Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 serial numbers

"... # C8551XX..."

Production was in the last half of 1978.

Welcome to the Forum.

$325 is a good deal. The CD didn't come out till 1975, the 308 came out around 56-57. The "C" in your serial number is not the same as the "date Code Letters" . The date code is hand stamped on the front of the lever boss, where the lever hinges. It will be one or two numbers and then the letter, inside of an oval. Welcome to the club

Many thanks. The shop owner looked it up online and told me 1951. No worries, I wont be going back to ask for a refund anytime soon. It is going to be a good pickup gun for this fall.

Late 1978. Savage changed to alphanumeric serial numbers in 1968. You may be confusing the C with the lever boss code used from 1949 (A) until about 1971. The lever boss code was stamped on the front of the lever boss (the protrusion that the lever pivots on). It was in an oval that contained one or two numbers (the inspector code) plus a letter designating the year produced.

The lever date code was no longer in use by 1978, so yours won’t have one.

Good buy!

Crazy like a fox...

If you are young and don't like your shoulder! I'd see if I could get him to sleeve it down to 22HP. Just joking, I've heard nothing but good stuff about JES.

My friend has a 303 Savage cal SRC marked 1899. the serial number has a dot (.) in the number. when I looked up the year, the instructions said to leave out the dot or comma. I ran it both ways, with the dot it said "your Savage is a 1895 !!! , without the dot, it said 1905. Just curious about the dot in the number, what was the reason for it?
thanks

They just used a dot rather than a comma. Whether that's due to European influence, or thinking a comma just looked ugly, or what.. we don't know. You'll want to run all the numbers without it, which means his is from 1905.

You did use the second box which says it's from American Rifleman, right? The main one isn't that accurate for pre-WWI Savage 1899's.

Yup, only a one year difference, 1904 and 1905. either an F or H I guess.

A saddle ring carbine is a model 1899F. The 1899H didn't really come out until 1906 (tho, as always, a few date to 1905).

Ok I’ll play. I think I know the history but would love to confirm. This 99 is in .300 sav and has SN 649488 on the underside of the receiver. Says SAVAGE Model 99 just under the scope mount holes on left side of receiver. Also says .300 Savage on left side of barrel at receiver. What have I here?

At that serial number range, it will be a 99EG if the forearm is thin with a curved tip (schnabel tip), or a 99R if it has a fat and wide forearm with a rounded end. The 99R was always drilled and tapped for scope bases, so I'm guessing that is what you have. Small batches of EG's show up that are factory drilled and tapped prior to 750,000 or so, so can't rule that out. Those are the only two models made in the early 50's.

Should date to 1952.

Sounds like a 1951or 52 R. Heavy forearm with a round tip?

Lee

Yes. Heavy forearm, rounded. No schnabel. Thanks. You confirmed what I already thought. Early 50’s R.

SDHNTR, the LBC will give you the year. The LBC is a date code stamped on the front of the lever boss, it has a letter and number inside an oval. The letter is for the year, C for 51 and D for 52.

Lee

Just adding to the thread... in case it helps somebody else.

I have what I think (from info here) is a 1948 99R in .300 Savage. SN #5037xx, no LBC; instead, a stamped "3" or maybe part of an "8" so perhaps just an inspectors mark. Brass rotor. 24" barrel. Round forend, not particularly wide, not a Schnabel. Steel buttplate.

Came to me with 3 sets of sight. Bead up front with two folding leaves ear the rear of the barrel. A folding tang sight, works with front bead. And a Griffin & Howe removable scope sight (plate attached to the left side of the receiver) with a Weaver K2.5 inserted. (G&H told me the way they installed the scope in their earlier one-piece rings was to dismantle it, slip the rear sing on, re-mantle (?) the scope.)

I don't know the difference between the R or RS models, or whether those two models were built concurrently or not... so I've assumed R is correct.

Shoots great.

-Chris

It sounds like a 1950's 99R. Is it drilled and tapped on top of the receiver for scope bases?

1950's 99RS (the Redfield 70LH peep was the add-on for the 99RS):

5037XX should be a 1948 serial number, but the "new" R was not introduced until 1950, so, unless that receiver kicked around for a couple of years, something doesn't add up. A photo would be a big help.

I only guessed about the "R" part; I don't see anything other than SAVAGE MODEL 99 (in two lines) on the front receiver bridge. The forestock looks like the one in Calhoun's pic. I've never really known how people determine model types, other than by various features? This is the only 99 I've looked at closely, and I don't see anywhere where it might say R, RS, EG, F, A, C. whatever...

But otherwise, what doesn't add up... so I can re-check?

Not drilled and tapped.

The tang sight isn't at all like the peep shown in Calhoun's pic above. I should have included info on that before; don't know what model it is, but it's marked:
LYMAN
MIDDLEFIELD
CONN, U.S.A.

It's mounted on the tang, but extends well down the wrist of the stock where the hinge is.

The two folding leaves on the barrel have a wide V (taller) and a flat top with white triangle, apex at the top (shorter).

Given the G&H side-mount, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the other sights aren't factory. I also have a felt lined aluminum case for the Weaver scope and detachable slide-off part of the mount. Don't know if that's a G&H thing, or weather my Grandad made it (he could have), or what...

-Chris