After communicating with Lightfoot, I've come to the conclusion that I will pick up where he leaves off with the Lightfoot Mount. With my shop setup I can duplicate his invention, and continue with his fine contribution to the world of Savage 99's.

First order of business: build a few to guarantee the fit and quality of what has come to be assumed with Mike's product. That may take a little time, there's always bugs to be worked out - don't expect any next week. Announcements will appear as progress is made and mounts become available. Pricing will, hopefully, remain on par with Mike's endeavors. Vagaries in material costs will of course drive that, but rest assured I'm doing this for much the same reasons Mike did - to provide a service, challenge my intellect/skills, and make a couple bucks, in about that order.

I'm open to ideas. One that comes to mind is perhaps a zircon-encrusted version, with gold inlays of deer, elk, and nude women (just the thing for that chrome plated 99 your weird Uncle Rathbone had in the back of his closet since 1963).

Anyway, let's see what happens!

Gary

Great news!

Good for you Gary, these mounts have been proven in my part of the country.

Good Deal Gary!

Glad to hear the mounts will continue to be produced.

Good luck 👍

Good show!

PS - sign me up for one of the nudie bases

Which do you want, Marylin Monroe or me?

Glad you decided to do it Gary. Great news!!

This is FANTASTIC!

Ahhhhh.......

Great news Gary and thanks for picking up the torch. Put me down for one of those nudes, maybe riding an Elk?
Just thinking out loud. Thanks again and good luck!

Nice effort Gary, everybody benefits! You gotta keep calling it the "Lightfoot Mount" right? So Mike keeps getting the royalty checks!

Thats great ,will keep you out of the beer joints !!!!

If there's going to new Lightfoot-gnoahhh mounts...


Somebody is going to finally have to tell me how to properly pronounce gnoahhh.

gnoahhh...yeah, me too. It's "no-ah' in my mind which means nothing.
gnoahhh, glad you are doing this! I have been meaning to get one for a long time but it never happens. That'll change.

Chip

It's "no-ahh", a variation of my hashing nickname back in the day. When I first stepped into Internet-land a gazillion years ago I tried using it for my email address but it was already taken, so instead of tacking on a number behind it I simply tacked on a silent letter on the front, and so it has remained. "And a Happy Gnu Year to you!"

Ah rats-------There goes the increased value of my two Lightfoot mounts Just kidding!!!! Glad yer picking up the manufacturing Gary-Yer a gentleman and a scholar! Not necessarily in that order When Colt started to produce Pythons again alot of pundits said the value of all the older Pythons would plumet. Was wondering about it as I have some--so far it hasn't happened Anyway high-fives to ya Gary. I was told by another member 'gnoahhh' was pronounced 'Noah' as in the Biblical Noah. .

Was always torn about whether it was Noah, or gonads without the d.

Can't think of a better person to pick up where Mike left off. The new Glightfoothh mount.

You owe me a new keyboard..

I was really hoping someone would do this. Thanks Gary

Bully!

Good show, gnoahhh!

AWESOME!

Maybe now I can get off my tookus and order one....

When your ready...

Glad to hear you picked up the torch! I'll take the 1st case colored mount that you make.

Best of luck on your new venture

Thank you Gary.........Your endeavor is greatly appreciated by Savage loonies far and wide. Wishing you the very best.
God bless and again thank you so very much.
D.P.Reynolds

WELL i have been throughing a G in front of it ever since i saw it , wondered where it came from.

Good on you for taking on the mount your pic on one would be great ,,, just make sure its on the bottom at the rear mount between the holes.. smile


Norm

Good luck with it Gary hope its as successful for you as it was for Mike, nice to keep it " all in the family" pun intended

Johno

Thank you.

Good deal Gary! Let us know when you're ready to begin.

Me Too!

So here's some advice from someone of my "stock and trade." You will be making a future artifact of 99 history. Everytime an accoutrement from the past is encountered the first thing anyone wants to know is when it was made. And the reasons for asking can range anywhere from the academic to the personal. So keeping the future Savage 99 scholar, collector and shooter in mind, consider date stamping your mounts. And I don't mean anything more complicated than the year of manufacture. I think that coud be a big help to guys like us with interest in the Savage 99, given that there are still guys like us around in 20, 50 or 70-years. Just a thought.

For someone who has not ordered a Lightfoot mount, I am curious as to what extent each mount is custom to a particular rifle. I just took a few rough measurements on the barrel dovetail to front tang hole of Model 99s of different vintages and they aren't all the same. So, is each one unique and requires the buyer to supply precise measurements, or is it enough to know that it's going on an EG or an 1899B, etc. ???

Calhoun … are you keeping track of the variations for inclusion in your next edition? :-) … I think there may be three now: one for the short distance to the rear sight dovetail,one for the long, and the newest with slots that works for both. I may be wrong.

