Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors A 99F Christmas story

I have a friend who has been something of a collecting mentor to me since the mid-1990s. While my collecting tastes have moved only from military surplus to interesting civilian arms, his tastes skewed more modern. Even so, he admitted to me that nothing out there excites him anymore.

I felt I had to do something about this.

While he had a Rossi lever-action in .45 LC, he didn't have anything with a lever that was particularly cool. With that in mind, I knew I wanted to get him a Savage 99, especially one that could take 7.62 NATO (.308 Winchester). Given I only have a C&R, this rifle had to be pre-1960; this was a blessing in disguise because its also the pre-mil area. I wanted to get him a "classic" 99 with the high-quality and early features, while new enough for this common caliber and to come pre-drilled and with a pistol grip stock.

I managed to find one in a local shop, but they wanted close to $800 and it just seemed *too* nice. Not that it was restored, but simply too nice to actually take out and use.

Thanks to Campfire user "DaimondJim" I had my solution. He sent me a private message about a 99F in .308 Winchester, 1957 LBC, vintage sight, well within the realm of affordability. The catch? It had a replacement buttstock. I made up my mind quickly that this was going to be my Christmas present to try and restore my friend's enthusiam about older firearms.

(have to be social now, next post: 99F details and setting the stage)

When I received the rifle from DiamondJim, I replied back "WORTH EVERY PENNY". It was like I was opening a time capsule, this was a lightly-used 99F with a vintage Redfield "Widefield" low-pro sight that resembled a vintage television. All it really needed was a bore cleaning and a tiny bit of rust on the back of the buttplate. While I had the buttplate off, I noticed it had a letter code; if I am correct that they correspond to LBC codes, then the replacement buttstock was manufactured in 1960. So while its a replacement, its still period-correct.

I removed the sight and mounts to clean them, and I also sent the scope off the ABO USA for refurbishment. The closest I got to detail cleaning was wiping a Q-tip around the rotary magazine to get some powder bits. This rifle really did not need much at all.

Unfortunately ABO still has the scope, but I made up for it by getting a turn-in ring base (to give my friend options) as well as putting it into a vintage Boyt soft case (canvas, leather trim, fleece inside). I wrote up a nice explanation of the rifle and put it in a cardboard box with the case (the same box that was used to send it to me BTW). On December 23rd, I met my friend for breakfast and handed him the package.

(next post: Christmas)

So my cell phone rings the afternoon of Christmas Eve, its my friend.

"Would you be terribly offended if I told you I can't accept this gift, its simply too nice" He was quite stunned, and very appreciative.

I did it, I got his enthusiasm back. He had never held a Savage 99 up close, and was simply amazed at the engineering marvel he held in his hands. He couldn't believe five rounds could fit into the receiver, and how its rugged simplicity worked. He seemed enthusiastic about trying it out, and I think I acheived my goal of making sure it wasn't a YASQ (Yet Another Safe Queen). If he wanted to take up deer hunting, he now had an appropriate firearm.

Since it was a pre-mil, it still had all the early features of the classic 99 as well as the high quality that made the move from Utica to Chicopee Falls but not Bedford. It had the best of the old (lever safety and brass rotor) and best of the new (pre-drilled for scope and pistol-grip stock). His comment was "Wow, the only plastic on here is the pistol grip cap".

The only downside was he found it would not load more than two rounds at a time, but he was excited about researching and found it had a relatively simple fix in adjusting the rotor tension (I only tested function with a single round). I never had the forearm off since it was so nice.

So for now, this rifle managed to re-ignite my friend's passion for old firearms, and gave him something to be excited about.

So thank you DiamondJim and all the Savage guys here at The Campfire. I could not have done this without you.

Merry Christmas

Really nice to hear stories like this,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,especially this time of the year!!!!! Thanks for taking the time to share.

Excellent! Glad that it worked out for both of you. Now just hover about for a little while to ensure that the hook gets set and not spit out. As you well know, there's enough mystery about '99s to keep just about anyone interested as long as there's someone looking on to provide a little nudge or another interesting little tidbit from time to time.

Great job! That's a wonderful thing to do.

I got a Christmas present myself...A local widow just decided to liquidate some of her late husbands rifles and I got in on the ground floor...I got a mint 99C in 284 Win. for $325..A mint 99F in 243 for $400...And a mint 99A in 250-3000 with a Leupold scope on it for $500...She still has a 99F in 308 with a pad for $500 and a 300 Sav. EG for $375...Maybe I should get them too?

Another situation which explains why you should always advise your spouse/kids of the true value of your firearms.
BillR

Might as well make it a clean sweep. You sorta owe it to her I would say...

I would get the 99F in .308 if its a pre-mil, those things are awesome (and why I selected one for my friend).

I agree. I would not feel comfortable cherry picking a situation like that.

Would love to have this very rifle.

Expat

My friend who received the 99F is now considering getting a factory letter to go with it. I know they don't say much after the Utica move, but he still wants it for the "born-on" date.

He is going to look for a scope whilst I wait for the Redfield Widefield to come back from ABO. That scope just looks like it belongs on that rifle, and together with my Boyt case, it makes for a nice period rig.

Not sure when he will range-test it, but he does have high-quality 7.62 NATO ammo for testing it out. He has a super-accurate Savage 110 that he and his son are quite proficient with, it will be interesting to see how big a learning curve they have once its sighted in.

I may start looking for another for myself if the price is right. But I think demand is so great for these guys I doubt I will see a bargain again anytime soon.

Keep us informed on the ABO scope saga. I have heard different stories. I sent one in and it was returned with no problems.

keep looking you will be rewarded ,,great story ,it's great that he appreciates a good firearm

My issue with ABO right now is the wait!

I sent them the scope, and then they mailed out a letter with recommendations (granted, I lost a week or two on this one). I opted for the notch-above-mininum work for an addtional $55. This would have been late October.

When I called in Mid-December, they said they had a huge backlog and were just starting on the October scopes! It didn't need all that much done, so I am hoping a cleaning will help it immensely.

Norm99: I am remodeling my kitchen this year, so all my spare money is going towards that. Now if someone wants to do horse-trading for a C&R-able 99 in .308 Winchester, I'm open to suggestions.

The scope arrived from ABO today. Unfortunately, I did not unbox it, I gave it right to my friend.

He took it home and called me, he agrees its very much "period correct" and appropriate for that rifle. Did some quick research and it most likely dates to the early 1970s.



He will install it with the rings that came with it, and I remembered that he needed to scoot the elevator forward one notch. While he doubts it will be as super-accurate as his 110, it should still be "minute of whitetail" at 50 yards.

Glad you got your scope back.

My friend is *still* thrilled with the 99

"You know, I haven't put the rifle away - I've been too tickled.
It's really a neat teddy-rifle."

He would like me to be there for when he takes it out to the range. I hope I can pull that off. We both figure its not going to be as as accurate as his nearly-new Savage 110 with state-of-the-art scope. But I also don't think his 110 has the same coolness factor either.

Fushigi,

Make sure your friend gets the address of this board and reports in. He could include a couple of pics of that newly acquired F. He is indeed a fortunate man to have a generous and caring friend like you.

Ref your second post, above: My understanding is that the letters stamped in the wood on 99's (and other Savage products) were assembly aids in keeping the wood matched to a barreled action and had nothing to do with the "LBC/date stamp" system.

Here's an old thread on ABO. I can't complain about the quality of the work they performed, but their pricing "shell game" left me a bit cool on them. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...41262/Re_Old_Redfield_Scopes#Post1341262

DonW