Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors What’s in a 99 repair kit?

I have been nervous about taking apart my 99’s to clean. I have seen what the wrong tools can do to screw and bolt heads.
What size and length of screw drivers will best fit the heads on a 99? Any suggestions of other tools that are commonly used to basic service the rifles?

Thanks

I'd sart by getting a set of good hollow ground screw drivers. Chapman makes a handy little set. The land is littered with firearms with buggered screw heads from work done with ordinary hardware store variety screw drivers. Some people don't realize that a screw head on a rifle or pistol is not the same thing as a screw head on a light switch cover. But before I took a 99 apart to clean I'd first ask myself if it really needs it. If it aint broke don't fix it and most guns don't like being taken apart and reassembled numerous times.

I'd start by leaving it alone.It is IMPOSSIBLE to touch a screw without marking it, You do not "need" to take them apart to clean them. Your gun, do what you want. The BEST practice is don't buy a gun you need to work on. I've said my piece, ready for the flame show.

Just out of curiosity, is there another method to check that the receiver, forearm, butt stock and plate all left the factory as the same unit, without removing a few screws? Don't mean to come off as a wise a$$, just thought that is one of the first things one would do, before investing a lot of money into one of these not so cheap firearms.

no but you should have the proper set of screw drivers.

Did you already buy the gun?

Taking the forearm off is not big deal. Taking the buttstock off can be a disaster if you don't know what you are doing. And the 99's internals are another thing into themselves. I think it all starts with visual and functional inspections. If it all looks sound, then it probably is. If it cycles the cartridges without a hitch, then your work is probably done. Clean the bore and oil the metal and call it good. And to that I would add avoiding the cursed lure of taking things apart. If it works then you should go no further then taking the bullet apart from the case via the trigger. But do get a good sett of screw drivers.

Well, yeah, of course. That's true for any firearm.

You would be surprised how many firearms you come across where I swear that on one boring winter day some guy took to it with a worn out set of Monkey Wards screwdrivers and left his "mark" for all eternity.

There are several sets of gunsmithing screwdrivers out there with hardened interchangeable bits. Buy a set with a slew of different sized parallel ground bits, select the bit that perfectly matches the slot in the screw head- not close, but perfectly in both width and length. It's not rocket science, and a perfectly fitted hardened bit can't possibly mar a screw slot. The biggest risk at that point is a ham handed operator allowing the bit to slip out of the slot and marring the surrounding surface- therein lies the root of people advising amateurs against messing with screws IMO. If the screw won't budge, soak the crap out of it with penetrating oil (not WD-40) for a couple days and try again. If still no joy your best bet at that point is to seek professional help or conjure a way to live with it.

If I had a nickel for every gun screw I've applied a screwdriver to in my life I could take the whole Forum out for Christmas dinner at The Four Seasons, and I have never buggered a screw head (at least in the last 40 years since I bought my first set of dedicated gun screw drivers ).

The butt stock screw can be pretty nasty. Again with a long well fitted screwdriver. Some here mentioned using a tire iron out of the trunk of the family Chevy. I never tried that but I like it. The big big risk here is the screwdriver can get wedged outside of the screw slot, between the screw head and the wood, and you think you're firmly in the slot. Giving the screwdriver a manly twist at that point can and will see you open an unwanted vent into open air on the side of the stock- the web of wood at that point is pretty thin. Note: when re-installing said stock bolt don't over-torque the bejesus out of it. Firm is good, farmer tight is bad and can create the dreaded Savage tang crack.

I'm a firm believer of detail disassembling and cleaning of new and old guns upon acquisition. One doesn't know what crud, grease, and/or desiccated oil lurks in the innards that can jump up and bite you, and it will most assuredly happen at the most inopportune time.

