Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Restore it or leave it as is?

Some of you may have seen photos (I e-mailed them to many here when I had this up for sale last weekend) of my 1914 manufacture 1899 Take down Deluxe in 250-3000. It has the perchbelly type stock, checkered trigger and Redfield sight but only about 65-70% of its blueing, has been D&T'ed for a scope, sling swivels added and the checkering on the wood is worn down to nearly smooth. Since I could not get what I thought was a decent price in selling it I have decided to keep it and use it as well as have it available for the grandkids in about 10 years or in the meantime other young hunters to use as a first deer rifle.

So, should I keep this as is or would it be damaging to the future value or sacriligious among us rifle nutballs to have it professionally re-blued and the checkering restored etc? What would you do if it was yours? Thanks for the input, MARK

In the described condition with the issues it has , it wouldn't be mine.

Mike

Make as you want it, or spend the money to make it as it once was. The holes drilled into it are the bugger.

Mark
I can't say what you should do,as far as value,,well you sumed it up by letting some young hunters use it and passin it on to Grand-kids in 10 years.
It's what you prefer.
I have done a few my self for me,,so as far as the value it's for me and i don't give a rats Azzz if it ruined the value or not. For I know there there for me and my boys and thats more value ya can put on it dollar-wise to me. I'ts Your Gun,Your Desire.
I'm also in the process of a complete restoration of a 1895,a 1899 trapper, and a couple of 1920's
J.M.O.
Steve

Here are the couple i've done.










And the other.



[img]http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/1899Sav/IMG_1110.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/1899Sav/IMG_1118.jpg[/img] [img]http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/1899Sav/IMG_1117.jpg[/img] [img]http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/1899Sav/IMG_1116.jpg[/img]

Sounds like the perfect candidate for a refurb. Collector value is non-existent but it has obvious worth as a shooter. May as well gussy it up and enjoy.

1899 Sav: Darn good pictures. Excellent work. How much would one of those go for?


CutNshoot.

The worn checkering is what's really annoying in my eyes. Personally, I wouldn't put much money into it. With what you'll pay to restore it, you'd have been able to pick up a much better condition rifle. If the gray annoys you, think about parkerizing it. Then skip any refinishing of the stock, just chase the checkering and call it good. It'll be an ideal woods gun for your kidlets.

Rather than a total restore, a chasing of the checkering and a re blue was what I had on mind. This plus use the scope holes to mount a semi vintage scope like a steel tube Weaver K-3 or maybe a somewhat worn Loopy M-8 4x.

1899Savage, I agree with cut n shoot on the EXCELLENT photos, Thanks for posting! Makes me think hard about a total re-do. None of my other customs are worth, in real cash, what I have in 'em, but like you it doesn't matter. Not for sale so, who cares so long as I like them? Never thought about THIS rifle like that, but now I see the light!

Its hard to place a value on a rifle that you enjoy and will shoot a lot.

I just acquired my first 1899 and am already looking for my second. The second will immediately be rebarreled and restocked so one in less than pristine condition is what I'll be searching for. I want shooters, not museum pieces.

refinishing is a waste of good money.

Couple months back I recut the checkering on my 99R and re-did the finish on the stock. You only need two tools to chase checkering, unless you have to make new lines. Came out nice. Rifle looks much improved and still shoots very small groups. I found it to be a very satisfying project and would encourage anyone to do the same -- unless you own a real "collector". Phil

Since it's been drilled and tapped anyway, you're not going to loose any value by resoring it. I'd feel free to have it reblued and have the checkering freshened up. Have it done by a reblue shop that knows what a 99 is supposed to look like. It won't be that expensive, and your grandkids (and mabe THEIR grandkids) will enjoy hunting with it.

Rod

Dunno, but that rifle doesn't sound all that bad, not having seen the photographs. If it were mine I would leave it alone unless it's been totally Bubba'ed to-hell-and-gone. That gun came by it's worn bluing and flattened checkering honestly, over decades of use, and is a testament to the hunters who carried it. While gussied up 99's have their place (I'm doing one myself, from a bare action I found), well used but still entirely functional originals have theirs too. 90 years (in this case) of roaming the woods and mountains of North America would leave anybody (or anything) looking a bit weatherworn. Would you drag your Grandma to the plastic surgeon's office to try to make her look like she did 60 years ago? Or would you accept the wrinkles and the pallor, and smile everytime you see her?

Would it make you feel better to have your Rifle look like the one in Steve's picture?

gnoahhh,

Good question to ask the 85 year old grandpa what he would like. I can see the answer going both ways.

I am thinking right now, that this rifle is analagous to one's finding a rough but mostly vomplete 64 1/2 Mustang or 55 Chev Bel Aire Convertable or other pieve of Americana that has seen lots of use and some minor shade tree 'customizing' in its early days but is otherwise a kinda rare and cool piece of Americana. No one would consider a restore job as a sound investment of money or time as a pure financial windfall but hopefully some car nut would see the value of restoring it as a labor of love. The value might go up some, but the enjoyment factor and such would be ther real reason for the project. I am now leaning twards the financially foolhardy labor of love restore project as takedown deluxe model 99's made in the very first months of the 250/3000 cartridges introduction are rare enought that despite my having been at, and usually with a table full of goods, hundreds of gun shows this is the only rifle of its kind I have ever seen. Anyone see error in my idea or analogy here?

Mark
I can con concur with your thoughts. As said befor your intentions of passing down to grand kids etc. It's Your Gun,you do what you feel you must do. I have always enjoyed some-one's desire to bring something back to life. Especially if your own labor of love went into it,with minimal expenditures done on the out-source.
J.M.O.
Steve

A rough but mostly complete 64 1/2 Mustang or a 55 Chevy doesn't work for me as an analogy. They were crude pieces of automotive dreck and the only reason they hold sway in our collective nostalgiac psyche is a holdover from the Madison Avenue hype that convinced us, back in the day, that they were "cool" and that it would be un-American to think otherwise. Bah! Dare to think outside the box! The Savage 99 on the other hand was an innovative mechanical marvel that touches the very soul of the American hunter. While the Mustang and Chevy touches the soul of many car buffs, they weren't innovative in the least. Heck, the early Mustang wasn't anything more-or-less than a Ford Falcon with different sheet metal. Even at that I would rather have an unrestored but honest Mustang that still reeked of popcorn at the drive-in and my girlfriend's wet knickers than a perfectly restored soul-less 100-point show car. There's an analogy for you. Sorry, I don't normally go off on a rant but this is a subject near and dear to my heart.

I asked for input, you gave me yours, no need to apologize. If I did not want to hear from all sides, I would not have asked the question. Being both a muscle car lover and a Rifle looney I thought the correlation was pretty good, YMMV


In my world some things just should NOT be done (small block Chevy motor in a Ford body, for example) and I wanted to hear from others in this forum if the restoration I was considering was one of those things to some or many. Glad to hear from any and all.

MARK

I am kinda thinking, yeah I would. At the moment, leaning toward a do it myself clean up job and adding a semi vintage scope. If I could find a set of Balvar adjustable bases for this rifle I would probably install my Lyman 4x post reticle non adjustable scope on this. It is already wearing rings with the pluger that fits into this type of a base.