Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 358 R&D gun... ??

358 rotary magazine 99 in 99CD wood, serial number JW007. Got to think it's an R&D gun, just not sure what they were trying to do here.

Now, the 99CD was offered from '75-'80. The mystery 99F's in 358 that occasionally show up date to 1974. Possibly there's a relation between the two? Maybe considering a 99FD as well as a 99CD, or upgraded 99DL? No medallion in the stock or on the pistol grip, so in that regard the stock is identical to the 1975 99CD.

I don't have a picture of the serial number, though I can see that there's something stamped on the bottom of the receiver. So I'd guess it's underneath. Hmm, not normal for 1969+ 99's.

The 99-358 (Brush Gun) came out in 1976. Maybe... this was a prototype for that? It had the finger groove forearm, the recoil pad, early ones even had a monte carlo stock. Would just have to lose the pistol grip and cheek piece.

This looks like a job for Ron Coburn.

I like the 007 part!

Can you tell if there is a medallion in the right toe or grip cap? Barrel markings might be of help/interest.

Too early for Ron, he came in a decade or so after this. Callahan would have been there, but I don't think R&D was his department at that time.

And screwed up the serial number.... JW700, not JW007.

No medallion in the stock or on the pistol grip, so in that regard the stock is identical to the 1975 99CD.

I'm not sure the barrel has any stamps on it. The 358 isn't stamped in the normal place, guessing it might be on top?

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1039/61/two-savage-model-99-lever-action-rifles

Someone like me would look at this piece and think it was something someone cobbled together. I love reading this information. Thanks guys

We'd all be thinking that as well, except for the serial number. There's still the chance that the stock was just added later and had nothing to do with the action.

It's not a hard gun to look at like some of the others from the same period were...

Someone = Savage Arms.
Roe Clark had a pieced together 75th Anniversary model, numbers of octagonal barrels from the anniversary models have appeared on other rifles.
Savage did this as one offs, survival or who knows what, but they did it. They don't fit squarely into known model/variations today or even what Savage advertised.
Or, someone down stream created it.??
I dunno, but the white spacers are red flags to me. JMO.

There is a medallion on the grip cap. Go to full sceen on the linked auction photos; can be seen on a couple of the photos.

Interesting in general for sure, but a little late to be interesting to me. It is unusual.

Back in the late 1980;'s and early 1990's 99CD wood wasn't hard to come by. I have a few sets set aside and used one on a 99 varmint rifle parts gun in 250-3000 that features a 99EG receiver and a recycled Ruger 77V 25-06 barrel.

Keith pointed out that there may be a medallion on the pistol grip cap, and that the rifle has a gold trigger which was generally discontinued in 1970.

Kudos to Keith.

That actually might explain what the gun is... gold trigger means 1970 or earlier. No barrel boss means 1970 or later, because all 358's in the 60's had barrel bosses (99F, 99DL). So.. maybe a R&D gun to try the new barrel profile, or just to take pictures. Stock added 1975 or later, or by an owner (as Jeff says, stocks are out there).

I don't get R&D guns. Make a special gun just for photo shoots? Yeah maybe, because of great wood on it, but why the special serial number?

When I think of R&D I think new cartridge or something. I like the idea that they threw them off the top of the building or ran over them with trucks too. Makes more sense.

Rory, auction says it is a 22" barrel, so that rules out one of those Westfield 24" 358 barrels we've seen on some of those 70s F-like rifles.

I kind of figured that when you spotted the gold trigger. That'd be much earlier than the 1974.. but it's another stake through that thought's heart.

And maybe it's not an R&D gun at all... maybe it was just made by an employee with the initials JW and employee ID number 700.

My brother has RD 358, maybe he will chime in.

my RD278 (prototype CD) has the same buttstock with the white spacers on the pg and buttstock. but the edges of the pg are rounded not like the rifle pictured which has square edges on the PG. my rifle has a blued trigger.