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I didn't have much luck reloading 99 s in the 308 caliber either.

The 300 savage is its own beast as in no other actions to share them with but 99 s had better luck!

The BLR does come in pistol grips, Neil smith gunsmith from PA can do blr triggers nice! He claims he can work 88 s also. But the 88 trigger seems an easier beach 2 get used 2 compared to the BLR. So I have never sent Neil an 88.

M D

I don’t know what the difference is but I’ve had S 99s in 243 & 358 W.
I didn’t have any problems running full throttle loads ESPECIALLY in the
358.

I’ve read a few times about 99s having weak extraction. Maybe some ? I don’t know
but my 358 W didn’t suffer that.

I’d have to check my records but I ran Speer 180 F P and Hornady 200 SP at book velocities.

Jerry

The gun my father had was purchased in IIRC 1958....and he was foced to carry a wooden ramrod with him to extract empties......due to poor extractors.....When I got the gun, I replacrd the extractor in it which solved that problem..BTW....to this day that gun has not fired 100 rounds.....it's actually better than the day it was purchased new.

So let me tell the story about how I got mine....again a Model 99 in .308 Winchester.....I all started in 1965 or there abouts.....I proudly purchased a Savage/Fox deluxe 12 guage side by side.....vent rib, ejectors....the works.....I was one proud lad. Sadly the right barrel refused to eject the empties and the problem was obvious.....there was a heavy burr in the chamber rim that wedged the case tightly to the chamber wall......So I returned the gun to Savage for repairs.....weeks later I got the gun back and promptly went to the gravel pit to have some fun. However now the right barrel refused to fire the round...repeatedly it was bang.....click.....bang..... click.....so again I returned it to Savage. Again weeks later I got it back and again took it for an outing.....It fired both barrels this time....and did so beautifully.....except it also fired both barrels with the safety on.....this created some gnashing of teeth but my patience was holding firmly.....so again the gun was returned to Savage. and again weeks later I got it back......and again out for some shootng. WOW....it ejected fine....fired both barrels fine, and the safety worked as it should.....and then the sickening sound of "BOING".....the vent rib came off.

Once again I returned the gun to Savage with (as politely I could) and demanded they either refund the retail purchase price or I would be satisfied if they sent me a Model 99 in .308 chamvering......well weeks later here it comes.....my new Savage model 99 deer rifle. I hunted with it for a few years until it locked up on me and once again I was forced to return it to Savage.....weeks later I got the gun back and promptly traded it off.....never again to see a Savage firearm enter my house.

I have chased a somewhat similar route with both Weatherby ad Ruger.....but not so extensive as my patience won't allow a third strike. Needless to say, there are no Weatherbys or Rugers in this house either. I've had no issues with my Model 70 rifles.....my M-98 guns, My Sako L-461, CZ my older Remingtons, SKB shotguns, Mossbergs, and one fine Howa.....I'll buy Brownings too....pretty good stuff.

vapo

I don't know what year my 99, 358 was made but it had the Brass cocking indicator, Brass mag rotor, & Brass cartridge counter indicator.
I had it for several years and killed quite a few WT with it. I experimented with the bullets I was interested in hunting -- Speer 180 F P
& 200 HSP.

I was getting the top listed manual velocities for the 358..... so I don't know what to tell you.


I also had BLRs in 243 & 308 and again NO extraction problems. ? ? ? ?

Maybe diff year manufacturer? different C/C? ? ?


Jerry

I did check that out and, of course, you are absolutely right.....and in some fairly strong chamberings to boot. I'm not enamored with their general appearance, but will give it strong consideration

My goodness, there is an incredible amount of wisdom in this post. WOW.

Steve

For those wishing for more complete info on the Model 88, Her is good web site to get it .

https://www.leeroysramblings.com/Gun%20Articles/winchester_model_88_100_info.html

I would like to try the 88 in a 284 win.
I believe it is front locking, the action should be strong enough and durable .
I am a levergun guy and stay clear of rear locking bottleneck rounds in a lever action rifles for my hunting - many will disagree.
A model 88 would be a great project and I am sure a guy would mess with the bedding and the trigger but it appears as functional as my BLR's.
It is a pretty thing, imo.Cheers

Even bottleneck cartridges like the 25-35, 25-36, 7-30 WATERS, 30-30, 32 WS, 33 WIN, 348 WIN, and 35 REM that have been chambered in Marlin and Winchester rear locking lever actions for over 100 years?

I would concider the 88 strong enough... I have 4 of them myself 2 in 308 an284 and 243... All will shoot as well as your advrage bolt gun..the 243 however is amazingly accurate...it will never shoot outside a quarter inch...as someone else said triggers are there downfall if you need a really light trigger...they take some discipline...on the bench you need to learn a technique of putting about 4 lbs of pressure on the trigger then breaking the last lb when ready....it's actually very effective...some just can do it and I understand ...the 88 won't be for them..

