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

using two ceramic sharpening stones, fine and polishing, take away any risk of over working the surfaces

What JeffG said! My buddy who bought 9 of my Godfather's S99 rifles took a few apart (he is a gunsmith) and stoning and polishing is all he did. Super smooth actions now.

Tire Irons, Trigger Jobs, and other Savage 99 Must Knows.

I think we're on to something here.

Some of us were born in rural America shortly after WWII. We learned to make do with what we had on hand. We are the people who fix things that need fixin'. Don't matter if it's a vacuum cleaner, plow or a Savage 99. We just get 'er done.

And that's just the way we roll. If somethings broke we figure out how to fix it. The pre-mill Savage 99 action is probably the simplest action ever designed. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work it. Just someone that pays attention to detail and understands that when you work on something you make one small adjustment at a time.

Probly oughta throw in some 12' jumper cables for static reintroduction, a 3 lb sledge for moving sights (if you're working on iron sights you'll also need a 3' chunk of 1/2" rebar for drifting sights) , and a 6' crosscut saw for installing rubber pads. For polishing pins you're gunna wish you'd picked up some wire strippers from Radio Shack. If you got fouling in the bore, you'll need a right-handed crevice collimator. For tang safety models, you can't do without a spring compressimater, and because they never work, a giant magnet mounted to an overhead swing arm in the garage for finding that detent bearing. You won't find it btw, but you'll be well dressed for the occasion, and that's what matters.

I keep a little bench broom handy for sweeping up all the leftover parts too. Them little handheld vacuum cleaners don't like nuts and bolts.

From the looks of some of the 99's I've seen from that period, not everybody born in rural America shortly after WW ll was as good at fixin things as you were...

Mike nailed it.

I blame it on the auto industry as much as anything. Until a generation ago one was behooved to know how one's car worked so you could spend evenings and weekends keeping it running so you could get to work and the store- or else if you were rich you took the jalopy to the local mechanic for all the plugs/points/oil changes (and now the local mechanic is fast disappearing too). We now live in a turn-key world in which everything lasts longer (when was the last time your car needed new plugs or you had to change a flat tire?) and/or is too complicated for the average Joe to mess with, and the net result is a generation that can't manage the simplest repairs (and an older generation- us - that has gotten complacent too in that regard). As for appliances, the most common breakdown on washing machines is still broken drive line parts/belts- and when was the last time you saw a guy tear apart his own dead washing machine to replace a $30 part and not automatically go shopping for a new one? Or a new water valve? Easier to spend $500-1000 at the auto service center or Lowe's than to give up a Saturday and get one's hands dirty, I suppose. The same attitude is gaining traction in the gun world too, and the trouble there is that jack-of-all-trade gunsmiths are disappearing from the landscape also.

At least gunning hasn't been taken over by digitalization which is another nail in our coffin when it comes to reliance on one's wits to survive- but even that's making inroads via optics, loading, and cell phone apps for recording range data. (It does contribute to efficient machining/manufacturing of guns and that's not necessarily a bad thing. But on the other hand, the guy who can set up a lathe or a Bridgeport to make a one-off part with which to repair an old gun is headed toward extinction as the "basics" aren't even taught in public schools anymore. When was the last time you heard of a middle/high school shop class?)

I'm glad I won't be around in 50-100 years to witness the complete surrender of manual skills, the complete emasculation of manhood.

When I moved North 6 years ago a Good buddie hes 20 years younger than me, asked Why I had all of those books?, I do have alot of books.I like to read or be able to look up something if need be. Hes like you can just google it or read a book off your CP or Phone! I guess when my time is up my books will end up in a Dumpster, Friends our world is becoming a sad Place!

Thanks Skidrow-I called Alhmans and they said send the Model 99 and they will adjust the trigger pull. Thanks alot!