Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors What do I have? PIX ADDED

I found a real nice 30-30 takedown carbine today but I'm perplexed what it is. Serial # 2221XX, 20" barrel measures about .565 diameter at the muzzle. To compare, my 99H barrel band carbine is about .615 inch diameter. This takedown carbine has a schnable tip on the forend, integral front sight ramp with the sight blade in the slot, not dovetailed. It has a steel shotgun type butt plate with the Indian Chief and Savage Quality logo stamped in the bottom. There is no model number on the receiver ring. It doesn't say 1899 or 99. Nothing. Can someone please tell me what model this is? It matches the 1899H shown on Savage99.com except that site shows a hard rubber shotgun butt for the 1899H and this one has a steel butt plate. Thank YOU.
Joe

Can you post a picture?

Should be a late 1899H at that serial number range. The hard rubber buttplate stopped at the end of WWI, so the steel shotgun buttplate is correct.

I made a typo with the serail #. Sorry. It is 2201XX. I will post pix in the next day or two. Thanks for the replies.

My understanding is that the transition from 1899H to 99E/F was around 213,000 give or take a few thousand. At sn 220,000, I'd say 99F t/d.

Here are some pix of this latest find. What say the experts? 1899H or 99F TD? Again there is no 1899 or 99 stamped in the barrel or on the receiver ring. I took gun to the range today and shot at 50 yards. 3 shots shown on last pix, a sheet of paper. No sight adjustments needed, somebody had this set up well. Bore is mint and over all the gun is pretty nice. I think I'm ready for the deer woods with this one.

Joe













[img]http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b450/silvers897/IMG_9135.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b450/silvers897/IMG_9126.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b450/silvers897/IMG_9140.jpg[/img]

Dandy rig you got there .

By the front sight and buttplate I'd say an early 99 F .

One fine looking H. I am very envious. GW

The switch from the late 1899H to the 99F/99E didn't involve any change in hardware, it was only a change in how they were logged in the ledger. Rick would probably say it's a 99F. Either way, it's a gorgeous rifle.

she,s a beauty allright

That's a keeper

Fantastic- - - - -nice caliber as well. Winchester caliber is a +++++~!!!!!!

It's a dandy. Nicely accurate too by the looks of it.

My personal guideline is if it has a matte finish receiver, steel buttplate, and oil finished wood, then I call it an F. This discussion of "late H vs. early F" is always interesting. Any way you cut it, they were, along with the earlier H's, just about the perfect deep woods deer rifle ever made IMO.

I asked Rick about a gun a while back. I saved his reply

Quoting Rick-
"The 1899-H was available in solid or TD. After WWI the 1899/99 family went through a lot of general across the board changes which made production easier. But, it didn't happen all at one time.

The biggest difference was that the 1899-H solid frame was dropped and the 1899-H TD was called the 99-F (around 217xxx)in the log book. The 1899-H made after WWI might have the later metal butt plate, the later metal on the end of the forearm (cross bolt at around 200,000), barrel address changed from Company to Corp., hollow butt stock, metal finish etc.. All of these "maybes" were dependent on leftover parts and time to made the change.

The one on ebay is a 1925 production and by that time the 1899-H had been replaced by the 99-F and 99-E. Hard rubber plate was replaced with the metal plate with the Screaming Indian on the toe (post-WWI design), no hollow butt, different sights, no perch belly, etc..

It is a fine line on the transition rifles and might take a letter to determine if it was logged as an 1899-TD or a 99-F. The 99-E doesn't show up till maybe a year later, 239,xxx???

Like most things Savage...very gray. "

very good info Gary ---rick,, now for want of a printer

Well I saw a 303 takedown carbine today, serial no 2571XX, same front sight as one I posted. The gun was stamped Model 1899 on receiver ring. Barrel legend said Corp. Same Indian Chief and Savage Quality stamp on the bottom of the steel butt plate. From this I am thinking the carbine I originally posted is a 1899H t/d, not a early 99F t/d. It seems that 213000 or 217000 give or take serial no for the change over to 99 is questionable.
Joe

Pretty sure there was no physical change in the 1899H to 99F transition, just how they were logged in the ledger. Same goes for all other 1899 to 99 transitions as well.

The 1899 stamp is just a stamp which persisted from earlier days. We go with what the ledgers and catalogs say for models instead of the stamp.

Man, that is a beautiful firearm!

Is the peep sight attached to the tang or the wood at the receiver?

Attached with 2 screws in the tang as drilled at the factory.