I just acquired in a trade... looking for knowledge and opinions.

Assume about a 1959.

Lever safety. Hand checkered.

S/N 921,6XX.

Missing pistol grip end cap. Wood seems honest, usable and uncracked. Metal is far better than pictures show. Recoil pad is old and in need of replacement. Bore seems good.

Rear sight is not original in my opinion.

Lever is bright metal... seems odd.

Caliber is rare?

Thanks in advance on your opinions.

The recoil pad is non factory, the lever is refinished, poorly in my opinion. The caliber is desirable, maybe uncommon but not rare. It is premil so it has that going for it.

It's kind of what I would have been looking for a couple years ago as a hunter. Since I tore the retina in my right eye I've been sticking to low recoil stuff. I'm assuming the stock was cut for the recoil pad, bad lever work, pitting in the metal, and holes from sling swivels are all bad. 358 is good. Folks like the 358's. If it were offered to me in a trade, I'd kind of low ball it at a couple to three hundred, but I'm not looking for one. If it shows better than the pictures, who knows, folks like the 358's, Joe.

Couldn't say it any better than JoeMartin did. Excellent caliber for kicking butt on both ends. Would love to have one in a 50's R. Guess its an ego thing as unlikely will be doing any Bear/ Moose hunting. GW

Lever almost looks nickel plated as opposed to just stripped. If it's just stripped of the case color, I'd send it in to get it redone. Actually, I'd probably get it redone regardless. Bit glaring...

Repro pistol grip caps can be had, but fit is iffy (might need to be ground down some) and some don't have the dimple on the bottom to ensure it doesn't turn when tightened.

Would be a good hunter, though.

Reminds me of a .250 EG I bought years ago with a chromed lever and trigger. I traded the lever and some bucks to someone on the old G&K forum for a cased one.

Prolly cheaper to just look for a replacement lever and trigger than go through refinishing.

Or, if ya just want a shooter - take it huntin'.

needs a trigger,lever and butt pad, work on the holes in the wood .. I even rather have the trigger/lever cold blued than looking like that.. she's ugly but it will make a good hunter

plab

Inlet a small, round compass into the comb of the stock and it'll look right at home with that silvery lever. What the heck, it's a shootin' gun, not a piece of art. Hunt with it! A deer will never know the finish on the lever.
yooper

Everybody loves this treatment-

seems odd that the trigger has been stripped, I'd be careful to check the sear engagement hasn't been dicked with.

The 358W is not low recoil stuff. I have been shooting my 358's since 1966 and they kick even with 180's.

If that were described to me, I'd say no way. Seeing it in the flesh, however, it's pretty damn slick! I've heard Marlin 1894s and Win '92s/'94s described as "New York assault rifles" but that Savage could be global.

The 358W is not low recoil stuff. I have been shooting my 358's since 1966 and they kick even with 180's.

Since I tore my retina I have NOT been shooting anything that kicks. Actually the only thing I've shot since May has been my 22 HP. I'll use my 250 and the 22 HP for my first two deer. If it looks like I have a chance for four deer I'll give the 303 and 300 a go. But, I'm getting my left knee replaced Nov 3, so I might not get out much, Joe.

Slap a scope on it and go hunting. Awesome cartridge in a gun with a lot of history. I bet it'd have some stories if it could talk!

Shot her today... VERY MILD RECOIL. You guys had me worried to death that she was a real hard kicker.

Great trigger, a touch heavy vs. modern, but breaks great.

Very accurate. 2"-3" with irons at a good bit of range. Reckon she would hit tin cans at 300 with a simple scope.

Know little about .358W and why it died out, but I must say this gun would kill raccoons and coyotes and probably white tail deer here in Virginia all day long. Might even try a black bear if I am feeling steady on the shot.

Traded a pair of used truck tires for her. I am thinking now that I did pretty good.

You did fine. For some reason these guys think a 99F in 308 kicks hard and a 358 is a 300 magnum. I don't get it. They're pussycats.

My 10 year old son (#95 soaking wet) disagrees. Shot a 1/2 box of shells and had a lot of fun. He was shooting 200s, maybe that is why?

I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I've shot a .358, .35 Whelen, and owned a M71 .348 for a bit. While recoil isn't way up there in the objectionable region, it's stiff and not for me. The arthritis in my right shoulder that makes shooting heavyweights bothersome to me was aided and abetted by the pounding I gave it through the years from recoil, or so my doc says. If I had a ten year old shooter under my wing I wouldn't be giving him a head start on a medical condition like this.

I can't tell you how many macho shooters I have known who bragged about heavy recoil not bothering them- trap shooters, goose hunters, Weatherby shooters at the range, etc. Every one of them displayed twitches and flinches that only bystanders could see, but who flatly stated that "recoil don't bother me none". Hah!

