Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 "Trapper"

Wyo1895, it definitely has the look!


Red Spruce, I prefer my 99's with a 16" barrel and typically buy them already chopped for a decent price. I also buy otherwise modified 99's whenever I can find them cheap for future projects.

I am in the process of building one in 450 Bushmaster which should be the Cats Meow of brush guns, much better for my use than my 99 in 358.

If I could ever find some elk in the brush I'd go after them with it.

All, Thanks for the many insightful and educational responses. I'll try to hit the main questions in this response to Fireball as his examples appear to be the medicine I am looking for.

Wyo1895, I havent had a chance to handle the mossberg yet but why buy new when I can make use of a vintage walnut and steel example of american craftsmanship! Also my 94 is a 30-30 and although I like it very much I'm interested in getting somethign with a bit more oomph. I should add that I'm also thinking forward to when my daughter or son will need a firearm of their one to join in the fun. They are 8 and 5 so I have a few more years.

Fireball, That 358 sure looks like the bees knees! any idea what the carry weight is? I suspect the larger diameter bores will weight a bit more than the 30 caliber? Also what type of front sight did you have put on?

gnoahh, Several members of our bear club do carry a revolver ( Ruger Redhawk/Blackhawk in 44Magnum seems to be the preferred chambering). Although I have considered a pistol as an option to back up when others are designated as the shooter, I'm hesitant to use as my primary for a couple of reasons. Shot opportunities can occur in several scenarios 1) a treed bear in which shots are taken at anywhere from 10-40 yards. Head shots are preferred as it is important to have a near instant kill to avoid potential injury to the hounds as they rush in when the bear falls. In ideal situations we get them all tied up and held back a few yards but ideal situations and bear hunting do not always go hand in hand. The second shot scenario is a bayed bear which is on the ground, surrounded by dogs and often in the most inhospitable terrain imaginable. Again headshots for an instant kill are preferred but heart/lung or through the shoulder shots are sometimes necessary. Finally, sometimes shots are available when a running bear crosses a trail being chased by the pack. In this scenario, the target is the shoulders with rapid follow up shots likely. I feel much more comfortable in all the scenarios with a rifle. I don't have a lot of experience with pistols.

Loggah and Why1895, those are nice looking rigs. As you can tell from my description above, bear guns take a ton of wear and tear in the thickets and rock cliffs. A few years ago my father was carrying his old marlin 336 thru a thicket leading dogs back from a tree and his sling came unattached. With dogs pulling, a pack, heavy coat, and tangled in the laurels he didnt notice when it came loose. He only realized when he got back to the truck at dark. It was several days before he could backtrack and find the gun. In the intervening days a bear had taken several bits on the buttstock. Attracted to the smell of the hand oils I suppose or perhaps motivated to take revenge on a gun that has taken dozens of bear over the decades. That gun still carries the tooth marks. As noted above my plan would be to find a real beater/rat in good mechanical condition for this purpose. I do love a fine looking rifle though and suspect a mid-century 99 with a schnabel forend in 300 savage is in my future.

S99VG,
Scopes are untenable due to weight and proclivity to damage. I'll require iron sights with an appeture to take advantage fo the longer sighting radius My 94 trapper with factory open sights had such a short sight radius I could barely hit the target until I put on an Skinner sight a couple of years ago. I now have a fold down rear sight which I employ along with the peep when I can take carefull aim. Three sight objects all in a row really helps me out.

Again thanks to all.

Red Spruce, I don't know what it weighs, or the relationship in weight 30 vs 358. Savage had many different models and barrel weights so comparing across the board would be hard. The lightest weight 358 is surely the 99F, but they regularly sell for $1500. Check out this 99F 358- It was rusty and rough when I got it. Very lightweight and completely impervious to rain and snow with a powdercoated finish. Tough as hell. I hunt elk in the late season with it. I've since shortened the barrel to 20". Everybody here loves it they're just too bashful to admit it.

