Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 with a "Y"

It's a symptom of the steady decline of self-sufficiency in our society. Instead of solving their own problems, or doing their own research, they follow the path of least resistance which in this case is going on the internet and asking dumb questions. Yet another instance of how the 'net has altered how we live our lives.

People no longer need to be educated, they just need to know how to ask the right questions and voila!, the iPad/Blackberry/laptop provides the answer. The Electronic Age has usurped mankind's ability to think for oneself.

The sad part is, it ain't going away.

This is just a roundabout way of saying I'm with Lightfoot, LBK, and Loggah on this. There are better ways for a newbie to break the ice than by asking "how much is this worth, even though I won't tell you what it is?", and the original poster of this thread is a perfect example of how to avoid that. Pass that bottle Don, I don't care if it's Nyquill or sailor jerrys!!

OMG! If you're hitting the hard stuff I'm glad I'm in Washington!

I do agree with the idea that the time to determine "what its worth" is before, not after, you buy. If you don't know what its worth then what the f are you doing making an offer? If you hate your earnings that much then just send them to me.

The damn internet is just killing the art of communication eye to eye and mouth to mouth.. [/quote]

I somewhat understand your frustration LBK. Times are rapidly changing. Those who retain the ability to effectively communicate face to face and can find their way around the latest techno methods will certainly have an advantage. I can imagine much the same feelings were expressed when the telegraph, telephone, fax, etc... came along. For all the disadvantages, there are some real advantages to internet info and communication.

For myself the internet has educated me in subjects not available before. I have rehabbed a Savage 6A and refinished a few stocks thanks to ideas and info previously unavailable (or at least not as readily available). Sure, library's would have been good resources but I derive confidence personally communicating with those with experience. I only lightly scratch the surface of what the internet and other communication gadgets offer. Frequently my frustration level with the time learning how to take advantage exceeds my perception of benefit. It is truly amazing watching my children master internet offerings, cell phones, GPS units etc... in minutes.

I still remember my grandfather buying my dad a Texas Instruments calculator for Christmas when I was about 9 years old. It was a very basic hand held deal. They sat around the dinning room table for hours reading the directions, arguing and experimenting. After they had finished my brother and I mastered it in short order. IIRC it was the "memory function" that had them most baffled.

Anyway, too bad neither had much interest in firearms or hunting. It is friends and the internet which has grown my fascination.

Now who do I talk to about getting an automatic spell checker/corrector included when typing posts?

If you Mozilla Firefox (free) you will get fewer viruses and it does automatically spell check EVERYTHING you type. I like it hands down over Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Have not tried Google Chrome as a browser yet but I expect it offers rolling spell check also... actually, I have not messed with it but I would be surprised if the newest version of IE does not...

At MY side ALWAYS is "The Merriam-Webster Dictionary". 848 pages of "spell check"....................

Is that abridged or unabridged?

Get with the times LBK!!!

I been using firefox for some time, but as you can tell i don't pay much attention to spellcheck! Don

if it underlines the word is a squiggly red line just right click on it and it will give you more appropriate options...

Got it Drew! Very cool . I carried a pocket speller throughout my under grad education. Still have it somewhere although the binding is worn out. Post grad I used a pocket electronic spell checker until it quit. Torture for me was the older professors who exclusively graded on essay tests. I got away with abbreviations occasionally but not as often as I would have liked .
In elementary school my parents assigned 10 words a night from the dictionary. I did this for years and I am sure it helped but much of it never stuck. I am sure I have suffered in substantial ways from this over the years. Luckily I have learned to cope, mostly by yelling "hey Lisa, how do you spell..." I think she still loves me in spite of the looks I get .

So, now that we've had a chance to vent and compare favorite utilities, back to the original question.

What does the "Y" stamp signify? My question: where is "where the model info is"? Are we talking a large single-letter stamp on the face of the receiver, under the forearm? Or is it a stamp next to the "Model 99" stamp on the receiver ring?

I dunno, and wud like to no.

