Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Savage sold

If the Model 94 is retailing for $1000, I can see the 99 being a few hundred more.. The machining is more involved and I believe it would take longer for them to recoup their initial investment. There are certainly people who would buy a new one, but most would be nostalgia seekers.

That's apparently what's driving the market these days, partly because hunting is becoming more expensive, due to several factors. There isn't as much land open to hunting in much of the country, so hunters have to lease (increasingly expensive, especially east of the Mississippi), or increasingly crowded in the West, which means more hunters have to go deeper into public land to succeed. Which means either younger hunters, or hunters who can afford pack animals, whether on a guided hunt or DIY. But in general both mean older hunters, and fewer young hunters. Older hunters can generally afford either paying for access/leases, or guided hunts. Or, if they can't, they quit hunting.

Those guys might pay 1000+ bucks for a new 99, but why?

Perhaps this is a stretch, but I see BMW SUV driving, 30 something males at Cabelas on occasion, shopping for rifles and ammunition. They have some disposable income, and might be tempted to buy something "funky" like a Model 99, to show off to their friends.

They'd pick an AR 9.5 times out of 10 before they'd pick a '99.

The m-99 with the detachable mag should be that costly, not like a brass counter version.

And why would any retro-rifle guy buy a detachable-mag 99?

However, some newbies might but one is Savage offered a 10-20 rounds extended magazine, along with a digital-camo synthetic stock, and from-the-factory Picatinny rails....

When you have discretionary income you can spend it however you want.

People pay close to $1,000 for Remington 700s like the NRA Hunter style, so why wouldn't other people pay the same sort of money for an annual limited run of Model 99s in classic style and chambered for classic cartridges. I think that a limited run of a 1,000 1950's style 99Fs in 250-3000 would fly off dealers' shelves, but my MBA emphasis was in finance and operations, not in marketing.

I would like for Miroku to build a 99 also with some kind of modification to prevent the tang crack. I wonder if owners of really nice collector grade 99s check their rifle after every shot for the tang crack. I don't understand why Savage didn't address that problem 100 years ago.

Hoow much money would have to be invested in modern production machinery to make a profit on 1000 99F .250s.

No idea, but if Miroku can make Winchester designs, there isn't any reason that they couldn't make Savage designs.

Not much if they had the receivers, breech bolts and levers forged and machined in South Korea. Probably need to place an order for substantially more than 1000 to get them interested though.

Too much. If there was money to be made, and it was cost efficient, it would have happened already. The firearms industry isn't flat, but it's seen better days.

Most of the small pool of guys that would care to buy a 99, would scoff at one marked 'Made in Japan'.

Think of the huff over Portugese M70's with MOA triggers.

And chambered it in 6.5 Creedmoor......


Somebody had to bring it up.

Bry,

I avoided it....

Ruger if you go by serial number so has only been making about 1500 #1s a year, and that’s got to be a lot simpler action to machine than the 99. And the #1 is pretty much the only higher end single shot in the US. Lots of other folks offering levers in hunting calibers (marlin, browning, Henry) and none of them are really setting record sales with them.

I vote for the new Savage 99 to be chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, and it also needs some other features to bring the design into the 21st century. 16.5" threaded barrel for a suppressor. Flip up backup iron sights. M-Lok rails for a tac light, laser designator, and camera to record the shot and instantly post to social media. Mcmillan swirly stock in a lovely combination of lavender and brown. Nightforce ATACR scope, with 45 degree mounted red dot sight for close range work. Detachable 20 round magazine for competition use.

Ruger has been making them for a long time too. They are already set up to produce them. The prices certainly reflect the cost to produce.

I think the world has moved on from levers. The same will happen to bolt actions too.

Savage's biggest problem is that they've gone out of their way to make ugly rifles for decades. The 110 could be dressed up with a few simple modifications, starting with the bolt handle and the ugly screw in the rear of the bolt. Their stock designer should be fired, then shot and kicked into a roadside ditch.

They've done a few things right. Their patents must make them some money. I was thinking of their floating bolt head, the Accu-trigger and how the barrel attaches to the action. Slowly, some of their designs (or copies of their designs) have made it to other companies.