More to come in a couple weeks. 99E, LBC 12M (1961), SN 9698xx, .308 Win, Chicopee barrel, round counter ... does not fit within our know parameters/paradigm.

Can't win if you don't play. Good luck.

It doesn't? Why not?

I've only heard of the 99Es with pre-60 receiver with round counter and Chicopee barrels being first-year (1960) almost all .300 Savage and a rare .250-3000. This one is .308 WIn, with a very late SN'd pre-60 receiver (9698xx which may be one of the highest we've seen), Chicopee Falls barrel, LBC 12M (1961).

Does it have a 24" barrel. It's probably another early E but in 308. We need pictures.

When it gets here I’ll take some decent pics and post. Oddly it has a 20” barrel with the Chicopee stamp. I wonder if Savage cut down a 24” EG or R barrel as some type of early prototyping. I can post a couple crummy seller pics. I will do that from my laptop in few minutes.

David, here's a couple pics: Sn is 9698xx with a 12M LBC

Can't tell for sure but that may be the cheap wood used on the later 99E's. Maybe they had a leftover EG or R receiver and put it on an otherwise regular E. It doesn't have the scnable for end like the 1960 E's. The serial # is about 1000 higher than one of the 1960 rifles. It is 9688xx. There should be some other rifles with serial #'s between those two. Maybe EG's and R's or more franken99's. David

Looks a lot like the wood used on the other premil 99E's to me, but I might be missing something. David, I have seen 3 of the premil 99E's go by with 969,xxx serial numbers. This is definitely the highest, but only by a few hundred. Does increase the possibility of there being 970,xxx guns out there though.

The 20" Chicopee Falls 308 barrel is very interesting. Doesn't look like a 24" barrel cut down, the ramp would be gone.

It's hard to tell on the wood, but I think it is walnut. To me the most intesting thing is the .308 Chicopee barrel and 1961 LBC. Anyone seen either of those characteristics before on a pre-mil receiver 99E?

The 1960 catalog showed the 99E with uncheckered EG-shaped wood. But I recall reading that there seems to be more pre-mil receiver Es with 99E-shaped than EG-shaped wood. Anyone have a sense for a rough observed ratio of pre-mil receiver 99 Es with 99E-shape stock/forerm vs. uncheckered EG-shape wood? My other pre-mil E (9689xx) has 99E-shaped waltnut wood with a plastic butt plate.

The 20" .308 Chicopee barrel is definitely a head scratcher; looking forward to getting it in had to take a close look at it.

According to Murray the 1961 .308 had a 20" barrel. Sounds like a winner to me!

Pre-mil receiver
1960 E walnut butt stock
1960 E walnut F shaped forearm.. or is it shorter like the 1961 E? (Keith, let us know when received)
Serial is at the high end of the 1960 E's
12M LBC (1961)
.308 w/20" brl, Chicopee address...20" .308 brl not cataloged till the new 1961 E, Chicopee address standard till late 1961.

My data on post -mil rifles is thin but pretty sure this is the first of this variation we have seen.
I do have data on a mid year 1961, .308, 20", blond stock, Chicopee address, serial 1,027,xxx as catologed in 1961.

Appears that at least one of these was made...wonder if there are more?

Good eye Keith. Thanks for the education.

Was Savage still making Stevens guns out of Chicopee Falls in 1960? Maybe the answer is that it's a 1960 Chicopee Falls barrel?