Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 serial numbers

Ah. I see, sorta... Thanks.

In your pics (above) of a '30s-style 99R versus a '50-style 99R... the differences I can make out seem to be a jeweled bolt?, a different checkering pattern on the forestock?, and the absence of the vertical line on the forestock? Anything else?

Mine is definitely like the earlier one...

-Chris

The 1950's 99R/99RS is totally different forearm. The forearm is wider, with slant outs in front of the receiver. Most don't have a jewelled bolt, that came late in the 50's. A different checkering pattern, yes, and different studs for the RS. All 99R/99RS's in the 50's came with sling eyes intended for use with swivel hooks to attach the sling, and they all came drilled and tapped from the factory with standard screws for mounting scope bases and with the "SAVAGE MODEL 99" stamp on top of the receiver stamped to the side to make room for the scope base screws.

1953 99RS forearm:

OK. I can confirm no slant-outs on this one, and the forend doesn't seem especially wide to me; width flows from the size of the receiver. The SAVAGE/MODEL 99 mark is right in the center of the forward bridge.

Thanks again for all the info. Feel free to PM me if there are any more details you might want for your records and your book and so forth.

-Chris

Thank you for bringing it over. We still have a year and a half gap between your prewar style and the 1950's style 99R, but the gap continues to narrow.

I've just received a 99F. The lever boss stamp is unreadable. The serial is 773650 Ballpark year?
Thanks!

1956

My data would show very late 1955, but any individual rifle can be months later the serial number range. So late '55 or early '56.

Great thanks guys. If it shoots alright I will take it sheep hunting this fall.

Hello everyone. I’ve got a 99 with a serial number that dates it to 1920, 2132XX, and I’m trying to figure out what model it is. It is a Takedown chambered in 250-3000. It has the thin schnable forend with a pistol grip stock, uncheckered. Both forend and stock are stamped with the full SN. I’ve been told it is probably a G that had the furniture replaced with a prewar set... Any ideas?

Welcome to the campfire!

That serial is a bit to low for a 99G, so if it’s in 250-3000 then it will be a second version of the Savage 1899 model 250-3000. It should be a takedown and have a pistol grip, but it should also be checkered. If fact, the second version of the 250-3000 looked exactly like the early 99G’s.

I would guess your checkering got sanded off when somebody refinished the stock. It happens.

I know this has been discussed before, but when did Savage begin stamping the model designation on the front of the frame?

You mean on the front, like the E G?

Not sure we have a hard start date. Sometime in the 1920's.

Yes. The earliest I have is a 1925 99 D, #2704XX, which is stamped with an “S”.

Thanks Calhoun!

Wait! What?

So the model designation is stamped on the frame, and all I had to do is look? Where is "on the front of the frame"? Under the forearm? It's been years since I had the forearm off... but I don't remember seeing anything like E, G, R. RS, etc. anywhere on the rifle...

-Chris

Yes, you have to remove the forearm to see the marking on the front of the frame. But, as Calhoun stated above, we don't know exactly when Savage started doing this, so your rifle may not be marked. My 1919 Model 250-3000, #208XXX is not marked.

OK, I removed the forearm and checked. This is (still) serial # 5037xx discussed above. There's an X on the flat just forward of where the rotor screws inside the receiver. The X is very exact but also very stark, two very thin and straight crossed lines... not like the relatively fat "font" characters from the (stamped?) barrel markings. (Maybe the X is etched, not stamped?)

I need to correct something I said earlier. The forearm itself has no markings, no serial number, etc. (My old notes are apparently not as clear as what I thought I remembered.)

-Chris

Yeah, the model 1899's never had any model designation stamped on them.

The 99's started up with it after a few years in the mid-20's, but even then it's not 100%. That continued until about the time they went o Chicopee Falls in 1947. Some models get the letter, so G for 99G, E G for 99EG, T for 99T, but others get another identifier - such as 99R or 99RS usually get an 8.

So "X" is... ?

Are those other letters stamped? In a likely "typeface" or "font" with some body to it? My "X" is very clearly an X, very clearly done precisely and on purpose, but not at all what I've had expected...

Maybe something changed after the 1947 move?

-Chris

A pic of the "X":



Along with some stray fuzz from a Q-Tip...

The barrel does say Chicopee Falls...

-Chris