Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 99 rs

+1, the pre-war R's and RS's seem to weigh about the same as an EG. The pre-war 99T's feel heavier than either of those. Somewhere I've got a price list with weights, I think. I'll look tonight.

Rory
On 4 that i have in my Office This is what they weigh.
Steve
99T- 7 Lbs 11 Onces
99R-Prewar 7Lbs 13onces
99RS Prewar-with Sight and Swivels 8Lbs 1 Onces
99R Premil-Post war 8Lbs 8 onces

"My understanding was that Townsend Whelen had a role in designing the stocks on the RS. Can anyone confirm this?"

Yes, about 1930 a committee of the NRA approached the major rifle manufactures with a request for sporting rifles with better shaped stocks and peep sights. Whelen was a member of that committee. Winchester answered the committee's requests with their Model 54 NRA and that included the stock that was a full 13 5/8" long, a fuller more rounded forearm, and the Lyman #48 receiver sight. (Get one of those in .250 and you have a real treasure!) Remington responded with their Model 30 Express which received similar changes. And Savage introduced their Model 99R and RS following the same recommendations but with the Lyman #30 1/2 peep sight on the RS version. Those were the first American sporting rifles to be fitted with 13 5/8" stocks and the standard at that time, as seen on all other versions of the Savage 99 in the 1930s, was just 13". In Whelen's 1932 article about the .250 in the Savage 99RS, in the March issue of The American Rifleman of that year, he refers to the NRA committee only as "those of us." And he finishes his article with "I want to call attention to the fact that this is the only lever-action big-game rifle now being regularly manufactured which as a well shaped and proportioned modern stock, or that is equipped with a really good shooting gunsling and modern aperture rear sight, all of these details being included with the rifle as it is sold."
Toward the rear of that same magazine issue Whelen had a short notice that read, "The Winchester Repeating Arms Company announce that they are now prepared to furnish their Model 54 NRA Type rifle for the .250-3000 Savage cartridge. The rifle is well known to our members. It is a high grade bolt action rifle with Lyman No. 48 rear sight, excellent modern stock of correct dimensions, and has proper sling swivels for one-inch gunsling. It is a very exceptional arm in accuracy, reliability and strength. The .250-3000 cartridge is too well known to need description. It has proved to be one of our very finest cartridges for deer, black bear, coyotes, woodchucks, and other varmints. It is one of the best all around cartridges for the sportsman who confines his hunting to counties south of the Canadian line."
That's well said, I'd say...

Another article on the R/RS. We do have pictures of a Savage advertisement where they repeat Whelen's claim of the barrels on the RS being specially selected, but there's never been any information from Savage on what that meant.


http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/ri102partial.pdf

Rory
That author Mike Nesbitt on this article I Know.
I believe he is a Member on the 24Hour Here and He Resides on the west coast. I have dealt with him many a time on G.B. Great Guy. I did Not know he wrote an article.
Good Stuff.
Tnx for Sharing
Steve

11 ounces I'm thinking that it may be more the way it feels in your hands than what it weighs. I have never thought they were heavy.

At what serial # range do the post-war R's kick in???

Steve, Thanks for your kind words. And, let me admit, over the years I've written several stories about the Savage 99 and the Savage cartridges. Shoot sharp, Mike

Mike
Tnx For Writing such a Nice article
I remember long ago You Mentioned Something On Savage's to Me in an E-Mail.I Enjoy All Articles written On Savage's, Hope you have a Few new one's coming sometime again.
Steve

Ah, nice to get the author associated with the article. Very nice writeup!

fatjack34, the postwar 99R's seem to kick in at or after the 500,000 serial number mark when they moved to Chicopee Falls. Haven't seen any postwar style R's in the 400,000 range myself.

this leads to the next question... anyone ever get an RT, TR, etc gun lettered? I assume they letter as an R if any model information is even provided at all... it seems the EGs in the 440-450 range all letter as EGs. As I recall, Blair has a post war receiver with a pre-war R forearm that is believed to be factory.