I'm a trap shooter,maybe 10K a year, sometimes 400 birds a day, 3 days in a row.
Recoil is not the problem, poor gun fit is.
Most dedicated trap shooters take the time to get their gun fitted, when they do, recoil goes away.
Same thing with your big game rifle, a poor fitting gun is going to slap the sh@& out of you, proper fit and proper loads will do wonders to your accuracy and shooting enjoyment..

Comparing trap shooting, using a fairly light shot load, and firing a high powered deer rifle, are like comparing apples and oranges. Don't see what you can do to make your rifle "fit you". Most production guns like the 99 or any deer rifle for that matter, come with very similar length of pull and stock measurements. Add a pad helps somewhat, but that's about it. What I found is for rifles, like when I hunted with a 300 Weatherby, is when you sight it in use good weighted rests like the Caldwell Lead Sled. When in the excitement of the hunt and a deer pops out and you fire "once", you will hardly remember the shot at all. But if you would fire the 300 Weatherby 400 times a day or 10,000 times a year just shooting off hand or off of a typical rest, you probably wouldn't be able to walk or have normal body functions anymore. Best way to make your rifle "fit you" is to go down in caliber until it is comfortable to shoot repeatedly without flinching or soreness.

Savage99F358

Valid point. I think though that high volume shotgun target shooting, even with light loads, has a cumulative physical/psychological effect separate from the effect of sporadic rifle shooting. At our trap club it was the big heavy guys who developed flinches more so than the wiry little guys, but everybody who shot regularly exhibited signs to one degree or another. Release triggers are pretty common there now. My flinching (and shoulder arthritis pain) got to the point where I finally walked away from it, and only shoot a few times a year now in order to justify not selling any shotguns- and that was after switching to 7/8 ounce loads for all my 16 yard work. I refused too to go with a release trigger as I didn't want that muscle memory to interfere with my rifle shooting.

My trap loads aren't light, I like 1 1/8 OZ @ 1200 pfs.
Rife stocks like shotgun stocks can be fitted to you if you want to get the most out of your gun, or shoot it a lot.
I ordered a custom rifle from MRC and had Serengetti custom make a stock for it. Correct length of pull, a little off set for a left handed shooter, pistol grip swept back for my big hands and comb height for direct line of sight for my scope and rings.
Yes it cost a few extra bucks, but like my shotgun, I can shoot this 358, 40 times off the bench and still go home painless.

+1 Sir.

Fit is everything. And proper form.

I shoot heavy .300WMs and don't even bat an eye at the recoil, but I have had .30-30s send me crying into the wilderness like a little girl.

If I had to compare recoils from the past month (while memory is still fresh)... I would compare the .358W in a Savage 99 to my wife's sporting clay Browning Maxus with 1 ounce 1,250 FPS International Clay loads... or my son's 20 ga. Montefeltro and Walmart loads (I don't reload 20 ga).

The Montefeltro is just so dang light (and short on me) is why I added it.

We were also shooting .308s and .454C the same day. Heavy 300 gr. Casulls had a bit of pop from the Puma, but nothing noteworthy or really noticable. .308 is one of those calibers you can shoot from sunrise to sunset and enjoy ever round.

Beautiful rig Sir.

One point you're missing.... since the thread started as the 99F 358, restocking is not an option for a collector grade 99 and not as easy an undertaking with a lever gun.

Savage99F358

I doubt I will ever call mine a collector gun (figure it can't be worth more than a few hundred dollars anyway), so I will just modify the stock to fit me best... throw on a cheap Kahles, XV III or Minox and shoot her.

I try very hard to keep everything in my world black and white. This gun is a middle grey for some... i.e. spend $700-$800 on a refinish/restock and well... you have a $900/$1000 99F. For me she is just a "farm Jeep"... use her, have fun and don't look back. Not all old guns are worth excessive effort. Many disagree, but just where I am on things.

Thanks to all for the opinions. After shooting her, I am pretty sure she will take deer and maybe even black bears.

The magazine spring is weak though and should be upgraded. She hangs the last round. If anyone has a spare spring I sure would appreciate a PM about a price.

Be well and thanks again for all the knowledge.

You gotta wind that spring up, ya don't replace it.

BTW, don't sell a refinish short. I took a 99F 243, stuck a NOS 358F barrel on it then had it refinished. Looks great. I hunt it alot. In fact I'm leaving right now for the last two days of deer season with it. If I had my hands on your rifle I'd restock it and refinish it rather than let it go to spoil. They're a fine weapon. Light and fast, with power up the wazoo.

If I had 1/100 of your collection I'd likely feel the same. But for now. I'd let it in the house.

I'm not saying she will get zero love, but I am not going to overly wound up on an a restoration project on a 60 year old pitted gun with a funky trigger/lever... terrible sling holes in the stock... a cut stock and mismatch wore out recoil pad... the wrong sights... 6-8 holes in the receiver from a VAST ARRAY of scope attempts. I could go on, but with considerable respect due... you have a fine gun... I have one I got for a pair of used tires.

But she does shoot well!!!