Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Need some help

Hi guys,

I just inherited my grandfather's and my great grand father's rifles.

I know nothing about Savage rifles other than finding ammunition can be tough (I think).

My grandfather's rifle is a Save Model 99 (#323372) and my greatgrandfather's rifle is a model 1899 (#51.901).

A couple of questions:

How do I figure out how old they are?
Can I take these to any gunsmith and have them overhauled?
I know the 99 takes .300 rounds - does the 1899 also take .399 rounds? Is the ammunition scarce and/or where can I buy it in Canada?

Sorry - I meant to say does the model 1899 also take .300 rounds?

323372 manf 1929
51901 manf. 1905

Welcome to the fire, will give you basic information. If you desire to know the models of the guns post pictures. Following information will help, barrel length, describe the front contour of the forearm, forearm held on by a sliding latch or screw, is the gun checkered, describe the buttplate, flat, curved, curved with crescent top.

No need in overhauling, not broke dont fix, keep org condition if possible. Have them cleaned and checked for functioning if you cant do it yourself. Check barrel markings for cal., top next to gun frame. Can find 300 ammo without problem at most any sporting goods stores. Post pictures of the guns in you want additional information. 99 x-perts will offer their opinions. GW

The early one if it says cal 30 it is a 30-30. I am not sure when the switch was from cal 30 to 30-30. The other one sounds like a 300 sav which is available at any Canadian Tire.

Welcome to the forum. There are a few canucks lurking around here!

Blair

The earlier one is actually early September, 1904. I lettered one about 400 higher than that.

Most any gunsmith can clean them and check head space and whatnot for safety.. I wouldn't let any old gunsmith take them down and do a deep cleaning. Probably wouldn't get the spring tension on the rotor correct when they put it back together.

As Blair kind of said, the earlier one will NOT be the same cartridge as the later one. The 300 Savage in your later rifle wasn't available until 1921. The earlier rifle will be one of:
303 Savage
30-30 Winchester
32-40
25-35
38-55

It should say on the barrel which cartridge it is for. Do not mix cartridges. Bad things involving doctors and hospitals may follow.

Welcome to the forum!

You guys are great - thanks for responding quickly. The 1899 model has had the lever welded at some point to fix a break. How hard would it be to replace the lever and are parts hard to come by?

Levers are available. It will have to be fitted to adjust the lever bite. There is a procedure posted in the sticky notes.

If the lever is the straight grip stock style I have a few in the parts bins. Send me a PM (private message) and we can figure something out. Changing them out is not a difficult task.

Blair

hi welcome to forum,sounds like a nice pair,calhoun and trix will keep you on straight and narrow good advice also Mad Dog .trix maddog and myself are canucks spread accross country.i am in grande prairie ab.

Thanks guys. I will try and post some pictures this weekend.

Here's a thread detailing how to use photobucket to post digital pics.

Be warned that when you post pics, you may hear the full and unadulterated truth about the rifles.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...96239/How_to_post_your_photos#Post696239


And here's a web site that has pictures of a lot of the models that were made. Just so you can get a feel for how robust the Savage 99 line was. Go to the pictures section..

www.savagela.org

Have a look at my great grandfather's rifle. He used this to put food on the table for his family. Based on the info you guys gave me, it looks like he bought this rifle 3 months before he got married. It is a little rough but I am pleased to have it. It is a .38-55 cal. Are rounds hard to find for it? Also, is a relpacement lever going to behard to find? Not sure if I can trust the braze that was done.

Looks like an 1899 A. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe the buttstock was changed??
Being that it was your greatgrandfather's rifle, I'l leave that braze right where it is!

Brian

Thanks for the response Brian. If it isn't a safety issue, I want to keep the lever as-is.

I agree, it's like a chapter in its life, but if you cant live with it, you could have a gunsmith repair it, and with a good repair, you would never know the break was there.

Good stuff. I won't touch the lever. Am I going to have a tough time finding .38-55 rounds for it?

Do you reload? If not, you may want to begin soon. Ammo is available.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/browse/browse.aspx?c=96&s=974

http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/Bro...play=38-55&refineSearchKeyword=38-55

http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=50

Nope, I am as green as they get. "Available", as in get a start saving up for a year?

Reloading is easy and you will pay for your equipment quickly.

You can get started with reloading for one or two cartridges fairly cheap. Might take 5 or 6 boxes of ammo to pay for itself.