Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors semi-auto Savage 99

We haven't talked about this one on the tinkerbell forum lately

Bill Ruger's prototype 99

I am thinking the tubular magazine looking thing under the barrel is the gas thingy and that it retained the rotary magazine?

wyo1895 that was my thinking also.

Yes, it has been absent from this forum. And it's a pretty clean execution if you ask me. Think we can talk Ruger into making it today along side of its manually operated brother? (as a side note, it looks like they are getting serious about getting Marlin into production)

I think it looks a lot nicer than a Winny with the flapper device!

I would love to see a video of that rifle being fired or, at least, a video of the action being cycled manually.

That tube fed Savage .410 would go nicely with your rotary fed Savage .410

How does ejection work on that proto? Auto? Pump? Other? What is that metal piece on the right side fore/rec'r?

Meh. To me it looks clumsy from the receiver forward. I bet Bill Ruger had a Garand on the table in front of him when he designed that gas system. Can't tell from the pic, but I would be inclined to speculate that the appliance on the RH side is the operating rod.

I'm trying real hard to picture what you mean by a flapper device on a Winchester.

How does that saying go? Great minds think alike?

I thought exactly the same thing the instant I saw it...

It's a semiauto, so it would eject automatically and cycle in the next round. I'm curious whether it has a bolt stop for when the magazine is empty or if it closes. I'm guessing the screw and button at the rear of the bolt are part of the bolt stop.. reload the magazine, push the button and it slams the bolt forward?

The metal piece on the right I'm sure is a charging/unloading handle. Pull it back to open the bolt and eject any round in the chamber.

It may look clumsy, but remember that he was working on his own and needed to modify the 99 receiver to work rather than create a new receiver.

https://www.alloutdoor.com/2021/03/29/potd-john-moses-brownings-flapper-gun/
It has a disc with a hole in the middle hooked to a toggle. The muzzle blast pushes the flapper forward, that pushes the toggle down, pushing a rod back that cycles the lever.

Well I'll be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For all I've read of Bill Ruger's design's over the years, Ruger Firearms, and the development of gas/recoil operated rifles, this is the first I've ever heard of Bill Rugers first ever design, i.e. his Savage 99 conversion. Very interesting piece. I too would like to see a video of it being fired if one exists. I had read of and seen pics of John Brownings 'Flapper' rifle, a very inventive piece.



I also in the first look at the OP's video thought that it sure looked M1 Garandish'. Also a bit of 10-22 and Mini 14ish. The rod underneath the barrel would be the tube containing the gas piston and the right side appendage the charging handle/op rod to pull the bolt back. Wonder what the rate of fire was-probably not take long to fire the five rounds in the magazine, assume it probably was semi-auto. The back of the right side of the receiver looks like it has had some wear from the 'charging handle'. Be an interesting piece to be able to examine, more so to fire.

Thanks for sharing this. I had no idea this existed.

Crazy cool
Thanks

Just remind me NOT to loan any of my 99,s to any Ruger guy!
🙂

I didn't know that about the Browning modified 1873. This is a cool post.

There was a patent issued for converting an 1899 to a tube fed slide action - uspto.gov/00753384

John Browning like the flapper idea, one of his first semi-auto pistol used a toggle link lockup opened by a gas operated 'flapper', uspto.gov/00580923

Presumably invented back in the '50's. Really too bad that Bill never brought it to market because popular as the 99 was, a semi-auto like that would have captured the market here in the Midwest. Near everyone in deer camp back in the '60's had either a Remington 8/81/740/742 or a Winchester 100.

I get the ingenuity, but it ain't a Savage 99 at that point so no thanks.

Given my druthers for a heavy bulky semi-auto, I'll take a Garand (and have). On top of that, the .30-06 that a Garand pew pews has got the edge over a .300 Savage, not to mention 8 rounds versus 5 and clip fed to boot. Maybe Old Bill realized he had some tough competition in that department and shelved the idea.

Don't think you'd be in danger of Garand thumb from this one though.

40+ years of Garand shooting and I've never been bitten.

I could cut the barrel off with a Sawzall and use it for a jackhandle, is it still a 99?

I could cut the buttstock off right behind the pistol grip, saw the barrel off at 12", and shoot from the hip, is it still a Savage 99?


Reminds me of the schit I see for sale sometimes. I tell my wife, just because some asswipe had a stupid idea and decided to build one, doesn't mean I need it.

