Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Cool piece of advertising - 99C

I presume this was sent to dealers. 17"x11". I like it!

With no barrel boss, steel buttplate and pressed checkering - I'd put this as 1970-1972 if the graphic was current at the time.

Though if it's showing a 284, it could be 1965-1972. 284's never had a barrel boss.

Do you think the magazine was added at that time in an attempt to keep pace with the Remington's and Winchesters'?

Both the number of parts and the amount of machining needed are significantly less in the detachable vs the rotary magazine models. My vote is they did it to reduce costs, and I think history would say it was too little too late. Too bad.

If it was cost, they didn't pass it along to the consumer. The 99C retailed for the same as the 99F rifle - actually higher price than the 99F for the last 2 years the 99F was available. The late 99A rotor mag rifle was cheaper than the 99C.

The 1965 catalog says hunters had been asking for it for a long time, and I believe it. Faster reloads without having to fumble individual rounds out, easy to unload for states requiring unloaded guns in cars..

We're all collectors and love the rotor magazine. But for a hunter, there's attractions to a detachable magazine. Look at AR sales.

Don't know if it was trying to keep up with Remington/Winchester specifically or not. But the Winchester 88 had been out for 10 years by the time the 1965 showed up, so that might be why hunters were asking for a detachable mag 99.

Even now I'm shocked how much a 99C 308 can bring. Are there states where a removable magazine while traveling is a requirement? Maybe that's part of it.

To counter the Winchester 88.

Remington never played in the lever action market niche except for the short lived Nylon 76.

In Pennsylvania firearms need to be unloaded when transporting in a vehicle. And we have a strong tradition of deer and bear drives where you are often in and out of vehicles many times in a day. So a removable magazine is seen by many as a selling point. Drop the mag and remove the round in the chamber and jump in the truck bed.

Also quick to load should you see an animal while driving to the next spot. I'd guess the mag is part of the popularity of Rem 760's in Pa. That and the fact the semi auto rifles are not legal for big game.

Removing rounds never bothered me and I hunted with 99's, 94's, and 77's. I will admit the floorplate on the Ruger 77 made life easier but not a big deal.

I was always worried more about losing the magazine, then you're screwed. Guess I'll find out, the upcoming season will see a Win 88 in the rifle rotation.

Note: unloading for transport does not apply to your carry gun if you have a License to Carry Firearms but that doesn't apply to long guns.

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