Hello everyone -

This is my first post so hopefully it's in the right spot!

Recently I inherited a Savage 99 in .300. I know next to nothing about the rifle and have just started learning about it. For at least the past 40 years this rifle has been sitting in the typical can cabinet but transferred to a standard (non-gun) safe about 15 years ago. There are some light rust issues, mainly the part of the lever that touches the stock. Aside from this there are no dents and dings. I've attached some pics so you can see it. In the picture of the buttstock you can see how the rubber bad has compressed over the years. Due to the location it looks like this happened because it was just left sitting.

The serial number is 5367XX and the lever cartouche is marked "26A". Based on the Savage99 site the serial number indicates it was made in 1950, yet the cartouche indicates 1949. So is 1949 considered the year built or would it be 1950 or am I completely wrong. As to the cartouche, what does "26" indicate? In some industries it would indicate that it had been made during the 26th week of 1949. Would that be the case Here?

I have no idea if this rife is a 99EG but believe it is, are there any markings on it that could confirm it?

I'm also planning on field stripping it in order to give it a good cleaning and look-see. Other than the rotary magazine, is there anything else you recommend I keep an eye out for?

Any info, history, tips, tricks and advice about this rifle any of you would be willing to pass along would be welcome.

To our knowledge the scope and sling came with the rifle. The scope is a Lyman All-American in 4X. It also has the leather covers. Do any of you know how to adjust this scope? I'm not finding anything online. There are no markings (or click sounds) on the elevation and windage adjustments; they act more like a bolt - they go in one direction until they no longer turn. Any help on adjusting the scope would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all the help!

The Savage Collectors forum here would've been optimal but this will work. You do have an EG which someone had drilled and tapped. Please don't disassemble the rotary magazine when stripping or you'll be seeing a gunsmith to get it back together right. EG's weren't D&T'd for a scope until the late 50's and only R's and RS's were drilled for sling swivels.

Oh, and the boss your lever pivots on has a code.

In 1949, Savage began stamping a tiny, lightly impressed oval on the lower, front side of the "lever boss".

The “lever boss” is the extension of the lower part of the receiver into which the lever fits and rotates. Inside the oval, Savage stamped the letter "A" together with other numbers which are apparently inspector’s numbers.

On many Model 99 rifles, this “oval” is indistinct or difficult to read as are the letters and numbers inside the oval. On my own late model “EG”, serial #709XXX, made in 1953, only the upper case letter “E” and the rear half of the oval’s circumference (which looks like a large, faint, backwards letter "C") barely show on the lever boss. The front half of the oval’s circumference and whatever is inside the oval in front of the letter “E” are indistinguishable.

The letters “O” and “Q” were skipped and not used due to their similar appearance.

Here is a complete list of the Lever Boss Codes and their corresponding year of manufacture:
A= 1949
B= 1950
C= 1951
D= 1952
E= 1953
F= 1954
G= 1955
H= 1956
I= 1957
J= 1958
K= 1959
L= 1960
M= 1961
N= 1962
O= SKIPPED
P=1963
Q= SKIPPED
R= 1964
S= 1965
T= 1966
U= 1967
V= 1968
W= 1969
X= 1970

Thanks for the info.

Hornady offers Super Performance ammo for the 300 Savage. Muzzle velocity is listed at 2,740 FPS which is right on the heels of 30-06! This ammo features the 150 grain SST bullet. Check Midway Shooting Supplies for best on line pricing.

Sherwood

Well, if you consider 300fps slower 'right on the heels', then yeah.

More like trailing in the dust!!!!

Yeah, I missed a big buck once at 150 yards because the bullet was only going 2700fps.

Oh. Wait. Never mind. Ignore that.

He's dead.

Good to see your stupid has dissipated

The .300 was meant to approximate .30-06 performance, as it was in 1920 when the .300 was introduced. Back then it meant loading the .300 to maximum potential (and still does pretty much), but the '06 had a lot of unused potential left in its boiler room which was taken advantage of as time passed, hence leaving the .300 in its dust.

Funny thing though, I load my .300's fairly stiffly but by and large load my '06's mostly to .30-30 performance levels and less. If I had a sudden need to punch a hole in an engine block I would reach for a .300 and ignore the '06's. ('06's lend themselves to cast bullet usage better than .300's due to the short short neck of the .300.)