What Roy said, a 99F with the lightweight barrel and drilled out stock is about as light as you are going to get with a 99. Actually the outer barrel contours are all the same except for a 284, which has a heavier barrel, so the bigger the bore the lighter the barrel. A 358 F would weight less than a 308 F. Maybe I should say should weigh less. Other factors such as wood density affect weight also.

David, I have a forearm you might like on your carbine. It's a 99F with the barrel boss cutout and without checkering.

It sounds like what I need. I could carve a schnable into it and shorten it some more. I had just been thinking an 1899H solid frame forearm might be the right length but I bet there aren't any of them around doggy enough that I would be willing to modify it. Send me a PM with more info.

This is perfect info wyo1895. Sounds like I need to keep an eye out for a beater 99F in 300, 308, 356, or 375. I suppose a 99E or other version woudl work. Just a bit heavier.

I have what has been referred to as tomato stake. It is a later model E, originally 308 that was rebored to 358 win by JES. Has a peep sight. Don't remember bbl length, but on the short side, maybe 20 inches. It would be perfect for you, and you can whack off the bbl if you want. I got it to use as a beater truck gun. If you want to see it, I can get some pics in a couple weeks. It stays at the mtn cabin.


Charlie

I think there are two sighting arrangements that really make the 99 shine. One is a receiver sight and the other is a low mounted low power scope. And I’m not sure which is best???

Send me your address and I'll send it to you to try.

My experience with black bears (5x) is that you hit 'em in the "boiler room" and they are down and dead in seconds. Less than 10. The only way to top that is a head shot I suppose. And mine were with archery equipment.

It sounds like for the most part the hounds tree the bear in which case your 30-30 in the right spot has plenty of power and close range to do the job quickly.

As discussed, you have lots of ways to go regarding a "trapper" sort of thing if you feel a change is in order.
The only other thing I'll toss out is a cut 12 gauge w/slug. Possibly the stock as well. That would be short, light weight and powerful. Having said that, I'd stick with the 30-30 unless an upgrade falls into your lap.

Will do. Thanks, David

Posted this on the wrong thread. Here's the forearm David and I are chatting about for his carbine. Looks like a factory 99F w/o checkering to me-

Charlie,
Please do. no hurry though this "project" will need to fit in to several others.

Southern,
Those few seconds can do some real damage to a fine hound dog. We've had several dogs to get injured this year due to poor or misplaced shots that were ultimately lethal just not immediately so. Most the bear I have taken were indeed treed but it seems our local bears are more prone to baying or even crawling in a "hole" under a rock ( makes for a REALLY interesting harvest sequence) lately. Last year I was within 10 yards of fairly large bears on two occasions and couldn't get off a shot due to either dogs being in the way or insufficient time when shot opportunities presented themselves.

You are certainly correct that my existing 30-30 is ample medicine but why have one gun when I can have two for the same purpose. Still, there are other projects pending so something will need to fall into my lap or come with an attractive price tag.

Finally, some guys do carry shotguns. My first bear was taken with a NEF single shot 12 ga although most who carry a scattergun trend to a pump or auto. There are times, however rare, where a shot opportunity is up to 100 yrds to I'd like to stick with a rifle. Now that I type this out I realize how specialized the criteria are for these hunts!

Yea, I hear ya.
My experience with "deer technology" is that higher power knocks them off their feet due to concussion and they're dead before they can get up.
Same rules probably apply to black bears. Seconds is everything.
Beyond that, every situation is a little different, plan & execute accordingly.
Good luck!

I'd think a short barrel 99 would be very butt heavy. Not a great trait for offhand shooting.

Be hard to beat an F in 300 Savage or 308 Win with a receiver sight and a sturdy 180 grain bullet for this task.

And it could be done for a reasonable price as well.

Just sayin...

I really hate to say this but I think the Winchester 94 and 92 make better trapper platforms. Again, I loathe to say that it’s hard to beat a trapper 94 in handiness. The long 99 action just puts way too much out front. If you ever compare a shot barrel 94 or Marlin to a short barrel 99 the other two makes always end up being the more compact package. The 50s era F to was about as balanced as the 99 got for me for post war guns.