Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Which peep do I put on my new to me Savage 99?

As posted below I bought an undrilled 1950 Savage 99. At 70 my eyes just won't work with open sites, so I need a peep to fit the 2 holes drilled in the tang. I would appreciate posting a picture of your recommendation.



Picture with Junior's paw.

Both Lyman and Redfield made receiver sights that mate to those holes. Both are quality sights, but getting a bit pricey these days. My preference would be for a vintage Lyman tang sight, or a Marbles- older ones are of a better quality than current manufacture IMO. Do a search on eBay. There are always selections of aperture rear sights for Savage 99s to be found there.

XS

I watched ebay until I found a Lyman at a rational price. Be aware that there are two models for 99s, one for the tang safety models and a different one for yours.

Tang sights are way uberer.

I don't think XS sights are made for mounting via the two original tang sight screw holes found on vintage 99s, are they? I could be mistaken, but don't they utilize the rear scope block mounting holes, which if this rifle doesn't already have would be a shame to add just for this purpose. Besides, they don't have nearly the range of movement found on the aforementioned vintage sights.

For a classic like that which is unmolested with out holes for a scope, IMO, for what you paid and what you got,,, hold out till you find a Lyman that is the right fit and age for it.
The sight will go up in value and you already are way ahead on the rifle.
If you look on ebay and gun broker you will find it.

Part of the fun.

I just can't see putting a red dot or glow stick on a rifle like that. New Rifles, no problem. Classic in clean shape, no deal.


Merry Christmas

The Lyman receiver sights are a bit hard to find (and frequently expensive) but will offer easier windage adjustment. The tang sight can also be expensive, and may have to be shimmed to get them sighted in. YMMV

[quote=Bob_B257]For a classic like that which is unmolested with out holes for a scope, IMO, for what you paid and what you got,,, hold out till you find a Lyman that is the right fit and age for it.
The sight will go up in value and you already are way ahead on the rifle.
If you look on ebay and gun broker you will find it.

Part of the fun.

Is this what I'm looking for?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Lym..._DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4876980e83

ild go one of those....the other type that i had on one of my 99's required removing some wood....not sure if all models do....

Tom, check the Marbles rifle sights site. They still make a tang sight for the 99 and it's quite nice. It's also windage-adjustable. It is about the same price as a vintage piece, however.

Tom, check the Marbles rifle sights site. They still make a tang sight for the 99 and it's quite nice. It's also windage-adjustable. It is about the same price as some vintage pieces, however. Around $165.00 IIRC.


http://www.marblearms.com/standardPeepTang.html

Yes, the Marble's is a very nice tang sight. However, it might look a little "shiny" on that nice old rifle. Depends on what you want.

I'd agree with the others and go with that Lyman. Classic on classic of the same vintage. Those sights certainly aren't going down in value. The new Marble, while I'm sure it works well, has that "bent sheet metal" look instead of the carefully machined and fitted Lyman.

Brownells has it for $126.99 but if you read the reviews, 1 user had to cut his stock to make it work. Do you have 1 installed on a M99, if possible I'd raelly appreciate a picture. THANKS tom

http://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/sights/rear-sights/savage-99-sku579000015-31771-21517.aspx

I called Marble's customer service and a very nice man said: 1. it would fit my rifle but the base was bent so that it might have to be straightened to fit my rifle. 2. The base would stick over the wood at the end of the tang.

It would really help me if someone could post pictures of the Lyman & Marble sites on a pistol grip rifle.

THANKS tom

I'm not sure if there are numerous configurations of tang holes, but there may be another viable option.

When I was a kid back in Corvallis, Montana, our neighbor Ing Nordheim had a Savage 99 with a Saturn Boone scope on it. The Boone scope was attached to the tang.

In fact, I poached my first buck with Ing's Boone-scoped M99 (I didn't say that ).

Anyway, you might ask the guys down on the Savage Forum if the Boone would work.

If it will, just lurking on E-Bay for a while might net you a Boone.

Below is a photo.

Merry Christmas,

Steve

Tom,

Here is a little more info on the Boone scope. Apparently, they were made from 1951 until 1954. This was on a Marlin Forum:

�The Boone scope came in 2.5x and 4x. It featured coated lenses and a 4" eye relief, It was 2&3/4" long, weighed a mere 4 oz. and was mounted on a single, vertical dovetail so that it could be quickly removed with the twist of a coin and reinstalled with no change in zero. At 2.5x, it had a field of view of 38 degrees at 100 yards. Finally, like a receiver sight, it could be mounted behind the loading port of a bolt action and did not interfere with the top ejection of Winchester lever actions. What a deal -- yet it totally failed to capture the American shooting market!� It�s an odd-looking contraption. One sold recently on Ebay for $247.00. Evidently they�re very collectible.

Hope this helps,

Steve

First.. the new Marbles tang sights "work", but I don't know of hardly any Savage 99 folks that want one on their rifle. For the same price you can probably pick up an older Lyman or Marbles tang sight - which, while not windage adjustable, is far better quality wise.

My top choice is probably the Lyman 29 1/2 or 30 1/2. Pricey, but one of the best.




Another choice would be a Lyman #1A, the early Marbles tang sight is similar but has a locking tab behind the stem rather than on the side:




More period correct would probably be the Redfield 70LH or Lyman 56S or 57S. A lot of the Lymans seem to have required some wood to be removed on the side of the 99 for it to fit properly, though..







For THAT vintage... I'd first go for a Lyman 29 1/2 or 30 1/2, second I'd go for a Redfield 70. Jmho.

The Boone scopes do work on a 99 if you can find one, though they have a rep for internal mirrors coming loose (can be repaired, but who wants a scope out of commission on a hunt). They are cool and a nice piece of history, but I haven't owned one yet.

Another choice might be a Stith mount and scope, or one of the custom Lightfoot mounts made by our campfire member named.. Lightfoot. The Stith mounts have a rear base that screws into the 2 tang holes, and a front base secured in the rear sight dovetail. So no new holes need to be drilled. They come in 3/4", 7/8" and 1" sizes - but there are specific scopes which fit each. The Lightfoot scope base fits the same way, but is a modern 1 piece mount on top of which you can mount any modern scope.

Stith mount and a 7/8" base with a Lyman Alaskan scope:




Here's the Lightfoot mount:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7539209/Re_Lightfoot_Scope_Mount

I would get a receiver sight myself, as I dislike the tang sights on a 99 meant to be hunted hard.

Williams also made a receiver sight that fits the tang holes. It is aluminum and offers easy adjustments, and is the most compact of the receiver sights that was available. Just right for a hunting gun.