Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 Models and Calibers??

I have a little knowledge now on 99's having owned a 99C in .308 for 3 weeks :o) My question pertains to the .300 savage and the .308 calibers and the models they came in. I just want to know the basic differences between the 99EG, 99R and 99F and what cartridge the came in and barrel lenghts. I think they all came with the rotary magazine right? Tell me if this is right??

99EG: Snauble fore stock, Rotary mag, Barrel length??, Calibres?? Weight?? Years made??, Drilled and tapped?

99R: Regular fore stock, Rotary Mag, Barrel Length??, Calibers??, Weight?? Years Made?? Drilled and tapped??

99F: Same as above??

Ah, this is how it starts. I'd suggest ordering a copy of Murray's book on 99's, it has all of these answers. You can find ordering information in the "Misc. Good Info" thread at the top of the forum.

Basically, all three are rotary mag. Now, going from memory..

99EG mostly had 24" barrel, but a couple calibers had shorter lengths in some years. Made from 1935 throught 1959.

99R also mostly had a 24" barrel. The forearm was always rounded, but had a major change in the 40's. Made from.. 1935 through 1959.

99F, the LATER version, had a rounded forearm and was a featherweight. Thin barrel and holes bored in the buttstock make this the lightest of the late 99's. 22" barrel, made from 1955 throught 1959. Well, made later than 1959 but the 1955 to 1959 are the desirable ones.

The 300 Savage cartridge is a light-weight 308.. most sources say the 308 was designed from the 300 Savage. Both are good hunting cartridges, the 308 will reach a bit farther but kicks quite a bit more.

Rory
Correct me if i'am wrong but i think i read some where once that the 300 savage was based on the 30-06 or vise versa?
Steve

Did they make the 99F in .300 savage??

Steve, from memory the .300 Savage was based upon the 30-06, and when the military went looking for a shortened round to replace the 30-06 they looked hard at the .300 Savage but because the shoulder angle was too severe to cycle well in automatic weapons the raised the shouler something like 17 degrees (this is from memory so it is probably off) and adjusted the length slightly and called in the 7.62 X 51 NATO. Within a short time it was loaded commercially as the .308 Winchester.

The government wanted to save weight and reduce recoil.

99Lever
Both In Later Model "F's" and Earlier Takedown Model's where made in the 300

Tnx Roger
I thought that was the Case or Something Like That.
Steve

This is what WIKIPEDIA says:

The original intent of its designers was to offer a cartridge that could approach the ballistics of the .30-06 Springfield, while at the same time utilizing a smaller case that could be cycled through a short-action lever rifle. Although it fell somewhat short of its ballistic goals (by about 150 ft/s), its performance outclassed other contemporary .30 caliber lever-action cartridges including the .30-30 Winchester and .30 Remington. It soon became a popular deer and medium-sized game cartridge among North American hunters, and by mid century nearly every major US firearms maker offered a .300 Savage chambering in at least one of its rifle models.[2]

The .300 Savage distinguished itself further by serving as the parent to the .308 Winchester (7.62x51mm NATO) cartridge, a round that was developed for the US armed forces in the 1950s and which is still in use today.[3]

The Savage Model 99 lever-action rifle is no longer in production, and over the past two decades or so the .300 Savage has faded in popularity, eclipsed by its own progeny the .308 Winchester and other more powerful short action cartridges. However, it continues to be marketed by several ammunition manufacturers.

Ironically, Savage Arms no longer regularly offers a rifle chambered for what may be the most famous cartridge the company ever developed. Despite its decline as a sporting round, the .300 Savage remains quite popular with handloaders who are able to utilize newer smokeless powders and more aerodynamic bullets to obtain optimum performance from it.[

Rory
Ya ForGot the the "T"!!!!!!!!
Steve

Sshhh!!! He didn't ask, I didn't think we needed another T addict.

99Lever, I think every model from 1920 onwards was offered in the 300 Savage cartridge.

So what are the differences between the 99EG and the 99R? Do they each weigh the same, and have the same barrel length? Are the only differences the fore-stocks? Looks like they were both made for the same length of time and offered in the same cartridges. What is the more sought after model and why? Why are the pre-war models more desired than post-war??

The pre-war 99R's are more sought after, since they are lighter and less common than the postwar 99R's. However, pretty much any 99R in anything but 300 Savage would be desirable because there just aren't many of them.

Overall, 99EG's in 300 Savage are the most common configuration you run into. The 99R in 300 is probably close to second. So, unless it's got a LOT of condition you won't see a lot of fighting over either one. Pre-war 99R's are a lot less common just because the economy wasn't too good in the 30's, and so they are pretty popular in any caliber. The pre-war 99EG's were uncheckered from 1935 to 1939, but they still don't bring a premium.

Somewhere I have a 1937 factory catalog which shows the 99EG and the 99R to be the same weight. I have to believe the post-war 99R is heavier, but I have no source or rifle to weight.


First, here's a forearm for a pre-war 99R. Note the lines at the front of the forearm. The forearm is also no wider than the receiver.




Now, here's a 99EG with a schnabel forearm. The buttstocks are all very similar, though the 99R will have a fluted comb on the buttstock and the 99EG won't.




Now, here's a forearm for a pre-war 99R, a 99T, and a post-war 99R. The 99R after WWII had the forearm wider than the receiver, and thus you get a slant to the forearm in front of the receiver. Similar to the pre-war 99T, but the slant is longer and the checkering is different.

Awsome thank you very much for this rundown, that explains alot about the diff models. Some nice guns there for sure!! I suppose I will have to be happy with my 99C in .308 for now. But I sure would like one of those 99EG's in .300 savage sooner rather than later. Gotta get the funds togather first, a 99C will have to do this fall!! Thanks

Gotta correct myself.. the 99R was made from 1932 through 1959. The 99EG was from 1935 through 1959.

I stated above that the 99R was made from 1935 through 1959.. but no sticky in my Murray's that it's wrong on this point, so my memory is obviously off.