Watch that PawnStars show and am astounded with the things people value. Some stuffed bears are worth 5 grand but a first edition copy of the book that laid out the groundwork for our republic is only worth $2K. Liberace's chin strap sells for $50K, a rare Pez dispenser $17K, but George Washington's hatchet is worth $27.50 as scrap.

A semi auto Savage 99 is a nothing burger.

Tell us how you really feel, Roy!

To you. But, the world doesn't revolve around what any single one of us likes.

There are Ruger collectors. A lot of them. What would the rifle that is essentially the "Ruger Serial Number 1 gun" be worth to one of them? A lot.

Wooa, first I've heard that tidbit!!!??! Any clues if a protype was built?

I'ma lover of the Savage lever action rifle.

Of course Bill Rugers rifle has historical value and general interest, didn't mean to imply it doesn't, I find it interesting. BUT, I'm glad as hell the Savage lever action rifle was left as intended, as a lever action.

When you shoulder a Savage lever action to get on the track of your fleeing quarry, not only the function, but the romance of the rifle comes alive. Three or four shots, bang bang bang, real fast by operation of a lever and getting back on sight afterwards for the followup shots, watching that animal fall at your hand with the grace of a hand operated weapon? You can't put a price on it.

Autoloaders are a wholly soulless mechanism, speaking more to an assembly line than an outdoor hunting experience.

No sir, keep your autoloader no matter the provenance, make mine a Savage Lever Action.

Since I shoot left handed I got Garand index finger once, MY TRIGGER FINGER!!!! I did finish the match though. It would have been awkward to push the clip in with my left thumb so I used my index finger. No time to shift my right hand back during rapid fire.

Personally I think all forms of repeating rifles are a passing fad.

Waaallll, gee Roy, In my comment I wasn't implying I'd wish they'd have marketed Ruger's conversion, probably won't have passed 'patent muster' anyway. Kind of a half-breed homely looking thing. It's just an interesting piece showing the genius of Bill Ruger. Probably what got him hired at Springfield. I'm with you, keep the 99 a 99 lever gun. If Savage had marketed something similar to Remingtons 8/81 models, bet they'd have been a deer hunting favorite over the years. I love lever guns, love some semi-auto's also, same with bolt guns. Came close to having a 'Garand Thumb' once in the early days with one of mine. Saw a picture of a nasty swollen, black and blue thumb from a Garand once, not pretty.

M1 Thumb sounds better, it kind of rhymes. Garand Thumb, no ring to it. The military school I went to was the oldest school in the country, maybe private school, founded in 1774. The Peace Niks of the 70's killed it, went out of business in 1976. Grades started at 5th grade and went to two years post grad. We were sponsored by the USMC, and were issued M1's. Real ones, not fake white parade guns. The smaller kids were issued 03's. I always thought they were issued the 03's because they were lighter. Turned out it was preventative medicine. The little guys didn't have strong enough hands and thumbs to release the bolt. I heard lots of stories of M1 Thumb, but I never saw a 5th grader running around formation screaming with a Garand hanging off his thumb. When the school closed all of our weapons went back to Quantico. At least 500 M1's, officers were issued 45's, and we had a few Thompsons, don't know what for, we never fired them. Even our tank went to Quantico. I heard it's on display there, maybe a day trip is in order.

Careful, Joe. You might get M3 Butt.

It would be worth it to have that tank in the back yard.

Joe, That tank would take care of your turkey problem. Don

Fill er with #4 and flame away!

When I load a Garand I reach over the bolt and push the Enblock down with my left thumb and hold the bolt with my right hand. Never been bit.

I had mastered the trick of "X-ing" 2 rounds in a clip, to be loaded first and followed by a full 8-rounder to satisfy the 10 rounds rapid fire events. Then I learned that they made a special clip to hold those 2 rounds.

There's just something about an M1. Bought my first one a bazillion years ago out of the trunk of a car wherein laid about a dozen of them. The old guy worked for the Army and was in charge of inventorying small arms in depots and armories up and down the east coast. He showed up at the LGS regularly with all kinds of treasures.

I'll betcha Old Bill's semi-auto 99 didn't make that satisfying "ping" sound!

I did it that way when I bought my first M1. Hey, I'll admit it, I didn't have the backbone to do it with right thumb-was intimidated with the thing. Do it once in a while yet as you posted 99guy, but have the right hand thumb proper way figured out.

I remember either watching video or article or both with Bill ruger and this gun we also loved our 99's if memory serves he was never happy with a the various cocking solutions and put back on shelf. Personally fan of both Bill and Arthur so could of been interesting