Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Lightfoot Mount Update

Jay Ward posted on FB but couldn't get logged in here for some reason.

He has met with a bunch of machine shops and has it narrowed down to 3 candidates. He will be working on a deal with the best choice once he wades through the details.

Encouraged by the forward motion though!

Will keep ya' tuned in.

Thanks Mike, I could use another one!

Pretty amazing there is enough demand to keep them around the same price they were before?

AWESOME!

Just means my original Lightfoot mount on my cheese rat HP 22 QUADRUPLES it's value!

WOO HOO!

Also, seeing how it was THE LAST ONE...

Seems ridiculous now, but maybe Mr. Lightfoot could put that in writing for you to provide provenance for future generations of 99 collectors. Otherwise, it will just be another story lost to history.

Good point. I was the last of 2 available, so I know it was the last HP22 mount, as that was different than the others. Unfortunately I don't have the emails that went back and forth. If he wishes to provide that provenance, that would be great, but I am glad it is an original.

I do have the PM's from him.

Thanks for all you do lightfoot.

I hope you have a good holiday season.

John

Jay Ward is the hero here for picking up the baton!

No mention of pricing yet since that will be driven by production costs. Fingers crossed... (I worked way too cheap)

Blitz, I checked the emails and there is no mention of 'the last mount' The proof is in the PMs then. I can 'certify' FWIW.

Thanks to all for your ongoing support!!

i have had many opportunities to sell my Lightfoot mount. it will only be sold when my bride sells all my stuff.
looking forward to gen 2 production.

The only thing you stated was that there were 2 left, I got one of them, the last HP22 version. I don’t recall who got the other one. I’m sure the original posting where you announced you only had 2 left, should have more details.

Never got one. Were they for sale somewhere when produced? For the older non tapped guns, all I have is stith mounts and receiver sights.

My 284 has a Leupold though.

Direct sales to people who wanted to preserve the value of their precious 99s. In the beginning most were bought through Campfire contacts. Later it moved to Facebook and kinda blew up.

You contacted me once about a sale to Mike Horstman.

Mike you did a great service to all, going to a machine shop will increase price by +++++++

Jay Ward's update on his quest to ressurect the no-drill Lightfoot mount for the Savage 99:

"Lightfoot update…. I don’t have any breaking news for this week. However I have met virtually with about 30 engineer and machine shops over the last several days. Some local to the NoVA area and some in other parts of the country. I have narrowed it down to 3 groups and will be meeting with them in person over the next week. I am having problems getting into the 24 Hour Campfire to post this update. If someone who is able to get on, wouldn’t mind adding this update there, I would appreciate it."

You can find Jay on Facebook by searching for "Savage 99 Club".

Kind of curious, last I knew 'gnoahh' was going to manufacture 'The Lightfoot' mounts. According to this thread a 'Jay Ward' is in the process of doing so. Didn't see any posts where Gary isn't going to do so. Looked back until around Sept on the back pages and didn't see anything. Did I miss some announcement recently. Fine with me whoever does so, but just curious about what was advised on this thread.

I don't like to speak for Gary but he may be busy with other things.

Due to extenuating circumstances it would have been difficult for Gary to do the entire build. He was counting on assistance with the welding and some other items and that is no longer available to him. He and Jay put their heads together and affected a handoff.

I think it will be an incredible solution if Jay can get this into a production environment at an acceptable price. He seems to be the best qualified to put that together and he has all of my support.

True. Add to that physical/health issues that have piled onto me. It's in good hands - Jay's thoughts parallel mine in terms of streamlining manufacturing.

Sounds good that Jay will pick it up. Sorry to hear of your issues Gary, blessings to you on your health.

Newest Lightfoot mount update by Jay Ward:

Lightfoot — Next Steps…….

