Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Why Is The Savage 99 So Popular?

A good friend has lived and hunted in Hancock, NY for the last 50 years. The only deer rifle he’s ever owned is a Savage 99 in 308 that he inherited from his father.

Fireball2 did you ever shoot deer with those loads? Back in 1984 I bought a 257 m70 fwt and 4 boxes of the +P 100 grain Silvertip loads, I didn't think they were very good on game didn t expand well. Yep they could have changed the bullet multiple times between the ones you showed and the ones I used. Mb

Not yet sir.

I grew up in southeast Kansas, last 18 years in southwest Missouri. I've never seen another hunter or friend with a 99. Sisters and I bought my dad a 99R for his 50th birthday present in .250 Savage. I bought an EG in .300 Savage a few years later. I'm always on the lookout for a shooter EG in .250 to complete my 'set' so to speak. Perusing gunshops around here, if I see a single 99 on the gunrack in a year, then that is a lot. I just don't think many around here have them, and those that do, aren't getting rid of them.

Don't see many in this area, either. I've seen 3 in LGS around here since I got into 99s, and 2 of them are now in my possession.

Because they are effing cool guns.

Their just so dog gone smooth and reliable!

Like the younger generation says!

MONEY!

Not fancy, but reliable, stylish, and very dependably COOL!

You can use a BLR or a Henry long ranger or a Win 88 or a Sako Finnwolf to do the same thing. None are real lever actions but they are all arguably better looking than a 99. I'd bet a dollar to a donut that my Marlin 336 is as accurate or more so than most 99's { averages 3/4" for 3 shots @ 100}. It also has a darn good trigger {after a bit of work by me admittedly}, excellent balance for offhand shooting {95% of my deer are killed that way} and it looks like a lever gun should. I've killed a big pile of deer with it and have no need for anything more where I usually hunt. For the rare occasion when I hunt open ground I'll happily select one of my many scoped bolt guns. I have no room for a homely, quasi lever operated bolt rifle.

So much angst over such a beautiful weapon! LOL

The thing I forgot to add is with its elliptical spring loaded flat bolt, they rarely reload up past mid book, and can be tough on brass.

The 300 savage in the 1899 light barreled F or E is like blackberries and vanilla ice cream! As in almost a perfect combination. IMO

Never have shot my 303 savages enough to have an opinion. I know in Murray’s book he liked the 303 with the shorter barrel.

The Savage may have gotten a 100 grain pill to 3000 FPS in 1914 …….I think it was a 90 .

But Marlins been sending 405 grains on target for many moons before that!

I like em all.

Well, you know what they say. Beauty's in the eye of the beholder. I've just always thought they were about as homely as they come. Like the 99 is to lever rifles what the Savage 340 or the Axis is to bolt actions. If you need the range of a bolt gun why not use one ?

In this life, I only regret 3 things: selling a S&W Model 18, selling a 99EG in 250-3000 because I wanted one with a scope and the one I had did not have one, nor was it drilled for one. I will demur on the 3rd one as my wife may look over my shoulder.

Where I hunt blacktail deer and bear I can go from crawling on my hands and knees through manzanita thickets to shooting 600 or more yards, all in the same day. A Savage lever action is very fast for jump shooting deer and just as capable for long range if you're shooting the right cartridge. A bolt action gives up alot for follow up shots in a jump shooting situation.

Ouch! Those steel buttplates make me wince! I’ve not shot those particular guns, but I have shot some other ones that made me regret it

I haven't found that to be the case for me at all. I'm quite well practiced and fast with both. I would say no difference for aimed, repeat fire with one vs the other. Three seasons back was hunting with my brother. Jumped two deer and dropped them both in rapid succession with my Ruger 77 Hawkeye. Later my brother said he didn't think it could possibly have been me that shot. Said he thought it had to have been somebody with a semi auto or pump to shoot that fast. I will take your word for it that you know what works best for you.

Yeah blackheart, I do suck with a bolt gun. Set me down at a bench fine, but hunting not so much. LOL

I’m late in my life to Savage 99’s, Fireball warned me about them when he sold me the first one. The 99’s I have are very accurate, fun to shoot, and look cool. I have a few, 243’s, 284, 300 Savage, 32-40, 308, 358’s. I’m having one made into a 338 Federal.



Got this deer about a week ago, with new to me 284, made in 63 I think.

Because it's a better rifle that offers the use of pointy bullets and faster cartridges. Easier to scope than a 94 helped too.

From what I've read, nobody seems to know exactly how many Savage 99's were produced but it was certainly nowhere near the 7 million + of the Win. 94 and not even close to the 3 million + of the Marlin 336. Given that, plus the fact that it is long discontinued while the '94 and 336 are still being made, it's hard to call the 99 "so popular".