I have had Sakos BLRs,Model 88s.To me the 88s were clunky and just not a handy rifle.I liked the BLRs which all shot stupid accurate.The Sako was smooth but not super accurate.I recently purchased a Henry Long Ranger in 308 .This LVR has no iron sights and the comb of the stock is very high making it perfect for a scope.The lever is a short throw.Very smooth and ejects with vigor.The trigger from the factory is 2 pounds 12 ounces.My best group so far is 1 1/2 " at 100 yards.I have only shot 15 rounds through it so think it will do much better when I find out what it likes.

Have owned several 88,s 2 in 284 and 1 in 308. All Pre 64 and the 308 was a cloverleaf tang.

One of the 284 Win model 88,s I hunted with it a lot up here, shot a 52" Bull moose and a Dall Ram with it, solo hunt quite an adventure. For a left-handed guy it handled and shot well and you could reverse the safety.

Had the old Warne style detachable scope mounts made by Kimber with a good older 4 x Leupold on it.

when i got to start deer hunting at age 10 or 11 my father purchased for me a new Winchester 30-30 and this rifle was not that accurate but its all i had,one of the guys we hunted with had a Winchester 88 308 ,neither his rifle or my 30-30 were that accurate so for many years i never thought much about lever action rifles anymore. but when i moved backed to my home town family area a great old World War 2 Vet. family friend come over on a sight-in day on my range. Old Benny had a old Savage 99 308 with a old 4x Weaver scope and flip off mounts, handed me 5- 308 cartridges and not all 5 were the same and the bullets were not perfect either. he was 75 years old and was kinda crippled and ask me would you check my rifle and see if it still hits ok for deer hunt`n next weekend. so i got his old killer rifle ready and bench shot this old Savage 99 at 100 yards and hope i could hit the target someplace ? well i got one hell of a surprise that old 99 with that old weaver 4x shot in the 1 1/4 inch bullseye all 5 times , old Benny said that`s good enough and put the rifle away,said thank you and went home ! i was in a state of shock with how accurate this old 99 was i could not believe it and went that many years without any levers,so i purchased a Savage 99 and yep that one shot well too. then i tried some Winchester levers not very accurate ,Marlins levers were better , but those 99`s all shot so much better. then i got another surprise about 6 years ago i purchased Browning BLR 308 and was shock again how accurate this type of lever action is ! the one lever i wish Browning would build is a S.S. BLR in a 338 Win.Mag. if i was asked this question :would i buy Winchesters ? yes for collection purchases but not to hunt with, i have a soft spot for Ruger #1`s,Savage 99`s and Browning BLR`s forever they are much more accurate.hope you all have a great - safe fall hunt it`s almost time ! Pete53

A friend had a 88 trigger cleaned up by Neil that worked much better, personally I had a new BLR in .358 win that was terrible, local Browning service center worked on it then it would miss fire every 3 or 4 rounds, sent it back to the factory for service. Browning called and said it was repaired but then it got lost in their shipping department for 7 more weeks! When I finally got it back it had no more miss fires but a freaking 8 lb pull!

Sent it to Neil and had it back in 2 weeks, he stated he could only get it to 4 lbs BUT it had a smooth no creep pull and shot so much better.

I can't imagine anyone trying to kill anything with a Savage lever action. The model 88 is far superior in all regards.

<sarcasm font off>

My experiences echo those all ready stated here. Not very impressive accuracy, and heavy triggers. That and I'm a 99 guy too. I hunted with it for one season and sent it down the road.

Vapodog,
I'm late to the party, but can share my experience. I've had a pre-64 for about 20 years now. I'm very pleased with the gun and wouldn't think of getting rid of it. I've had some trigger work done on it, and it helped (a little). The barrel was re-bedded and I've fiddled with the forend screw, too (mine shoots best with the screw pretty tight). Handloads with Varget or 4064 and Hornady 165-gr. BTSP usually give me accuracy between 1" and 1.5". Same with 150-gr and 168-gr NBT's.
I've taken deer, pigs, elk, and moose with the gun.

I got mine about 1967. It was designed to shoot the .308 Win., so it should be safe to whatever the .308 chamber pressures are, which I think ar3 crowding 65K. I started handloading for mine almost immediately, was not timid with the loading......and it had no apparent pressure problems. As for accuracy,I had a couple of loads that would give sub- moa, 5 shot groups. The trigger pull leaves a lot to be desired, and mine had bad forend warpage, which gave me seasonal issues.....summer to winter! I loved the little rifle, and recently gave it to my son! memtb

Makes good boat anchor if you tie a cinder block to it!!

[I have the latter model 88 . Firing with a snap cap before live ammo considerably improves the trigger. There is minor creep but the release is very smooth and not at all heavy. David