I have one of the last Lightfoot mounts that Mike Watson produced that Sam Hurt has offered me as a loaner. I will be using that as the starting prototype to be scanned and then leveraging the expertise of a design/mechanical engineer to do some CAD work for a 3D model. From there, I will be doing some reverse engineering and then making some changes to Mikes design. The goal is to have the final 3D dimensional/tolerance drawing and file created. From there work with the machine shop to have the test units produced with a CNC and produced for testing. After some QA/QC testing, then I will look at production batches.

The changes that I am looking to make is to go with a one piece unit to reduce costs. I am also looking to add picatinny rails (Weaver standard) to the front and rear of the mount to offer 99 owners some flexibility on their choice of scope rings. Hopefully I can determine if different materials can be offered - steel, aluminum, and composite among some others.

IMPORTANT NOTE: At this time I can’t provide a price because I still have to get through the design phase and then get quotes from the machine shop for the production batch runs and the quantity being produced in each run.

I have allocated the next week to work the design engineer and exchanging design files with him until we get a good drawing. Hopefully after that, test models can be produced within the following weeks and prior to the holidays.
Once designs are completed, I think I will call this generation the Lightfoot 99 Series II mounts. Why the specific nomenclature? Because I am going to be starting a similar type of mount for the Remington model 14 and 141 model rifles.

I will also look to create a Lightfoot website where orders can be placed and to also provide a history of mount and Mike’s original concepts efforts that he made in producing 650+ models over the years for Savage 99 owners. Once I get through the design phase and then meeting with the machine shop, I should be able to determine the price for the units and then get them posted to the website.

As far as suggestions and inputs for the design, I WILL WELCOME THEM ALL. Please feel free to send me a direct message here on Facebook messenger or you can email me directly at dandeerepgmail.com

Thank you for your patience. Hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it will all come to fruition soon.

The other guy was me. Here is part of the correspondence between Mike and I. " It will be my last mount so maybe that's a good way to close the book.

Let me know if you need the details again." There is quite a bit of correspondence about this one and I have all of it. I saved it just because I guess I thought it was neat.

I know there is a thread here somewhere. Glad you kept the trail. So, I got the last HP22 mount.

I can live with that!

I am curious if Lightfoot has totals of the different types he made, and a total count of the complete run.

Still, a piece of unique Savage history and creativity by those Savage 99 addicts like us!

He at least should be noted somewhere in all this history. Would only be fair.

In all fairness, I built the mounts in groups of 5 and completed the various stages of the build on all 5 before moving to the next step. It is difficult to ID the absolute 'last one' since they overlapped in the process. I went by when they were shipped. Got very close to 500 total.

I have pretty detailed records on each mount. There are basically 2 models. The 1899 with a long front strap and all others for the 99s and a few 1899 carbines. The only difference in the 99 mounts is the length of the screw slots for the dovetail block. The rear sight dovetail moved from as close as 2-7/16" to 3-1/4" from the receiver ring. I thought strongly about building all of them with the full length screw slot so it would be a universal mount but never followed through due to the extra work.

The mount Jay Ward has for a prototype does have the long screw slots so it will fit nearly all the 99s but not some of the 1899 carbines. I'm recommending the long screw slots for a production version of the mount. Much easier for a milling machine to do. I have a commercial drill press that I did the work on. Not great at milling steel though.

I show a Lightfoot mount on my 99K on page 88 of the engraving book. It will also appear in the revision to the "Collector's Guide". Thanks Mike for the great service you provided with the Lightfoot mount. David

Mike's original design is based off the old Redfield SR one piece base. Jay is looking at changing the design to a CNC one piece with Weaver Picatinny top. All yet to be determined after talking to manufacturing companies.

At this point I don't think the picatinny is locked in for the design. Still back and forth on it. The production cost of that Vs. the old turn in Style rings will certainly be a factor. I have to think going to a Weaver style ring is simpler whether it is a full picatinny or not.

Please don’t put a picatinny rail on it.
It would just not look right on a classic Savage 99.

Someone here posted a picture of a 99 with a picatinny rail on it. It looked a lot better than I thought it would ( I'm not a fan of them though).

