Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 re-barreled to 7mm-08???

Has anyone any experience or comments about re-barreling a Savage 99 (.300 or .308) to 7mm-08? I am assuming the action will have no problem handling the load. Thanks.

I have (or should say had as my son now calls it his) a 99C that started out as a 284 and now it is a 7mm-08. Shilen match barrel, shoots like a house on fire.

308, 243, 358 donor guns, not 300, post 900,000 serial number. Using a 358 would be tragic by the way due to collect-ability. Experts, is this correct? Not sure on carrier choice, have heard it's touchy but haven't figured out if a larger carrier (308, 358) can work with a smaller cartridge due to lack of neck support. Best choice would be a 243, then the carrier is smaller than needed and can be opened up as/if needed to fit 7mm08. I have a factory 7mm08 but have not fired it as it is mint. Please defer to someone better educated than myself for your answers as I am new to 99's. Good day.

Roy

The larger Winchester caliber carriers should work because you still have the shoulder area that holds the case in place. Don

Fireball2...Am I correct in reading that you have a Factory original 99 chambered in 7mm-08?? I didn't think this was a caliber available from the factory as I have never seen one or heard anyone talk about owning one! I presently have a later model 99C in .308 that I was imagining converting. Trying to size up my options first.

Yes 99C was available for a few years in 7mm08. Not easy to find and worth a bit of a premium when you do find it. Good luck trying to sniff one out in your neck of the woods, Mad Dog has being trying to find one for a lot of years without success. Needless to say for a hunter it is cheaper to get the barrel changed to 7mm08 than to find an original.

The 99C was made for a very brief time in 7mm08. Pricey when you find one.

If you are thinking of rebarreling a rotor, just try loading and working the action with the different cartridges. Just don't push them all the way into the action. It's a whole lot cheaper to buy a box of 7mm08 and try that than to rebarrel AND then see if it will load and feed.

Yes, I just recently paid "a bit of a" premium for a mint factory 7mm-08, also a C. Anything can be found if a buyer is "reasonable" enough. Or foolish enough, same thing.

So how do you start your story?

I was dropped on my head before I left the hospital for the first time, and from then on I've always been a little punky between the ears. Not right some would say.

Dad took a plain 99E and re-barreled it to 6.5-308 (260 Rem before it was standardized). It is one of the most accurate 99s I've ever shot. 1" groups at 200 yards, repeatable. So yes, as long as you aren't butchering a rare caliber, go for it. I'd use a 308 to make sure you get the stronger receiver.

Reboring a 243 is an option also. Cosiderably cheaper also.

I know life is all about preferences, especially when it comes to being rifle looneys, but changing from a 284win to a 7-08 I just can't see. I guess we just want what we want. Happy hunting

MM

Shouldnt be to hard to find a shooter 99E in 308 to convert.

I have filled the mag on a 243 with 7mm-08 and they fit fine and though they obviously don't fully chamber, if you work the action 3/4 of the way, it "loads" and ejects fine. I've been thinking of doing this for a while...

I've been watching the auctions for a factory 7-08 for 3 months now with zero success of any kind. Not even one. Seem to be about the rarest of 99s made after WW2.

Have no idea if this would work, but thought I'd post it as food for thought.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=269825693

Zooka,

They are rare and depending on how you set your criteria, one of the rarest calibers alone offered in a Savage 99.

Roy,

What are you getting at? That is a 7mm RM barrel...

Set back, re-chamber possible? I just thought it was interesting that there was a Savage 7mm barrel available starting at just $10, including sights. $10?!

you would have to set it back about 3" ... at which point you would have to completely recut the threads... you could use any lareg barrel from any company at that point... would probably look pretty silly if there was enough BWT to even set it back that far...

I think there are better options out there...