Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 1895/99 Orginals still in Existence In North America-World

See, Rory types faster than me.

Actually, I researched the serial # 55420X, and it turns out the gun was built in '50, not '49. It looks just like yours, Calhoun. Same stocks and checkering. Same receiver sight and swivel eyes, and very clean like yours. Although the sight needs a good cleaning.The only thing different is that yours looks like it's stamped on top of the receiver and mine is on the left side. If I understand JoeMartin correctly, than mine was factory drilled and tapped. Probably won't put hands on it for another week and half or so. The only pictures I have till then are from the auction.

www.gunbroker.com/item/788590902

That's a beauty! You got a smokin' deal for that model!

Look for evidence that it once had a rear barrel sight. It may not have...

Yep, as Lightfoot says, almost all off the 99R's that were switched from a rear sight to having a Redfield receiver sight and rear sight blank show scratches on the bluing behind the rear sight slot. But either way, whether original or with sights swapped out, it's more "desirable" with the Redfield. Those are night sights.

Lightfoot, Thank you sir. I was only hoping I didn't pay too much. Now, to find out that I might actually have gotten a deal, is icing on the cake. And, I was bidding against a Savage collector called S99VG, whose name I've seen around on other Savage forums. It was just him and me bidding and he dropped out early. That's what made me start to think about the value of the rifle.

I know what you're saying about the rear sight, but the ones I've seen had no brand on the spacer. This one is a Lyman so it makes me wonder.

Anyway, once I do a bunch of research and educate myself on all the variants of this rifle, I think I might want more than just the one. Since I was a kid, I've always wanted one in 250-3000.

Thanks again for the reply.

But would the factory have used a Lyman spacer?

That's a good question. We've seen earlier ones with Williams slot fillers, so not impossible. The front sight on them is a Lyman, so if it's going to have a brand name, Lyman is most likely.

Are you sure about that Lyman front sight? All the Rs I've seen had the generic Savage factory front sight.

If one were to call or write to Savage and submit model and serial number, would they be able to provide how the rifle was built and shipped? Even if they charged a nominal fee, it would be worth it. Or is that beyond the realm of wishful thinking?

The 1950's RS was catalogued with a Lyman front sight.

That could be an important factoid in ID'ing real RSs then.

Yes, you can get a factory letter on some 1899's. The early ones tell date received to the warehouse, date shipped to original consignee, and what model. I don't think the 50's guns get as much info with a letter. Someone else will have more details on the letters. They used to be $25 dollars.

Now they are $45. I don't know what an early 50's ledger has for data.

I picked up the 99R from my FFL a few days ago, and I have to say it's even better than the auction pictures depicted.The first thing I did was give the stock a once over with 0000 wool and mineral spirits to take off any accumulated grime. Sure enough, the very dark red oxidized wood started to show a more orange hue and popped some nice grain.What few marks there are, seem to be from bumps in the safe rather than from hunting use. I took off the fore end stock to check for a serial #, but there was none present. Also, no stamps on the end of the receiver or lever boss. No rust or pitting on the barrel under the stock either. Just a little black, gummy crud that cleaned right off to reveal perfect blueing. I'm thinking, maybe some dried up factory shipping grease.

The blueing on the receiver looks to be less than 100%, but well more than 95% with no rust or pitting. The barrel is even better than that! It has the Lyman rear site filler and there is not even the slightest blemish anywhere to suggest that the rifle was ever fitted with a rear sight or that one was taken off. That area, like the rest of the barrel, is pristine.. The front sight, though not stamped as such, looks exactly like the Lyman my dad put on his Marlin 336RC. That leads me to believe that the Redfield receiver sight is factory original. I'm thinking, if that is the case, this could very well be an RS. I'm thinking that it might just be worth $45 for a Savage letter. I know it's a '50, and not as much info is provided on the post war guns but, hopefully they can tell me whether it's an R or an RS. The crown looks very good also, but the face of the muzzle is white metal, instead of blued. Wondering if that is normal...

Inside the receiver is spotless. No dirt or grime on the end of the chamber area or the bolt and the bolt face doesn't even show the slightest evidence of a cartridge head. All the angled surfaces on the extractor are sharp as a knife and the counter works flawlessly.

I'm at a loss as to why I won this firearm at the price I did. This kind of thing just doesn't happen for me, but I'll take it! Thanks again, S99VG. I owe you one.

I'm hoping to get to the range tomorrow and see how it shoots. I'll let you know.

The pics on gunbroker made it look as though it had a slight crack in the stock behind the tang. Was it a crack, or just a scratch/pic flaw? If it's a crack, might want to get it stablized before shooting. Don't want it getting worse. With or without a crack, you done very good imo.

Yeah, it was a very slight crack that showed up looking worse in the photo lighting than it is. I pulled the stock and the crack doesn't appear as though it went all the way through the wood to the inside. In any event, it looks as though someone did a very nice job relieving the pressure by making a less than .5 mm relief around the radius of the tang. I'll mark it and look at it after each shot tomorrow and if it grows at all, I'll stop shooting. Then I'll pull the stock again and drill along the length of the crack and epoxy a thin bamboo dowel in there. Either way, it will be very easy to refinish that small area and make it disappear without a trace. Given the condition of the gun, I'm not too concerned about this issue. But I am certainly going to address it.

So, Calhoun sir, is it normal that there is no serial # on the inside end of the forearm stock, and no stamp on the lever boss? How about the muzzle crown being white metal instead of blued? Thanks for your replies.

At that serial number, they had changed from stamping serial numbers on buttstock/buttplate/forearm to stamping an assembly code. If yours doesn't have an assembly code, that's definitely unusual. Usually 4 alphanumeric characters, and usually also stamped on the left side of the receiver under the buttstock (above the lever).

Not having an inspection/date stamp on the lever boss is very unusual - but not unheard of. We saw a 99R last year at a gun show in great condition like yours that didn't even have a serial number. All other assembly/proof marks, just no serial number. Never Say Never.

The end of the muzzle in 1950 I think should be blued. But not 100% sure on that.

I have recently been bitten by the 99 bug and have found the forum a wealth of information. Thanks for sharing.
I started with a 1955 99F 300 quickly followed by a 1949 EG 250 and I am now waiting for a 1919 1899 250-3000 takedown to arrive.
I am already looking at a 99A in 30-30 which has a sling swivel on the barrel which I have only seen one other time on a YouTube video by USOG.
I can’t tell if is part of the barrel or not.
I have hunting and predator control to keep them all gainfully employed on the farm in Ontario Canada.

Surprise!!! The butt stock and butt plate both have the same serial #'s as the receiver. They are both stamped A L under the #. On the bottom left of the receiver, under the butt stock, there is a circle inside of which looks like 20L. The toe of the receiver has the A L again. I looked all over the fore end and the front of the receiver again. There's nothing.

Anyway, that's what I got. I guess we'll see what the letter has to say. In the mean time, I'm gonna get it sighted tomorrow and hopefully use it for a few days during NY deer season. I start the trek north 2 weeks from today.

Well, it shoots! After 4 sighters to get POI to shake hands with POA, I shot four 3 shot groups at 50yds with the Redfield receiver sight. The first two groups each went 7/8". Then the third opened up into an isosceles triangle with each leg measuring an even 1". The fourth was a clover leaf, just a hair over 3/8", and I decided to quit on a high note. I'm ecstatic, and wondering what this old gun would have been able to do back when I had younger eyes. I wish that I was more computer savvy so I could post photos of my targets. Maybe my wife can help me with that.

Also, I kept a close eye on the very slight crack near the tang, and there was absolutely no change after 16 rounds.