The conventional style picatinny is pretty ugly on a 99. I would like to see a rail that takes Weaver rings that is also low profile. Like this:

you are right.
that was me that posted the pic of the 99 with a picatinny rail

IMO they should be produced the same as the time proven and popular 'Lightfoot' mount. Doing anything else would make it not a continuation of the original, would not be a 'Lightfoot Mount'. So many times manufacturers get the idea of changing a time proven product only to have it 'bomb'. Same as some sequel to a movie or car manufacturers changing a time proven, popular vehicle this or that. My vote is to keep 'as is' if anyone is interested. A picatinny rail would detract from the looks/lines of a 99 IMO. Who was it Ruger that put a picatinny rail on one of the classic Marlin line of lever gun models, added fiber optic sights. Ugly, Ugly. Might as well hang a light and a suppressor, maybe a mount for a cell phone also.

I get what you're saying but the weaver style rings have been used for a long time and have been proven to work. The original Lightfoot mounts are probably great but it's not like they'll be selling thousands of these things. So having to buy and modify a Leupold mount for each one may bump the price up. I doubt anyone doing this is doing it to lose money. If it ends up being too expensive they'll have a lot of original Lightfoot style mounts few people will buy. If the design is changed so it is one piece of metal that will also open up the possibilities of different, and probably better, finishes.

I'm not involved and most likely won't buy one anyway. Just my two cents.

Savage 99's have been factory drilled and tapped since the mid 50's. So, a Lightfoot style non drill mount is really only useful or desirable on guns over 70 years old. Who going to put a Pic rail on a classic pre war H or R or G or K? That will be a bust IMO. Classic and expensive is going to sell better than cheap and ugly.

You got to know your market and remember who is buttering your bread. Ask the people at AB about Bud Light....

I took it as not a picatinny rail but having it machined similar to one. Like the Weaver mounts.

Like just two grooves, one for each ring? Suppose that could work without being too offensive...

Howdy! I think I have my account issues corrected here on 24hourcampfire. I will do my best to keep everyone updated here along with the MeWe and Facebook groups.

I will resume work with Matt Cook on the CAD 3D file modifications after the first of the year.

—Jay

Thanks for the update, Jay.

AdBlocker is your friend if you have problems here.

Has there been any update on this situation? I was fortunate enough to purchase one of these from Lightfoot and regret not having purchased 3 more!

Hi Guys, I am new to the group, but did get any update from Jay yesterday and will just post what he posted on MeWe.

"Reverse engineering almost complete. Delayed due to strep and Covid with the engineer. Today we added in Micheal Watson's inputs and then also added some changes on our own. Close to a point to start negotiating with the metal shops on material and labor. The traditional style will be offered first and then another option with weaver base wil come after. quote from Jay Ward on MeWe.

He also posted some pics with this but they were too big to post on here.

Here is a pic I hope.

Put Me down for one!

Thanks for the update Gary.

Bottom pic looks like the last of Mike's designs.

Top looks like a Weaver version but not sure how it attaches to the barrel in front.

Welcome Gary. Pics on this site are best handlied with a 3rd party image hosting. I have used postimage and it is really easy, no need to regeister with them. I also see imgur used.

LHS

Those images are out of date. Jay is changing the front strap to be like the original design.

Those are the pics he posted last night. but here are two more that I just resized.

Yes, they are what he posted but they do not reflect the final design.

Good morning everyone! Yes I was finally able to meet with Matt Cook to go over some changes and to make some addition changes to the 3D model. The two things that I have learned over the last couple of months after taking all of this on is that a number of machine shops will try to nickel and dime you. Everything from just changing out a bit in the CNC to simply just walking the part down the hall for a particular bend to be put into the part. The second thing that I have learned is that I went into the wrong field some 45 years ago. Anyhow, we have a few more changes in the CAD 3D that we want to make before sending the file over to our POCs at the machine shops for material and labor quotes. The goal is to have them do the bases and then any final drilling that will need to be made, Matt and I will do that on our small CNCs that we have purchased.