This ^^^

It's easy to have a screwdriver or bit slip on a stiff screw - and that will scratch the bluing on the screw. Not using a perfectly fit bit on a screw can easily bugger up the top edges of the screw head. Never use "screwdrivers", use a good set of screwdriver bits. Gunsmith sets are good since they include the bits most commonly found in guns. But any set of screw bits will usually be far better than a screwdriver - screwdrivers are straight sided widening outwards, which puts the most pressure on the top of the screw slot which leads to buggering them all to heck and gone. Screwdriver bits are almost always partially curved, so a properly fit one will put pressure along the insides of the screw slot rather than just on the top.

i use a set of Wheeler's bits. my problem is the shakes and muscle fatigue leading to the reduction of pressure while removing screws.
this is why i just don't remove any that i don't absolutely need to. nothing pizzes me off more then seeing moonlight along the edges of a blued screw slot.

I guess part of my adventure with these rifles is to know more then I have before about any rifle. I totally agree that if it ain’t broke don’t mess with it but how will I know what to do when something feels not quite right. My current issue is I have an EG with the cocking indicator not working. I had a local gunsmith open it up and found the indicator broken and the spring gone. I got the new parts and he fit them in but it still doesn’t quite work. It was then that I was shown where someone had previously used the aforementioned tire iron to take the butt stock off. I accept the risk of things going horribly wrong but I aim to gather information so that risk is minimized and instead I have a story to add to a magnificent gun born long before me in 1949.
Thank you for clarifying the need for proper bits. Nothing will be attempted until I get some proper tool.
Once again great advice!

Don't sweat it. It would appear you have the right attitude. Pull up a stool and grab a beer.

When I was 15 my Dad bought me my first scoped deer rifle. It was one of those inexpensive Remington 788's in .243, and it came with a scope. Actually was a very accurate rifle. Anyway, I think it came with a scope but the scope was not mounted to the rifle. Keep in mind that Dad was not a machinist, he ran a dozer and was damn good at it, but not a machinist, if you see where I am going. Well, wanting a secure base to work from, Dad wrapped the stock of the bolt-action rifle in a wash-cloth, and put it in the metal vice on his work bench, and by the look of the stock he did a good job making sure it stayed in the jaws of the metal vice. The gun carried the imprint of that vice on the stock in the receiver area its entire life, along with some screw-heads in the scope mount that showed serious signs of a poorly fitted screwdriver. I don't think I ever said much to Dad about the marks in the rifle, after all, he bought it for me. Some of you are cringing at this story, but my Dad was a great guy, and this story is just one of many that make me smile.

I know my limitations.

I don't ever take anything apart that might have to be put back together again.

My expertise with tools are with hammers, saws and drills. I know how to wreck things.

No matter how bad it is when I start walking towards a gun with a tool...things are about to get worse.

Other than mounting scopes and working on sights, I don't wrench guns.

In the early 60s I was in high school and had a teacher who ran a gunshop out of his basement, pre-68 you know. I would buy a cheap gun and totally disassemble it, clean it, maybe work on the trigger, put it back together and shoot it before I traded it back to him. I had good screw drivers, patience, and a farmer granddad who could fix anything with nothing. I disassembled Krags, Springfields, Mausers, Stevens and Winchester shotguns and yes Savage 99s. I still have a R in 250 that I got for $40 and completely disassembled, cleaned, and put back together. One of the hardest was a 16 gauge Browning A-5 that would not eject a fired shell. I got so I could tear it down and put it back together with my eyes closed just like Uncle Sam had me do with my M-16 in Vietnam. I finally measured the chamber and it was 2&9/16 instead of 2&3/4. Grandad got a reamer somewhere and we cut it to 2&3/4 and it worked like a champ. I grew up to become a master machinist and part time gunsmith. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. I just wish I had someone like gnoahhh around then. There is no telling what we might have accomplished. LOL.

Mike

If the screws on one of my guns are unturned they will remain that way....

Do what I did , buy a beater Rat 99 and go at it! maybe one thats already broken, best way to learn is hands on!