Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage rear sights

I acquired a 99 which is missing the rear sight - no plug, just the slot. It appears to be a tiny (1/64?) bit narrower than the standard 3/8 inch dovetail.

But when I looked in the Williams, Marbles and Lyman catalogs, I don't see any special rear sights for the Savage 99s.

Actually, Marbles makes a number of rear sights to fit the 99, depending on if you want flat top sporting, semi/full buckhorn, or the peep tang rear. Go to the Marbles website, click on various sight options, and then check out Midway USA's extensive selection. It's likely that you're looking at a 3/8th's dovetail though......
Cheers,
StHubert

Can't tell you what sight the rifle had without knowing what the rifle is. Model, serial?

All 1899/99's had 3/8" dovetails.

I tried a Marbles 3/8 inch dovetail and it is too tight.
I have a fixture and 3/8-inch dovetail file, so I could cut it out to standard size in one pass, but hate to do that.

Of course, I could just trim about .015 off the rear sight base...

what Rick said

This is a 99A carbine, with the flip down open rear sight for scabbard carry on a horse.

All 1899's and 99's came factory with 3/8's dovetails so if it don't fit I'd be worried about somebody screwing or swapping the barrel.

Lee,
Last year I ordered and installed a flip down from marbles
to put on a post mil 99A. I had the same problem. I just slowly
fitted the sight to the slot with a file. Once it is in the slot
you couldnt see where it was filed. I didnt measure so I dont know if it was the gun or the sight.

Are you putting it in the slot from right-to-left? Removal is left-to-right. (looking from the breech toward the front sight.) Makes a difference, oh-so-slight taper.

Yes, the base of the sight is tapered, but the small end is still too tight. Since they also mislabeled the small end of the base as "R", I suspect that is not the only mistake they made in manufacturing it.

I am going to try some other 3/8-inch dovetail rear sights before running a file through the slot to clean it up or running this sight across the milling machine.

And the barrel is original - has all the markings, right down into the dovetail. I bought it from the original owner, with the original bill of sale and box. He had put a scope on it. (Yuk, even for a steel tube Weaver El Paso).

I got to wondering why no one ever made some better rear sights for the 99s, and now I am into designing an aperture sight for the rear scope base taps.

Marbles seems to have some QC issues. The sight that i filed was one I recieved after returning a new flipdown that would not stand up. The windage adjustment screw was also not put in properly, so the sight could move 1/16" back and forth on the base. But they had great customer service and replaced it quickly.

ALWAYS file/cut/hammer/etc. the LEAST expensive part!

My understanding is when you buy a aftermarket sight marbles,lyman,etc they are a bit oversize so they would
have to be fitted to the rifle( filed)i assume this is because changing sights can distort the dovetail "stretch" them out and older rifles dovetails could be loose.Any i have changed had to be filed . Don