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Hey Fella's

I've got a few Savage 99's, but don't own an R. The couple I've handled felt a little bulky for a 99. I know that a lot of guys praise them, but when I hear this, is it the pre war guns that most are excited about? I'm just curious why so many people love them so dearly. If there is something special I'm missing I'm thinking its because I haven't handled enough of them. To me, the F's feel just right.
What gives?

a prewar R is a lot like a post war F... get your hands on a pre-war... you will see...

not saying the post wars are bad but I prefer the prewar guns.

Personal preference , some like the Rs , some like the Fs , some even like the tomato stakes.....



Mike

My buddy brought over a .250 Savage Post War 50's F the other day for me to work on. I was with him when he bought it 15 years ago and forgot that's what it was. I can only say that it felt the best of any Savage 99 I've ever picked up.

I've got a EG and E and a .250 A and an old .303 Carbine. I'm gonna see if I can find a pre-war R in .300 and a postwar F in .250.

Mike

Mmmmmm. Post war F in 250. On my wish list feeeeerrrr suuuurre. Just scoped my 300F tonite with a little Leupold 4X. Sweet sweet sweet. I might just have to shoot it. Shot my buddies inherited 300 F today and it was supremely accurate and lots of fun. His had a recoil pad and iron sights, so was light and easy on the shoulder.

Mine too Fireball.. I'm learning that they aren't easy to find. Funny thing. When my buddy bought his we went down to a local pawn shop that always had a couple hundred rifles on the rack. He shot my 99A in 250 and decided he wanted a .250 He bought that gun and pretty much put it away. I hunted deer and blackbear with mine this year and he decided he was going to scope his like mine and start using it. When he brought it over to my house I realized that it was an F. It is truely one of the sweetest little deer rifles you could ever lay your hands on.

I would imagine your .300 F might be even a touch lighter up front than the .250 huh?

Oh yeah.. my 99A .250 has a 2x7 Leupold on it. The setup worked absolutely perfect for Blackbear in the thick forest. Had it cranked down to 2x.

Guess I'm a bit odd for a savage fanatic. I happen to "like" the EG's best of all. The F's do handle well but just don't have the overall grace of the EG (to me). Kind of like a girl with great legs....but slightly thick ankles. Not a deal breaker, but could be better.

to me the R's look like they have an infection with the forearm all "swole up". They'd look pretty good though if you took a rasp and removed that swell from the sides of the fore end.

Hey Rick,
The Pre War R's that I've seen look a lot more graceful than the Post War models. I picked up a Post War model a few weeks ago and your right.. not a very graceful gun. I have an EG and it to me feels nearly perfect too. I usually hunt with a scope though. Mine's not drilled and tapped and it never will be as long as I'm around. Wonder if they ever made an EG with factory drill and tap?

The postwar R's have a reputation for accuracy, but the prewar R's are FAR more popular. You can find postwar R's in 300 Savage everywhere, kind of like EG's in 300.

And, yes, the last few years the EG was made they were factory d&t. Also a few earlier batches of EG's were.

I have a 1950 R in 250. My buddy has a bolt 243 that he brags about. Turned his smile upside down when he could't better my groups on my 50 yard range on the farm. I'd love to have a post war R in 300. But, I'll have to wait, want a real nice one, and the funds are low, Joe.

Yeah, I would guess the 300 is front lite compared to the 250, but don't know because I can't get my hands on a 250F!
I recently had a 250 F located near me and was trying to buy it when someone posted it on here and it went home with someone else. Unlike most of the girls on this forum, I didn't squeal like a pig about it, that's life. I'm sure the new owner is having fun with it too. I can tell you the 300F of mine and my buddies loaded down with 130's (Barnes ttsx) is going to get some very serious attention when I get around to it. ZookaTex has got me all fired up about the ballistics and recoil data on this load in the 300, so maybe I won't need the 250! But I'm greedy so I'll still want one. I tried to come up with the money for the 250 Ackley Improved 99 I recently saw for sale but fell short, but it wasn't an F, and I have a 250 AI in a Ruger already, so...

Maybe it's what you're used to? I just recently got my first 99 and it's an R that someone had sanded the checkering off the grip and fore end. Since I've never handled one in it's factory original state I have nothing to compare it to but it fits me very well.

I've read lots of posts where guys talk about how heavy the R model is but mine doesn't feel heavy to me, But I was using a Browning BAR with a 3x9 Burris on it before I got the 99 so I dropped some weight by going to the 99.

I am just a hunter and not a collector and I can guarantee that I know less about 99's than anyone on this forum but I am really impressed with the way the R comes to shoulder and seems to be on target all on it's own.

Someday when I find an F or EG I can afford I'll compare them side by side but for right now I couldn't be happier with my R model.

Thanks Calhoun.. For me a factory drilled and tapped EG would be great. I'd set it up with a 2.5x8 VX-3. I figured all the ones I've seen were after the fact jobs. They factory didn't drill through the Savage 99 lettering on top of the reciever did they?

No, the factory d&t EG's had the Savage 99 stamping to the side of the receiver just like the 99R's and 99F's.

But to complicate things a tad.. we've seen a few EG's with the Savage stamping to the side, but NO d&t. So, it's still possible that an early 50's EG with the stamp to the side and d&t has an after market d&t. No way of telling.

I think a part of the whole "feel" thing may be your hand/ body size. For folks with big ole hands, 2 axe handles across the shoulders, a big ole forearm and fat pistol grip fits well, like the '50s Rs. And for us folks with smaller paws and less width in the shoulders, the slimmer PGs, forearms, and lighter barrels of the EGs and Fs and even the earlier straight stock models work better for fit and function. One size does NOT fit all.

Calhoun,
You could be a dangerous asset to a 99 lover thats got an idea to get into the thick of it. I sincerely appreciate the info. I love 99's.

A few weeks before my first deer season, my Dad came home one afternoon with a late 60's 99E he bought from a work buddy. Ugly pressed checkering, a little hunted and unfortunately a lousy trigger job that reared its ugly head years later.

It became my first deer rifle and will always be the sweetheart in my safe. Right now I've got to replace the trigger group because after a lot of use, now she will fire when I close the lever hard. Even though I can't hunt her, she's still the last gun I'd ever get rid of.

PS. Anyone know where to get the correct trigger parts for a 60's 99E?

Hey SmokeEater.. I'm with you. I've picked up a few 99's that felt better than others, but I've never picked one up that didn't feel sweet! Only negative I've ever heard from anyone else that picked up one of mine is "heavy", but those guys shoot Tikka's.

I've got a S*#t pot of deer rifles, but I don't know think you could ever convince me that there was a better one made than a 99. I got lucky and had one for my first.

Try Numrich. They've got a bunch of parts but be careful. Half the time they don't know what they're sending you. You can also simply google up savage 99 parts and come up with a bunch of smaller parts dealers. If worst comes to worst PM Lightfoot or me. Probably better Lightfoot. I like my stuff.

Post war R`s".... heavy.