Sorry, I am guilty of hijacking this thread. I believe greenhornet47 nailed it with his post. Various letters are found stamped on many models and have been attributed to possibly being inspectors stamps, etc... . Features, serial numbers and lever boss codes all help to identify the early models. Murray's book and the participants here will nail it down (year and model)with the proper info.

Randy,

My guess is he is referring to the bottom left side of the receiver ring where on a savage 99R it would say "Savage Model 99" and often has an inspectors stamping letter... seem other than Y... just for grins I grabbed a few... R in 308 has an oddly shaped box, F in 308 has an &, and an F in 358 has a sideways 0 and an R. (not that I think caliber or model makes any difference) PPL often mistake a letter stamped in this location as saying

SAVAGE MODEL 99 "X" but its just an inspectors stamp.

Simple, they weren't. They're distinguished by their features. You just need to find a source like "The Ninety-Nine", Savage ads, or people who have knowledge/experience with them. Over the hundred years of production there were only about 30 models. In the 1920s some of the 'new' 99s were produced with leftover parts from the 1899s, and thus, so marked 1899s. They even reused their model numbers, ie, the F model of the 20/30s was restyled and produced again in the 50/60s and the E model of the 20/30s was reintroduced in the 60/70s. Pictures help a lot in identifying them along with features, take-down vs solid frame, type of butt-stock: pistol vs straight grip, the shape of the forearm, etc.

Thanks, that is what I wanted. I realize that the stamps are not related to marketing model version. I did not notice the receiver ring stamps on my rifles, and will check it out. I have a '23 "E" stamped with a large "F" on the receiver face, but that is not what OP references. I think my '59 "F" in 308 has "Model 99 F" on the barrel. I asked because other Savage rifles have single or two character stamps on stocks and small parts that don't appear on M99 rifles. I don't remember seeing inspector stamps on the receiver rings of other models, at least visible above the stock.

Are there any factory records listing names of inspectors, and/or inspector mark cross reference?
Is there a date (serial number) range where the inspector marks normally appear on M99?

Randy, two answer your last two questions, no and no, at least not that I know of... we have collected some data on different markings seen on 99 like those on the front of the receiver on the 20-40s era guns.

the particular mark that I am talking about probably did not come around until the 50s. There are other inspection marks on the bottom of the barrels... I routinely see a 6 stamped on barrels. And have seen butt plates and stocks with both serial and model before... I have an EG stamped EG on the butt plate, stock, and front of receiver. A G with a letter G stamped on the forearm. But for the most part, Savage 99s are not stamped iwth model that easily readable until the 99F which is stamped on the right side of the barrel. Later on some others were stamped but all of those were post-mils.

Hey guys...thanks for the information and chatter. I spent the lunch hour today driving around, looking for Speer 100 grain plinker rounds for a training aid for my brother's youngest son. I figure him tossing a few of those little lead pills around with less than a kick in the shoulder will help him with flinch and such. I found one box in the Western Twin Cities! I am kinda bummed that Remington does not make the 180 grain SPCL bullets anymore. Best deer bullet made!

The "Y" I was talking about on one of my Savage 99's is in the place the other model stamps are....right on the left side above the shell indicator. It is right under the Savage, model 99 stamp right where the barrel and the receiver meet. I can maybe get a photo of it if anyone is interested in seeing it. I am actually holding the gun right now. It is in fine shape. The wood is dark walnut and the gun is actually really heavy. I like the feel of the 50's guns. Very sturdy and elegant. I hold in my hands a wonderful piece of American hunting heritage. I love 99's!

Lucanus

The gun has a stock that does not seem like it fits and the front wood when I take it off has a worn out area back from the screw hole that looks like there was something there. I think I will be needing a replacement stock and front wood for this gun. It is not a take down gun and it just looks like the wood does not fit it very well.

can you post pictures? We can help a lot with pictures.

Also, there is an inspectors code stamped into the forearm, butt stock and butt plate of this era 99... they should match (or mostly match). Some forearms will also have the last 4 digits of the serial in chalk on the forearm but I think that might have been mostly later.

How do I post images? Send me your email address and I will send all or them to you in one batch.

The front wood on this gun reads:

0 (on top)
1 35 1

This is what it looks like on the round wood part that fits next to the shell rotary carrier.