The T/R, R/T guns sure seems to be Savage experimenting with a new version of the R... probably trying to cut down on checkering in order to lower work load thus cost thus increased profits.

Drew
I have One.Got it a Few Years Back from a Friend of Mine Here on the Forum-300Jimmy. I Heard that they were considered "LUNCH BOX SPECIALS" Meaning that some parts left the factory and assembled off premisses, and sold to supplement there income! I can not confirm that if it's true or not. Mine has the Hang Tag's that went with it. Have Not Letterd it yet.I would not think that they would letter but who knows?But worth a try, and i'll send off for mine soon.

Steve

Seems like we talked about having the R/Ts lettered a while back and decided that a letter wouldn't tell us much, but I can't remember.

My R/T is a 30-30 and since I don't believe the R was ever chambered in this caliber I doubt it would letter as an R.

Here's a photo from Savage Fest last year. My gun is at the top, Steve's below it.

Rod

You don't get models or what it's chambered in for war years, at least not that we've seen. Most you'll get is a ship date.

I think there are WAY too many of them to be lunch box specials... if that is what they are... someone was downright STEALING... its one thing if an employee takes a few parts that were not otherwise being used and makes a gun for himself but there are quite a few TR/ RTs out there. I have to believe they were constructed at the factory.

Interesting that the tag is marked EG. What does the butt stock resemble: is it like an early EG butt stock or an early R?

Rod, they did make 99Rs in 30-30 but they are very rare. They were made for the A.F Stoeger Co.

The hang tag has 2 E-G stamps on it, and the E-G stamp on the left looks like it also has a T stamped on it.

As to the lunch box specials, I think they've been called a lot of things just because they were never catalogued, and are very rare. Nobody knows what they are - I believe Roe Clark called them 99T's but I don't know that he had any documentation or hard info on it? And as far as I know, all the pieces are stamped with serial numbers and they sure seem to be finished product.

I'm currently leaning towards them being a second version of the 99T, but my opinions and guesses don't count for squat. Considering the 99R and 99EG were the only models continued after WWII, very possible that this was an intermediate 99R. If we keep watching, we'll very possible turn up some correspondence or catalog or NIB rifle that will solve the question.

Weather is a TR,RT,R-eg
I can see the receiver's lettering, but i can not see the rest of rifle lettering.
For as it was told Lunch Box Special's Or what ever the Case, Savage supposedly did not mak any during the War Year's and So that story that i heard that Guy's took them Home to put together and sell to supplement there income- would never letter.
We have to remember that the Late 30's and during the war years were pretty tuff times for a lot of folk out there.
So if there were parts lying around,as i am sure they had a lot of stuff lying around the factory,Receiver's,Barrel's,Wood etc, they could of left,as long as it probably did not have to do with there military contracts. After-all We Know of Maybe a 1/2-12 Dozen or So on this forum that exist, and how many more we don't know about.

It would Seem if Savage was going to do a Change over or Continuation of a Model with some changes there would of been a lot out there, which does not seem to be the case, except as Rory Said the continuation of the E.G. and R as we Know it
J.M.O.

Steve

Rory the Stamp on left has a T and Over Stamped with an R.

so if they are lunch box specials how did yours get a factory hang tag?

I now own an RT/TR whatever... and there are several here... and I can remember seeing a few sell over the years. Rare, maybe, but how is it that they are so consistent to forearm shape of a T and checkering of the EG? If guys were finishing these at home why would they not have just finished them as Ts, or Rs, or EGs?

May forever be a mystery?

Drew
At one time you were putting a chart together on 3 point checkering and 2 point Checkering on the R's Prewar.

Question,?
Did you ever get a coralation Between the R and RS Prewar as what had what? as Far as 2point or 3 Point Checkering?
In other words how many RS had Both, if any or How Many R's had both !
Steve