Hello! I am new to this forum, so please bear with me. I have a vintage 1950's Savage 99 I picked up recently in original condition. Not drilled or tapped, butt plate is "right" and wood is original with no cracks or sling swivels added. I am very happy with my acquisition as I had looked for some time to find a decent 99 at a fair price. It is in .300 Savage.
The question/problem I have is this...I have read several forums and blogs that say you should avoid pulling the rifle apart as it is a bear to reassemble. That said, the old girl is in need of a cleaning, specifically the reciever/round counter etc. Any tips or diagrams or anything that may help me? I don't want to rip her all the way down, but I would like to clean the moving parts some! Thanks, JC

JC, Taking a Savage apart is not too difficult but you must have the proper tools. The buttstock is removed by takign off the buttplate and then, using a large and long screwdriver, remove the stock screw that is inside the stock. That will expose the bolt as well as the sear mechanism and perhaps you won't need to go further in that direction. To remove the magazine spool, take off the forearm. Then remove the screw that is on the left side of the receiver toward the front. Be advised, that magazine spool is under spring tension and it will be difficult to preplace. After the screw on the side of the receiver is removed, the magazine spool is removed from the front of the action. And, there are parts, such as the magazine cut off which also has the empty case ejector on it, that are aligned and ride the shaft that the spool rotates on. Getting those lined-up for reassembly is not the easiest. What you might do instead is see if you can clean the inside of the action by reaching in the a Q-tip or something. Don't take the magazine out unless you really need to. For one thing, finding good Savage 99 gunsmiths these days is getting hard to do...

303Mike....which leads to my next question...in the strange event of a water landing can I use my seat cushion as a flotation device????LOL I.E., are there any reputable Savage 99 gunsmiths left in the world that could help if God frobid something ever went south on this beauty?

Fatjack, If you really need to take that 99 apart, then you simply need to take it apart. Go for it and be sure you don't lose anything. Like I said, use proper fitting screwdrivers and treat the gun very nicely. Then if you have troubles, report back here.

They are pretty dang simple, the spool is the only tricky part.

Hey fatjack, you stole my avatar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Mike...

fatjack,

If you do remove the buttstock from the frame as described above be gentle and pull straight back, the side tenons are fragile and don't take torque very well. Also, if you get past this point and want to remove the firing pin assembly from the bolt, be mindful of the small rebound spring underneath the firing pin. It will come out with the firing pin and it is small.

Mechanically, the action is pretty simple and mostly visible with the butt stock removed.

I'm having trouble getting my safety slide and spring back in. It's the s shaped spring that goes in the square hole. Any tips? Thanks, Dave

Lozen...asking the wrong cat...one of the helpful pro's will be along soon to help. Lot's of gr8 info. from these guys!
You up in Warren off 89? I live in Manchester.

I am going to try the Gun Scrubber degreaser aerosol option for getting the crud out of the action. I am not yet comfortable breaking down the gun as the vibe I am getting is that it is pretty easy to screw things up. I do not have the proper tools and I do not want to start buggering up screws as the gun is sweet overall. I will update my effort when I complete it tonight, Thanks boys. JC

Used casey/birchwood brand GUN SCRUBBER in the action and it seemed to do a good job. The rotary mechanism had some saaaaarious crud on the brass counter side, to the point of obscuring some of the numbers...not any more! Looks pretty sharp for a 58 year old gun and the mechanical works look even better!
I wish there was a way to research the records and find out where this baby started it's life. I got it out of Washington state, but now it resides in NH which is an amazing journey!

Try a factory letter. It may tell you where it was first shipped. It will at least tell you when.

From the Misc Good Info sticky above:

John T. Callahan,
Savage Arms Historian
53 Old Quarry Road
Westfield, MA 01085

New prices as of 12/1/2006:

Savage 1895's, 1899's and 99's are $30.00

Other Savages are $25.00.

Stevens are $20.00.

A.H. Fox Sterlingworths-$30.00.

Graded doubles are $40.00.

Send serial number and details of the item, allow 5-6 weeks for delivery.

Make payable to John T. Callahan

NOTE: If you state that you are a "24" member and list your "24" name you can purchase the Savage 1895's, 1899's and 99's letter for $25.00 each.

NOTE: JC has requested that you not send for more than 3 letters at a time. Big orders put him behind and cause other peoples requests to set so that they do not get answered in a timely manner. Thanks.