Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors The tale of two Savages

I think this forum should be retitled "VA for Savages." And you should command a regional hospital. Video woke me UP!!!!!

I also like your attitudes toward rehabilitation of the "vets"--"First do no harm." Then get 'em shootin'!

I'll muddy the waters here a bit more for you. The upper one in the photo has serial numbers that match throughout. However, the bottom is a bit of a mutt and the stock number does not match the gun. The stock is 539XX which puts it at 1906 I think. Now I have to go figure out the "Perch Belly" because apparently my understanding of what it is.. isn't.

Aaah... the switch to all rifles having perchbelly was just a bit higher than that buttstock. At that serial number range, some have it.. some don't.

Bottom 3 here have a very distinctive perchbelly. Notice the curved bottom on the buttstock, like the belly of a perch. Unlke the top one, which has a factory replacement straight buttstock from the mid-20's when they didn't do perchbelly stocks any more.




What makes it slightly confusing is that all reference books/articles prior to David Royal's book a few years ago said that 1899's had perchbelly stocks from the very beginning. That's not true. It didn't become standard until 1904/1905.

Thanks for the clarification, that makes perfect sense.

Along about the time something "Savage" starts making perfect sense, up jumps the devil! You're just starting the ride, fasten your seat belt!!

Can't wait for chapter 3!

thanks for sharing

yes thanks for sharing ! Savage 99`s and the Savage cartridge were so far ahead of their time and i am so glad i own a few of them and can also hunt some with my 99`s.

Nice post, Good luck with the bear hunt!

you did good !! ( . Y . )

interesting read and you did well in case you are interested in the future i have LOTS of parts for the old girls and i am in Victoria B.c>

norm

welcome to the fire

Not sure why I missed this until now. That's great to hear. I'm originally from the island as well but moved inland about 35 years ago. My dad just sold his farm in Cedar (north of Ladysmith) and we're in the process of moving him up here.

I would really like to look at the authenticity of the sights at some point. I'm not sure what the original setup would have been but it might be nice to have them wearing their original jewelry. I would also like to find a tang sight for the one that isn't equipped with one.

I was actually toying with CNC cutting a few carriers to see if I could do it. The deeper I got into the design, the more I realized that old Arthur Savage was a pretty bright dude. There's a lot going on in that carrier that isn't initially obvious until you try to recreate one.

If you post photos of the front and rear sight we can verify if they are original.

Now, THAT'S entertainment! Nice job on the rifles AND the story.

Sorry to dig up this old thread again but I finally got around to getting some pictures of the sights. Anyone want to weigh in as to which, if either, is original to the rifle?

The first up is serial # 13,3XX which is sporting a 1" x 5/16" dovetail blade front sight and a formed sheet metal ramp rear site of a brand that I don't recognize.







The second one is serial # 80,2XX and it appears to have a Marble's Sheard 5/8" x 5/16" front site along with a single ramp rear site with no apparent markings on it.







Feel free to chime in with your thoughts and ideas.

Both front sights look like they belong to me.
You'd need to inspect for markings if any to help identify. Could be marked on the underside as well.
Then determine whether or not they were factory options. Old catalogs list them.
So you could determine period or correct, but, hard to tell if "factory" because front sights in general were not recorded in ledgers.

The rear sight on 13.xxx is known as a King rear sight. Likely a replacement as it is several years newer than the rifle. Not a bad thing though.
The rear sight on 80.xxx looks correct. It is a "long rear sight", ~3 5/8" long, several variations.