Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 1899 rear sight?

All of us have a friend who has told us a gun fact that "not too many people know about". One of mine mentioned a sight for 99's that required two dovetails to mount. I do not know if he was right or wrong,but I saw a gun that makes me ask the experts. The gun was a 1902 1899A short rifle in 303,this gun has two dovetails that have fillers in them. The one cut barely hits the 303 marking in the barrel address,so the caliber is remarked in front of the receiver. The second cal. mark is identical to all my other 303s. I would love to know if you guys think its bubba or original. Of course having the original rear sight would tell but it is gone. Thanks for your input!

I've been playing with Savage sights for a long time and haven't seen one that needs a dual dovetail yet.

But never say never.

I would guess the extra dovetail was for a scope mount. Long scopes back in the day. Tom

The only 99, I have seen caliber marked on the front receiver ring was MHG rifle so maybe it started life as a musket?

There was Some Post's Years Back With Double Dove Tails On Octagons And Such With Photo's,
I Think they were for Special Scope Mounts in the day?
And I Believe Doug-Fug Has a Few

Where RORY? He's Good at Digging Up all the Old Posts.

Malcolm scopes required a dovetail front mount, and an extra hole drilled in the receiver. I think some of the early Stevens scopes used a dovetail also.

Here's an old post on the subject. My receiver is not drilled for a Malcolm rear mount. I imagined it was for another taller fold down leaf sight, or maybe a level to go long distance with a tang sight.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...4/Re_Double_dovetail_factory#Post7898354

What would this one be for? It's on an 1895.

I wonder if that's not for the 2 piece optical sight in the back of murrys book , there would be a set length for that type of optic.

norm

I think they were thinking about cutting the barrel back to 22"!

LMAO

People have been customizing guns to their personal needs for as long as we have been making them. I'd say its either a factory requested extra dovetail or one put in by any number of smiths who worked in the years spanning the rifle's life.

The owner thought maybe it was for some sort of front swing swivel attachment since it has a hole for one in the buttstock but nothing up front. I'll tell him what you guys said. The optical sight idea is interesting. Fug showed me one. David

The 'Brayton Tubeless Scope' took the place of the existing sights - there were flip-up lenses for the front and the rear that were mounted to a standard type sight set. You were to send the measurements of the sight location on your specific gun in so the sight could be made to focus for a specific configuration. They would not have required any additional dovetails.


Here is a link to the patent - shows it on an 1899 - US727073?dq=brayton

Here is a patent for another of his inventions, that all here should be familiar with as made by Marble's - US803983?dq=brayton

Were there any rifle scopes that used dovetailed mounts? I've seen rifles that were drilled and tapped for screw in mounts pretty far forward. David

David,

I believe the Malcolm used a front dovetail. Probably others.

Stevens used a bunch of them, but their early savage scope mounts used blocks on the top ,or side of the barrel. on the stevens crack shots and model 44's they used dovetail mounts.

It is true the Brayton Scope was set up for barrel length the ones I have seen would look to fit on 26" guns but with out good sight one might have to change the mount for ones own eyes also I have a 1895 with two rear sight dove tails the owner told me when he got along in years he could not see good so he had the rear dovetail cut closer to his eye (he would not use a scope)
and it worked for him till he sold me the gun also I have a 1899
scoped with a 32"scope that uses the front dovetail and has a
dovetail cut in the tang for the rear mount the scope has no name on it but it has open sights mounted on top of the scope.

There's a dual dovetail Savage rear sight up for auction right now. Be the first on your block to own one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Savage-24-R..._DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7dc1df47

yooper

I only have 4 barrels but two of them have two dove tails cut for the rear sight. powdr