In my humble opinion the great Model 99 should have ranked higher. It was a great design that was truly ahead of its time when Arthur Savage developed it in the s. He designed the in hope of winning a contract with the war department. Although he did not, his design endured and the 99 went on to become a representation of its creator's genius. For hunting North American game the Savage 99 is still one of the finest hunting rifles of all time.
savage 99 serial numbers
In fact, it was a solid performer well into the later part of the last century, nearly one hundred years after its creation. It was manufactured for nearly a century with over a million rifles produced before the Savage 99 was discontinued due to decrepit machinery and increased cost. Before it was retired, it is purported that the company had plans to introduce the 99 with the capability to handle long action cartridges, such as the. The design of the 99 is superior to lever actions such as the Winchester 94 and the Marlin , because it can handle high intensity cartridges.
It has several superior design features that make it more comparable to the Browning BLR and even modern bolt actions like the Winchester Model The rotary spool magazine allows for the use of pointed bullets, which retain greater velocity downrange than the flat point bullets required by lever guns with tubular magazines. Its strong action allowed it to be chambered in many modern, short-action, high intensity cartridges.
A few of the most popular calibers were the.
For a rifle designed in the last decade of the 's, it had many modern day features that are still prevalent on currently produced rifles. It has a cocking indicator on top of the tang and it ejected spent cartridges at an angle, which made it easily adaptable to the use of telescopic sights. Most 99s were not drilled and tapped for scope mounts until the late 's. Until that time, most were only available with drilled and tapped tang mounted peep sights or standard iron sights. It has a good trigger and is reportedly a very accurate and dependable rifle.
Another characteristic of the 99 that is worth mentioning is its great looks and balanced carrying qualities. The early models were produced with a straight grip stock and slim Schnable fore end.
This era of rifles was stately, and as pleasing to the eye as it was satisfying to use. Later models appeared with a pistol grip stock, and rounded fore end tip. In the 's impressed checkering became standard on deluxe DL models. The rotary magazine caused the bottom of the action to be rounded, which fit naturally in the hand. In an "Instructions for Use" guide that came with a rifle made in the 's, Savage encouraged customers to carry the rifle fully loaded, as it would balance perfectly if carried at the bottom of the rounded action.
This is why so many rifles still around today, have receivers with worn bottoms. The rotary magazine would hold five cartridges, thus enabling the rifle to be fully loaded with a total of six shots.
Savage //99 Dates of Manufacture
Another of its prominent aesthetic features was the color case hardened trigger guard and lever. This provided a distinguishing touch to an already attractive rifle. The cartridges developed for and offered in the and 99 were as far ahead of their time as the rifle. I do think they went to the receiver bin and pull a couple to make into rifles. Now the bad thing is the levers could get switched out over the yeArs.
Just like barrel codes on shotguns. A little peek at my savage 99 in I can't help you out on the.
The lever boss code which is not located on the lever, but on the receiver where the lever attaches. Receivers were machined ready for use by production as the need arose. My lever boss code indicates the receiver was made in However, the rifle did not ship from the warehouse until That's not unusual for my rifle to not ship until based on the fact that Savage was chambering the 99 in.
No other changes were made to use the. This from a rifle that was basically designed in !!!! I just pulled the. He got married and the wife wanted all guns gone from the house! Thump em with a. Team 35 member Team 3 member My proud Navajo name: T'adoh-'aash He wanders around. Sponsored Links Remove Advertisements. I've got a "C" code From what I've been able to determine, Savage was just willy-nilly with the process of making their rifles. They probably made receivers, stacked from the back of the bin, and just reached in a grabbed one when they were going to make a rifle. Hence, the ones at the back stayed longer in the bin before being used to make a complete rifle.
I wouldn't normally pay that much for a used rifle, but this one looks like they just pulled it from its box, and put it in the rack.
savage 99 date of manufacture?
Plus, it shoots the Remmy s really, really well. How to date 90's to JM Marlin 's by serial number? By Ocduff in forum SBL serial number vs.