For the traditional Lightfoot mounts, we are looking to produce the base, the front dovetail insert and screws, and the rear ring screws. As much as I would have liked to be able to produce the rings and their height variations, it isn’t practical to do at this time. We are however going to explore that option at a later time to see if we can produce them and provide the one stop shop for everything that is needed.

For the new type of mount with the rails, we are looking at this time in having the machine shop produce just the base. The base will be similar to that of the traditional mount minus the front twist lock slot for the front ring and the rear cut out and screws for the rear ring. We will produce with our small CNCs a front and rear mount (Similar to that of a Weaver front for a 99) that will have 4 to 5 slots cut into them for scope rings and for variable adjustments and eye relief. We will drill and tap the base mounts for these small rails at our shop in order to keep the costs down.

I am still not at a point where I can determine a cost on the two models. I do know that the price breaks from the machine shops occur when they are able to produce more and a discount can be applied in bulk material orders. I will be looking at steel and aluminum quotes to produce the mounts. Steel will have to be the likely option because aluminum and other composites are inflated so high right now it is ridiculous.

Hope to have another update within the next few weeks.

Jay

Also. I don’t get on the 24HourCampfire that often. If anyone would like updates from me, feel free to email me at dandeerepgmail.com or feel free to call me at 540-660-2049

Thanks Jay.

I think I'll make this a sticky so you will find it up top and can just add to it as things move along.

Don't presume to speak for Jay but here is latest post. As of today 02/03/24

Latest as of 02/14

Hey guys, just to let you know Jay has posted some more news and pics on his site on MeWe. Rather that me trying to copy them over here, let me invite you guys to join MeWe and Jay Wards group called Savage 99 Owners and Enthusiasts. See you there.

Thanks for info on the MeWe group. Hate to see a 3rd group form though. Jay explains the reason for 2 groups on MeWe but it would be nice if they could be merged?

I'd be delighted get off FB altogether if more folks would move to MeWe.

Mike started his Lightfoot mount on here, I thoughts it should, have info posted here, myself and many others Don't do Facebook. Guess I'll just have to enjoy the mount I have! Iv not heard of MeWe before this.

Ditto. I don't do Facebook or whatever MeWe is. I'll have to get by on whatever second hand information is available. Hopefully someone will buy and install one when available and post pictures here so I can live vicariously through others.

This is still my favorite hangout. The quality of info here is light years ahead of the others.

I'll be sure that Lightfoot 2.0 gets well shared.

I left FB several years ago when freedom of speech and posting went away. I then joined MeWe and haven't looked back and am also on several other sites. What I like about MeWe is we have the Chat option in real time, which makes it nice to sit and have a conversation with your friends all over the US.
I wasn't trying to end this venue, but just wanted everyone to have the opportunity to see all posts that Jay makes about the progress of the mount.

Keep all us Luddites, that don't do (anti) social media, informed.

If that is the one I gave to you, I am happy you still have it.

Update from Jay on FB:

Jay Ward
Top Contributor ·
·
Lightfoot II update.
A lot of people assume that working with a machine shop along with modern CAD and CNC technology saves time and money when you are trying to reproduce something like Michael Watson’s Lightfoot mount. The time and money savings hopefully come after all of the negotiations are complete regarding material and labor costs. The experience in taking on this endeavor so far has been educational, enjoyable, and frustrating. We have made some good progress over the last couple of weeks and have completed a number of changes based on recommendations in collaborating with the machine shop.
I want to produce 3 more prototypes over the next month for testing before giving the okay for the first production run. In the meanwhile, Mike secured the domain name sometime back for a website. I will work on that as well to get it set up to start taking orders.

I feel your pain Jay. A lot of people expressed interest in the no drill mount Gary G. and Gary D. helped me make for putting the Fecker target scope on target blocks for my 1902 1899 A. A local machinist did some work for me and charged WAY less than I expected. I showed him the rear mount, and he said everything to get the CNC set up to spit out the mounts would cast about $1000. Once it was programed it would be relatively cheap to make the part.

The rear mount on this one.