Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 1899 model identification help

I recently acquired a Savage 1899/99 rifle and would like some help in idendifying which model I have. The particulars are:

Barrel: 22" and seems heavy, barrel address on top of barrel reads "Manufactured by Savage Arms Corp Utica NY USA July 15, 1893, Oct. 3, 1899, Sept. 10, 1907, May 25, 1909, June 1, 1909. Savage Hi Power Steel w/ 30-30 underneath on left side of barrel just ahead of receiver.

Receiver: Takedown with no marking on the receiver ring. Serial number is 229247 and there is a letter L (not in a circle) on the front of the lever boss.

Stock: Straight butstock with serrated metal butt plate with Savage logo on bottom corner. Buttstock has raised side pannels. Forend is a schnabel.

Seems like a 1899A but there is no "model 1899" on the barrel. Doesn't seem like a 99 as receiver ring is not marked???

Sounds like my 1899A Short Rifle.

Receiver ring marking don't make no never mind as there was a period when they were wrong. Receivers were marked "model of 1899" well into the M99 era. Someone that knows way more than I do will come along shortly with more information. I may well be wrong but it seems to me that given that serial the receiver ring should have been marked. Is it possible that the markings were buffed out during a re-blue? Not trying to throw stones. Just possibilities.

Does your 1899A have "Model 1899" on the barrel?

The gun has not been refinished so no buffing. Did I understand you correctly that receivers were marked "Model 1899" as well "Model 99"?

It's an early 99F.

From what I have read, the 99F has a lightweight or featherweight barrel and a straight schnobel tip and a bead in integral base front sight. My gun has a heavy barrel, curved schnobel tip and front sight is a blade set in a dovetailed base. This s..t is confusing???

Could be a 99D then, hard rifle to find, got pics?

Tough one cause your serial number is right inbetween the 1899A Short rifle and the 99D.

Flip a coin.

I need to learn how to upload pics.

Here are a few pics of the gun. Ya, having a serial number in the middle of models is a pain. According to Murray most models either end just before my serial number or begin just after it. Let me know what you think. The barrel address does coincide with the serial number.

Sure looks like an 1899A SR (Short Rifle) with takedown, or a 99D - same features, this one is right at the switchover. Honestly you could call it whichever one you like, but if you REALLY want to know how it was entered into the log then you can send for a factory letter from John T. Callahan for $25 (find his mailing info in the Misc. Good Info thread in this forum).

Ignore straight schnabel tip versus heavy schnabel descriptions.. the schnabel tip varied somewhat over the years, but usually all models produced at any given time with a schnabel tip had the same tip. When they switched from logging these rifles as an 1899A SR one day they didn't change the tip when they logged them as a 99D the next day.

Honest rifle, metal isn't as good as it could be but the 99D is definitely not a common configuration. Being it's in 30-30 is even nicer since ammo is so easy to find. I've got a solid frame version that's quite close to that rifle in 303 Savage, and it's amazingly accurate. Take that one hunting and bring back some pics!

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks much for the input. The metal is smooth but the barrel is quite discolored as you mentioned. I did take the gun out and shoot it and like yours it is very accurate and very little recoil with that heavy barrel.

I guess the one thing that leans the gun more towards the 1899A SR is the front sight is correct for that model as compared to the sight listed for the 99D.

Any thoughts on the lack of "model 1899" on the barrel and lack of either the "savage 1899" or "savage 99" stamping on the receiver?

Thanks again!!

Nope, those stamps showed up at times and not at others. There's rifles from the later 20's that are clearly 99's that are stamped Model 1899, it's just a stamp and has no reflection on how they were logged in the ledgers. In fact Savage continued advertising them as 1899's in catalogs for a year or bit longer than they recorded them in the ledgers as 99's, so that switchover time is very confusing.

And the front sight for a late 1899A SR was identical to the front sight for an early 99C or 99D, there was no change in configuration that we are aware of - it was just how they recorded them in the ledgers.

Couple more questions. Does the letter "L" on the lever bos have any significance? Its not in a circle just by itself. I also have a 99H from 1927 that has a 'Q" in the same location with no circle??
And now for the million dollar question what is it worth? Lots goes into figuring this but care to make a stab? Does the serial numberbeing transitional make the gun any more valuable?

The L on the lever boss was just another inspection stamp at that point. From 1949 to 1970 there was a stamp there indicating a date, but yours is far too early for that.

Thats kind of what i thought. How bout a stab at a value? Just a guess??

Nice stock, but the metal condition is going to remove any collector value. Being that it's a takedown in 30-30.. I'd guess somewhere from $400 to $500 as a normal price range if the bore is good. Just have to find somebody who wants it enough.

Nope. The markings on it sound pretty much like waht you've described on yours.