I was not happy with the result so I am in the process of ordering new walnut from Boyd's. (and wood for a couple old shotguns)

I have now cut the old birch stock down to my son's LOP of 12" and block sanded to 320 grit for a second time.

The idea being two sets of furniture - something nice for me and something for the kids to use. My 10 year old loves camo, so I am considering a diy paint job over the ugly birch and a grind to fit Limbsaver. With Managed recoil loads it should be a pretty tame set up for an 85lb yoot.

I cannot source VANS or Oxpho locally, and no-one seems to stock any rust bluing products. The local shops only have a G96 product - is it any good or should I go through the effort of ordering one of the above products over the interweb? (unsure if any US supplier will ship these chemicals up to Canada...

merci

Hmmmmmmmmmm...

I know, right...

If it turns out ok I'll post pic's. Or just show off the oiled walnut from Boyd...