Maybe include a signature or something else that will differentiate it from Mike's mounts. As soon as you are up and producing them I want one. The date may not be enough to tell the difference far in the future.

Gary's KnockOff? I'm sorry, that wasn't nice. I'll buy ya a beer next time I'm down.

It’s a legacy that will be left behind. 100 years from now collectors will be looking out for the rare and desirable Lightfoot mount.

My name will be long forgotten to history…

Jaaack, that is a most excellent question and one aspect of this I have not discussed with Gary.

The long barrel 1899s are very consistent with the rear sight placement. The rear of the dovetail is ~5-7/16" from the receiver ring.

The 1899 short barrel guns and 99s under the 200K mark have a big variation from 2-7/16" to 3-5/32".

From 200K to 220K it is 3" to 3-5/32"

Above 220K it settles in at 3-5/32" +/- a few thousandths.

I didn't discover this until I got to about 30 mounts. In the beginning I made the front slots for the dovetail with a plus and minus .085" This was a long slot but not enough for the very early guns.

After I got enough info to chart the dimensions I started requesting the measurement for the dovetail placement. So, those mounts are a bit specific to the gun. But, if the SN is over 220K the mount will fit all guns above 220K. The gray area is the early guns which I deemed as special orders. They will have an extra long front screw slot to accommodate the short dimension. These mounts are actually more universal in fit because I build them to fit my factory drilled receiver and then extend the slot to the rear for the short dimension. I have built several of this style for people who wanted a universal option.

I struggled with the decision to make them all 'universal' but kept on with the above and below 220K pattern. Gary may want to consider this since it does simplify things a bit and perhaps offers a better product.

Yep, I'll need this for my book if it's okay to include it.

That way we can cement the versions before the new guy gets all kinds of ideas.

have wondered if one could be made using weaver style set up.

Most excellent!!! I am still on the hunt for another suitable candidate for my second Lightfoot mount. Found something but it is saddled with one of them there Stith mounts and 330 optics which I am learning quickly to love but it ain't a "Lghtfoot".

No...

Gary

Appears their is not a manufacturer for the saddle ring staple for the carbines. Second product for your product line. GW

NO!
Defacing art is not cool.
A discrete s.n. on the underside is ok.

Agreed. It will always be known as the Lightfoot mount.

Haha! Thanks for the encouragement. The dovetail spacing is something I plan on discussing with Mike in our next call. Was on the road all day today, my time wasn't my own.

As far as a name change, I've decided it'll remain "Lightfoot", to honor the gentleman who cooked it up. Putting an identifier on the bottom side is a good idea though. Talked to a guy yesterday about making up a roll stamp. Not as expensive as I thought it would be.

Another fella suggested color case hardening. Hmmmmmm.......

Don't tease me...

I had briefly discussed this with Mike but at the time I wasn't confident enough in my technique to be comfortable doing it for other people. I also had concerns about if the welds would be noticable. Unless you have plans for doing it, feel free to hit me up sometime to chat.

Will do. The weld color's shifting occurred to me, as well as possible warpage in the furnace.

It can be a team effort, gnoahhh and damnesia

I have a friend up here that does saddle rings, I am picking up 3 on Saturday But i do need a staple.

Norm

You could probably sell 50 sets if they were a good reproduction.

Who cares about all this stuff. I'm still anticipating the Marilyn Monroe edition!

Will a boxed set be available?

I started to say we need a like button for this, then I thought about it, I'm not so sure?

Perfect!
Love it

I'd like one of the Zircon encrusted, engraved gnudie gnoahhh's, please (serial #1).....and a full page dedication in the next printing of David's new book.

I have asked the publisher if they want to do a revision of the "Collector's Guide" about a week ago. They sent me to someone's voice mail and I haven't gotten a reply. They wanted a revision when they did the second printing but would only give me a few days to get the info together. I'm trying to talk to the jerks ahead of time so I'll have enough time to put together a proper revision. If we do a revision I'll make sure a Lightfoot or Gnoahhh mount gets in it. There is one pictured on my 99K on page 87 of the Engraving book. I mentioned Mike's name in the manuscript but the publisher took it out in editing.
Norm, I need one of those saddle rings.
Gnoahhh, I want my new mount case hardened if case hardening them works out.

Yeah, it is a little scarey.

[quote=wyo1895]I have asked the publisher if they want to do a revision of the "Collector's Guide" about a week ago. They sent me to someone's voice mail and I haven't gotten a reply. They wanted a revision when they did the second printing but would only give me a few days to get the info together. I'm trying to talk to the jerks ahead of time so I'll have enough time to put together a proper revision. If we do a revision I'll make sure a Lightfoot or Gnoahhh mount gets in it. There is one pictured on my 99K on page 87 of the Engraving book. I mentioned Mike's name in the manuscript but the publisher took it out in editing.



}}Norm, I need one of those saddle rings.{{

Duly noted.

Norm

Thanks Norm