Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 4 x Savage 99 range report

It was Savage 99 day yesterday.
1981 99C Series A in .308
1940 99EG in .300
1913 22 HP that has a new life as a 250-3000
1913 22HP

The first two I've shot before, and both were again very accurate. I was testing FPS on some new loads and found the sweet spot for both the 308 and the 300 based on 10 Round Load Development Ladder Test[/b] which I am a firm believer in these days!

The [b]1940 EG in Savage 300 continues to amaze me with buckhorn site. At 50 yards, the first 2 shots were hole through hole and the 3rd about 1/2" MOA above them after the first fouling shot.

The 99C in .308 with the cheap Tasco scope was grouping deadly. So time to move on to the rifles I haven't reloaded for.

The 1913 22HP that is now a .250-300, professional restored at some point in its life, didn't fare so well for accuracy but the newer scope I put on it but I didn't have time to fiddle with the scope, I was there to chrono the Remington box ammo .250 with 100 gr projectiles so I could get some velocity readings and come close or below Remington velocities.
Chrono on the Remington .250 with 100 gr projectiles had a great std dev was as follows for an average:
AVG StdDev Min Max
2657 9.54 2647 2666

Put that one away for another day to figure out the accuracy with the scope.

Last up was the 1913 22 Hi Power using Lelliar & Bellot box ammo with 70 gr projectiles.
First shot I noticed I wasn't even on paper. The Marbles Tang peep is adjusted to it's lower point and still shooting too high. Do they make a shorter shaft for the Marbles to get that peep down lower? It was adjusted down to max.
So I flipped that down and flipped up the standard buck rear sight. Much better, first shot at 50 yards was 2" right of center. Next shot was 6" right of center. WHAT THE HECK? I couldn't get any good accuracy with the 6 shots I fired but when I start reloading this round I hope to draw that group in.

All in all it was a fun day and I've got lots of box ammo data and 2 of my reloads ironed out for the 300 and 308 savages.

The star of the day was a non savage 1963 Ruger 44 Magnum Carbine. After adjust the Bushnell 1-4x Illuminated reticle scope using Heurters Box ammo in 240gr, I proceeded to use my loads with a 210 gr bullet. At 50 yards it was holes through holes. Can't wait to adjust this one out to 100 yards.
The Heurters box ammo had a high Standard deviation compared to my loads and averaged as such:
AVG StdDev Min Max
1502.22 52.81 1425 1595


My loads in 210 gr were as follows.
AVG StdDev Min Max
1451.6 26.64 1413 1485

That's all! Fun day!

Any day at the Range is a Good one! That S&B ammo seems to be loaded Hot, try some milder reloads and Ill bet it shoots better, also I think you said the Marbles was a newly made one, I think you would like one of the old Lymans or Marbles, may have to change the front sight also! I have a Stith & Lyman Alaskan on mine and Iv used it for Squirrel Hunting!

Re: your .308, I understand the collectors' disdain for the clip-fed 99s, but SHOOTERS should really look at them when considering a new 99. I've had two and both were extremely accurate by any hunter standard. Kept the .243 because of its versatility, but the .308 was just as accurate. A purist could re-stock them to his heart's desire and get rid of all the Californications. Personally I don't mind 'em. (But then, I now live in the LA/LB/SD/TJ slurb....).

The Savage 22HP. Another of Savages attempts at a takedown shotgun.

LOL! As in spraying all over?

Saddlering, those original Lyman and Marbles get $80 or more on Ebay. I'm hoping to come by one at a cheaper price at local gun shows.

Where I live they go $100.00 - $200.00 and if you want a Lyman 291/2 or 30 $250-$300.00 But they are worth if you want a good peep sight! Like scopes a $89.00 Tasco will work But?

Try 75g V-max in your 250, and give away your 243's

I swapped that tasco out for a Leopold 2-7x adjustable today for the .250 Savage. Free scope came with other stuff I picked up.

Now, the correct height Lyman for the 1899 22 HP 1913 is No.1A, $200-300 from my research.

