Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 99 in 219 Wasp

Any 99 re-chamber/re-barrel project should start with getting it to feed out of the magazine, otherwise all the shine goes out of the project.

I have two 99's that feed 219 zipper flawlessly out of 303 rotors. Anther that I got frustrated on feeding the sharper-shoulder rimmed 7-30 Waters.

I gave up trying to feed 375Win from a clip magazine, and screwed the barrel onto a proper rotorary equipped receiver.

There are several life-times worth of experienced counsel here on the 'Fire. The idea of developing a varmint 250 load is only going to take a couple weekends.

How about a 99x .410 repeater?

Thanks. Glad to hear they fed from something fairly common.

The feed was how I started my last rebarrel. I was actually wanting to chamber it in 35 Rem or a shortened 358 Win but neither cartridge would feed for beans from my 300 action. Ended up doing it in 250 because I'd wanted one anyway, and it fed fine from that rotor.

I'll have to make up some Wasp dummies and try them in my 303 and 300 to see how they feed and go from there.

Jeff did you try the 300 rotor on the waters?

I'm also not sure which version of the Wasp the dies are for. I know there are a few different case lengths that were common. Hopefully he'll have dug up the dies and/or brass today so I can have a look and seat up some dummies.

Chris, Your thought that the 300 rotor is the likely solution to feeding the sharp shouldered cases is my best bet for the 7-30, but I have not gotten back to it...., yet... I'm hoping my tinkerbell wings haven't completely molted ..

I have a 99 barrel that I believe is chambered in 225 Win, but it could be some sort of zipper improved. The chamber cast can't really be trusted for good rim dimensions. I would like to see a couple of Your 219 Wasp dummies side-by-side with a 225 Win cartridge.

I've never owned a 225, so I don't have any brass to do a comparison. I've actually only owned a few smallbore centerfires, 218 Bee, 22-250, 22 Hornet, and 222. 222 in a really late built 840 is the only one I currently own.

I know the most common lengths for Wasp were 1.715, 1.760, and 1.816, but I'm sure other variations are floating around since it's always been a wildcat.

And then there's the cost and hassle of having a reamer made that's compatible with what your dies turn out.

I have a .22 High Power Improved reamer if you want to shift gears.

Thanks. I do appreciate the offer, but the thought of such limited bullet choices turned me off the idea of picking up a HP quite a while back. I'm a load tinkerer, and there's just not much to work with there for bullets.

I was thinking of doing a 1-8 twist and playing around with 50-65gr frangibles, if this project ends up going anywhere.

P.S. - that's awfully trusting of you. I sure's heck wouldn't lend a custom tool to a total stranger from the internet 😂

Sounds like you need a lead sled. My 300 Weatherby used to beat the crap out of me on the bench rest. It's tolerable now with a lead sled and 25 pounds of lead shot to anchor it.

There's one available to me out where I shoot, but it messes me up really badly with irons. My POI with it vs without it are nowhere near each other. If I sight a gun in off the sled, I'd be lucky to hit a buffalo broadside at 50 yards without it.

Aside from the necessary evil of shotgun slugs, I've just dumped all my heavy recoilers and replaced them with milder cartridged rifles. We can use muzzleloaders for the 2nd half of our firearms season, so I always pack my .50 when I can. It's much more pleasant to both carry and shoot than the shotgun.

Well, that idea is officially in the dumpster and on fire. Got the dies, but he couldn't find the brass, so I formed some from some 22HP brass. Ended up destroying more than I got formed.

I can see why Dad didn't mess with it long... not worth the headache. The one I stuck a bullet in didn't feed in either action anyway.

did You try feeding it through your 300 rotor?

Tried the 300 and 303. Didn't feed well from either. 300 the shoulder was way too far back and it would get all cockeyed. In the 303 it sat fairly straight but kept wanting to catch in the front of the magazine. Those dies were for the 1.81" Wasp. They might feed in the 303 with a different bullet, but those were the only .224 I have on hand.

Really more a matter of forming the brass, it sucked. Not even close to that much hassle to me. Had to trim the brass before and after sizing, and the expander kept wanting to get caught and tweak the necks. I've never seen an expander like that before, it was almost squared off around the edges. The dies have to be from the 40s or 50s. $10 is printed right on the end of the box as the price.

Yeah, those Easton dies weren't all that hot. I've encountered them a few times over the years and came to the conclusion that there's a reason they're mainly found in the bargain junk bins at the gun shows.

It's beginning to look like this conversion may be pretty time consuming. After all, even if the rotor is sussed out there's still the matter of the cartridge guide to contend with.

Why not scrounge up a Winchester HiWall and barrel it up? With the value of 99's skyrocketing it's not so farfetched of an idea anymore. There's a reason why HW's were the platform of choice back in the Golden Era of .22 wildcatting, and 99's in that role virtually unheard of. (But Savage barrels were employed a lot. Many references were made of using Savage barrels fitted to other guns in the making of .22 wildcats. I often wondered if they were using Model 23 .22 barrels or if Savage had a side line of making some barrels for the gunsmithing trade. Dunno.)

Yeah, I was not fond of those dies at all. The seater was a pain to adjust, too. I will not be doing anything in Wasp for the price and headache of ruining that much expensive brass.

It was just an idea popped into my head when he said he had those dies. All of the wildcats/oddballs I've owned (a grand total of 2) were both built on H&R single shots because they were cheap and readily available at the time.

I'll probably just find another 99 chambered in a cartridge I'm interested in sooner or later and call it good.

Probably a wise move although I was interested in following your journey down that rabbit hole!

I may still, if I find a beater really cheap, but those are few and far between. I did come really close to getting that EG rebarreled in a shortened 358 Win, but went with 250 instead. Feed and ejection were ok, but with the fatter neck/shoulder, I could only get 2 or 3 rounds in the magazine because they were canted in the 300 rotor.

More likely I'll just eventually just pony my cheapss up and find a decent one in 25-35, 22-250, or 32-40, though.

FWIW, A couple years ago I had Ranger Point Precision convert a NIB Marlin 336 to 219 Donaldson Wasp. RPP installed a 24 inch 1/10 twist Douglas Premium barrel, adjusted and slicked up the action and set the trigger at 3 lbs. The rifle is a tack driver pushing 70 grain spitzers at 2900 fps.

In essence, I have a 22HP using .224 bullets. I have yet to hunt with it and it is presently in climate controlled storage as is all my reloading equipment and supplies awaiting completion of our home addition.

Regarding the 22 Hi Power, I have been able to find .228 bullets from time to time. Also, the 22 HP is still popular in Europe and is known as the 5.6X52R. Thus, loaded ammo is available. I have a Savage 99 DOM 1913 chambered in 22 HP. It's a neat little rifle.

T.S.

The brass I used for my resize test was actually Norma 5.6x52. Way easier than hunting down 22HP headstamped stuff. I had bought a handful and a set dies several years back when I was thinking of getting a HP, but the rifle expense and spotty bullet availability changed my mind. I sold the dies, but hung onto the brass just in case I ever needed it.