Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 25-35 Take Down Barrels

Better theory is if I just look on the next page!

The ad doesn't mention the Model 99E which was offered at that time. Probably not enough space on the page for the E and the 24" barrel. I had never seen an ad that said it included a cleaning rod. Anyone know what it looked like? My very early cased set came with a cleaning rod and some other things that I thought someone had added later. David

Not really any proper space for it in the case. Wonder if that was something that store included with every sale? Need to see a Savage catalog for same time to be sure, or other ads from other retailers.

Good question. I've seen a cased set for sale online that mentioned cleaning kit as well. Showed a brownish pouch with a flap, snap and a 3 piece rod. No idea of origin.
Hopefully someone with some hands on with cased sets chimes in. Factory added? Retailer added? Theory?

Drifted some there with the .410 & cleaning kit.

Back to 25-35 combos. Found a few more ads. Looks like quite a push back in the day promoting both a large game rifle and small game rifle combo. I guess not unlike the .410 barrel scenario.
And some worry about using a .358 or .375.

Rick, those are neat ads. David

I wonder what year that ad was from?

The prices seem very high to have been from the Great Depression.

A 99H carbine in 30-30 is priced at $62.20, which is probably twice or three times as much as Winchester was charging for a comparable 94.

The 99C and 99D were last cataloged before 1929. The 1920 was $90 that is unbelievably high priced.

Well, we know that the 1920 morphed into the 20/26 in July 1926 and was superseded by the 40/45 Super Sporters in 1928, so this ad must have been printed with an 18 to 24 month period. 1920s were always priced a little higher than the 99G, but at $90 they seem to be priced right out of the market, so it isn't any wonder that they didn't sell particularly well.

Notice that the illustration appears to be a 1920, open rear sight and no Lyman #54, but the description reads that it has a capped pistol grip and a Lyman #54. The 20/26 was never cataloged with a capped pistol grip or an open rear sight, but it was always cataloged with a Lyman #54. Confusion reins, situation normal.

The 99H was introduced in 1922. The C and D were dropped with the introduction of the medium weight barrel in all models. The ad was probably between 1922 and 1926 for this reason. The only difference between the C and D and the E and F before the changeover was that the C and D had the rifle weight barrel and the E and F had the lightweight barrel. When all models went to the medium weight barrel there would have been no difference between a C and E and no difference between the D and F. Savage must have dropped the C and D designations for that reason. David

Since the illustration appears to be a 1920 and the text in the description is an inaccurate mix of the attributes of both the 1920 and the 20/26, it must have been written after Savage announced or made the transition from 1920 to 20/26 style. We know that the production transition from 1920 to 20/26 style happened in July 1926, but I don't know when the change was announce.

The prices seem much higher than I would have expected to have seen during the mid-1920s.

The C and D models didn't sell very well and there could have been leftovers for some time after the model was discontinued.
My reproduction 1925 Catalog shows the following prices:
Models A and C $37.50
Models B and D 42.00
Model 99 Carbine 34.00
99E 39.50
99F 43.75
99G 48.00
Shotgun barrel $10
300 Savage Combination Kit 70.50
Model 20 50.00
The Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlet & Co. ad is way out of line compared to the 1925 Savage catalog. I wonder if the catalog could be Canadian, Australian or New Zealand where the exchange rate was unfavorable? David

Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co.

This leading hardware dealership was the descendant of a Chicago store called Tuttle, Hibbard & Co., which took that name in 1855 when William G. Hibbard became a partner. In 1865, Hibbard was joined by Franklin F. Spencer, and the enterprise was renamed Hibbard & Spencer. By 1867, the company's annual sales of hardware had reached $1 million. When longtime company employee A. C. Bartlett became a partner in 1882, the company's name became Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett & Co. When Spencer died in 1890, the company was already among the leading wholesalers of hardware in the United States. In 1903, the year Hibbard died, the company opened a 10-story warehouse next to State Street Bridge in downtown Chicago. In 1932, the company introduced a new line of hand tools under the brand name “True Value.” By 1948, Hibbard's annual sales reached nearly $30 million. Business slowed and profits were shrunk, however, as new hardware cooperatives began to bypass traditional wholesalers. In 1962, the company's owners, who wanted to move into the real-estate business, sold the hardware operations and the “True Value” brand to John Cotter for $2.5 million. See also True Value Hardware.

That shoots that theory down. Pun intended. David

Looks like Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. had ~75% margin over Savage Arms MSRP.
Overall, HS&B appears quite successful in history. Still need buyers though.

I wonder if Chicago or Illinois had prohibitions against buying guns out the city or of state at that time? Otherwise I don't see how they could get away with that. David