This 1899 Savage 22HP has a .300 high front sight. Does that sound like the original front sight?
Thanks in advance Savage brain trust!

Will do! They're not too long? I've heard anything over .95 in length become unstable in the .250?

On the 22 HP ammo what is the pill diameter?I think the S&B is a tad small?

The front sight should be German silver and from the muzzle end you should see grooves on the insert and sight base. If it is a replacement or original you might be able to adjust it up by loosing the screw. ..good luck. Replacements are smooth on the side and will slide up till it hits the bottom of the over sized screw hole. If Savage it will slide out the front or back.

On the new tang sight, you might grind a LITTLE off the bottom of the post and see if it moved down more. Measure before and after and work your way down. You can calculate how much you need to move if you know where it was hitting and at what distance.

Rick99, grateful for that info. Yes, front sight has the grooves on the insert and site base.

I attempted to removed the post but it hit "top" and wouldn't come out. Also noticed that these have ball bearings (Set screw) within. I stopped there before I mucked something else up!
Any help/info appreciated.Thank you.

Rick, it looks like a current model Marbles sight on this. I’m not familiar with these.
OP, take saddlerings advice and fine an old Lyman. You can find a Lyman 1A for under $150 if you are patient.

Roger Wilco, docost99.

You sure you don't mean .75"? .95" would make for a looong .25 bullet. A couple sample Sierra 100gr. spitzers I have on hand mic out at an RCH longer than that and I know for a fact that it's a waste of time trying to make them work in an old .250.

As for the diameter of S&B bullets, you should find them to be correct with .227-.228. I never saw any different, and I occasionally bought them to pull the bullets for use in my handloads, dumping the heavy powder charge in the process and recycling the unfired brass. God I dislike hot factory S&B .22HP ammo.

Shotgun patterns with S&B ammo? As said above, ditch that stuff and work up some sane handloads. I've found 23 grains 3031 or 24 grains H-4895 to be well nigh a universal load with any 70 grain .227-.228 bullet of .750 length or shorter. I bump up those charges by1-2 grains for a little extra oomph for hunting cartridges with the loss of a little accuracy and case life.

Just yesterday I had to file the bottom of a Lyman 30 1/2 staff (same staff as in a #2) to correct the zero of my custom 1899H. Previously I had it sighted to hit the center of a 6" bullseye with a 6 o'clock hold, which is ok for target shooting/load testing but not when I want to hit precisely at the top of the sight blade when hunting. The tang sight staff was bottomed out (and no 1/16" stop pin sticking down either), so out came the file. (Yes, I carry a fairly comprehensive tool kit in my range box.)

After all that work (well, all that fun) I swapped out the .22HP barrel for the .303 barrel I have fitted to the set. Sure as shooting, it printed a satisfying 1 1/2" group at the 100 yards (28gr. 3031/190 fn cast bullet)-- but 7" high. Grrr. Now I'm faced with taking even more off the bottom of that staff to zero the .303 barrel which will put the HP barrel shooting waaaay low, or finagling the front sight which would be the sane approach. I ultimately want to show up at camp with the choice of hunting with either barrel as the mood strikes, and watch the astonished looks on the rubes faces when I pull off that trick! (And having to re-sight in after doing so would detract from the "magic"!)

Sportsdad, there is an original Lyman, you can look at on e-Bay right now for $130.00. And if I remember correctly it's a 'Buy -It- Now.'

THanks for sharing, Greg. I'm learning a lot of from all of you!
Yes, hand loading is the way to go on any rifle IMHO.

Yes, I meant .75, not .95.

[quote=Sportsdad60
THanks for sharing, Greg Gary.


[/quote]

Fixed it for ya!

Don't keep us in suspense - tell us what your loads were.

No, it was .95". A 100gr Nosler Partition comes in at just over 1" and won't stabilize worth snot. A 100gr Partition with the lead tip cut off is .91" and 98gr and stabilizes pretty well. I personally would aim for .9" or lower to get good stabilization, but bullets that are up to .95" might be worth trying. Individual rifles differ, I'd expect some to be okay and others to shoot them horribly.