Modify a Savage 99 75th Aniv. Model - - A travesty???

[mannyrock]

Dear Guys,

   I have always wanted a straight-grip Savage 99A, in .308, with a 20 to 21 inch barrel, but I have always found the rifles to be butt heavy.   Accordingly, a nice heavy octagonal barrel would be in order.  Of course, Savage never offered these rifles with an octagonal barrel, except for the 75th Anniversary Rifle Savage 99 (made in 1970), which is in .308 and has a long 24 inch oct barrel. (It also has a cresent brass butt plate, a brass lever, and a brass token stuck in the side of the stock.)

   I have found a used VG+ (not mint or excellent) Anniversary Model for a reasonable price.  I am thinking about buying it, and cutting off the barrel to 20 inches, and lopping off about 1.5 inches of the butt stock (to remove the brass butt plate), and installing a high quality recoil pad.  (If I can find a regular blued lever, I will also replace the brass lever.)  I think that this would be a really great hunting rifle.

   Personally, I like this idea.  I think that all rifles are made to be hunted with and shot.  {Collector rifles in original boxes with hang-tags, never to be fired, are way beyond my understanding!}

   But, what do you think?  Am I committing a travesty?  Will I get struck by lightening?  Is this a sin? Is it unethical.   . . . . . Is it just plain dumb?  :-)

  Thanks for all comments and replies.

Regards, Mannyrock

   

[Graybeard]

Guns are made to shoot. Shoot it. If ya feel a need to alter then alter it. It's not like it's an old gun from the early days.

[trotterlg]

GB is right, this is just a machine, it has no real historical value, have at it, make it into what ever suits you .  Larry

[cgoff]

  I also agree that guns are a tool, but you also have to remember that once you make modifications like that you can't take it back.  It's not like a modern rifle that you can find replacement parts easily for it.  If you make the mods and still don't like the way it feels then your stuck with a hacked up version of the original.