Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Fitting a new Marble tang sight to a Savage 99EG

I just bought a new Marble tang sight made for the Savage 99. I have a fine old Savage 99 EG made in 1940. It has a perfect bore and about a 75 % finish with some nice old original wood. The semi-buckhorn sight is Ok but not the best for my 65 year-old eyes. I purchased a new Marble tang sight made to fit the original drilled tang on these rifles. Just as I have heard from some others on other sites, the sight base does not fit down on the metal of the tang because the wood of the stock wrist is proud of the tang and it wont let the sight base sit flat and tight to the metal. I really would like to fit this sight to this fine old rifle that is in original (meaning no bubba like mods or extra drilling) configuration. My dilemma is this:

Do I inlet the wood a bit so it won't interfere with the sight mounting?

OR: Do I make or have made some sort of shimming mounting adapter to fit under the sight base at the tang to get it up clear of the stock wrist behind the tang so I don't have to mess with the wood.

Has anyone else ever dealt with this issue? I am anti-bubba and I don't want to disfigure this fine old rifle.

I would appreciate your advice, experience, and opinions.

I put one of those Marbles sights on one of my older 99's. When I got it the tang of the sight was bowed up some and wouldn't fit down flush to the rifle tang. I was told the metal was rather soft, so I used a leather mallet and lightly pounded on the sight tang, till it was a close match up to the rifle tang. I then put the screws in and it tightened right up to the rifle tang. I'm not sure this is your problem, but I do know you can bend the tang on the sight some. Chip

Someone was just saying last night that if you cut up an old pop can it makes great shimming material, I wouldn't inlet the wood on a gun that wasn't already bubba'd (sling studs, recoil pad, etc..etc...) and I'd go the shims myself.

Soda can

Oh damn......I just saw the pic, definitely don't touch that wood!!!!!!

I would say that I really have two problems. One is the curve of the sight base itself which could probably be cured with a mallet or some sort of bendng process. Then there is the wood of the stock wrist which is proud of the metal tang of the rifle by about .015-.020".

If its off by that much you might have the wrong tang sight, they should just line up with the screws! alum. tooth past tubes work well as shins, just cut a oic. out, not as sharp as pop what we call it here in Mi. or soda cans, please dont touch that wood!!!! John

You could go to the hardware store and buy some type of flexable washers that would raise the sight up a little or use a piece of leather socked in oil. Metal shims work...just make sure the ruff edges are smoothed off and bent upwards.

Good auto parts stores and good hardware stores may be a source of shim stock. A feeler gauge blade might work for you as well.

If the shim is steel, you can cold blue the edges to make a thick shim less noticeable. dh

Saddlering;
I'm sure it is the proper tang sight.It is the only type that Marble has that is conifgured to deal with the unusual configuration of the Savage 99 tang and stock as compared with a Winchester or a Marlin. Basically, it positions the actual sight post way to the rear of the tapped tang holes in the Savage.

I'm sure it is the proper tang sight.It is the only type that Marble has that is conifgured to deal with the unusual configuration of the Savage 99 tang and stock as compared with a Winchester or a Marlin. Basically, it positions the actual sight post way to the rear of the tapped tang holes in the Savage.

It looks like the right one! I have had a few Lymans & A old marbles and they all just went right on one of the Lymans I had to shim the one side, and it worked fine after that, ya might have to bend the tang on the sight to clear the wood, I wish ya luck. John

The new ones have a flat strap...bend it.

I would bend it. There is a (slight) chance of an electrolytic reaction between the aluminum from the pop can and the steel of the tang= rust. I use shim stock (brass, steel) for various projects that I get from McMaster-Carr. I guess Brownells carries it also.