savage 99 &win 88 brought back?

[jim huntington]

       Would like to see the Savage 99s and Winchester 88s resurrected with .308 or bigger. Maybe with some of the new rounds that are coming out.Would it be possible to do the same with the .308 as they did with the 30-30/leverevolution ? I owned both at one time, in .308 cal. G ot my one and only bull caribou with the win.88. I know there are still used ones floating around.Could they be made to handle the same cal.s as the Browning BLRs, and also compete with them?Maybe dress them up with synthetic stocks and some ss? .7mm mag. or .300.? Dont get me wrong! I loved the looks of the old wood stocked guns. Its just that the weather resistant firearms seem to be the most popular right now.

[Will_C]

I would not have much interest in one of these rifles with a synthetic stock. They are capable of high intensity cartridges (.243,.308, .358, etc.), and were chambered in such. I personally would pay $800-$1000 for a new classic Savage 99 (brass magazine counter), or a 88 with a decent trigger, but I don't think there is enough like me to bring them back to production.
Will

[Hairtrigger]

It is my understanding that manufacturing costs were why these rifles were dropped. I think your only hope would be if a company would build these overseas

[Lone Star]

I think your only hope would be if a company would build these overseas

Savage tried that with the M99, and it was a dismal failure quality-wise.  Yes, production costs were too high, but what many overlook was the loss of the experienced assemblers needed for the complex M99 - they retired and no new artisans entered the workforce due to the relatively low wages.  The M88 sold poorly and the M99 tooling wore out.   Your best bet is to buy used and re-barrel/re-stock it as you want it.


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[DakotaJeff]

I had a Savage 99E in .308 growing up and loved it.  Was my go-to gun for the PA deer woods   My dad has a Win 88 in .308 and .243.  I believe he won that .308 in a raffle back in the 1970s, I can't tell you how many deer he's harvested with that gun.  He loves it needless to say.  So much so he didn't think twice about picking up that .243 when he found it awhile back.  I think he is just fond of the lever actions.  Not sure if we'll ever see them in production again but I keep my eye out for one in great condition every time I walk through a gun show.

[jim huntington]

       I had a feeling you fellas were going to tell me that! The savage 99 I had was a .308. It handled good except for the safety being on the lever, was not too handy for me being a south paw.The stock was not walnut either.It must have been birch or something. Ive been looking for one with a nice walnut stock and top tang safety, but you hardly ever see them at gun shows.Ive seen one or two over the years, but like you said, the price was way up there, at least to my budget anyway.The Winchester 88 in .308 I had bought in 1990 at a gun show for $400.00. I even had an extra clip for it.That is  the one I took to Alaska and shot a bull caribou with it. It was a nice looking gun, with oak leaf checkering on stock and forearm and was a good shooter.The dumbest thing I ever did was selling it in order to put new tires on my car.And sold it to a gun dealer no less. Nothing against gun dealers! I lost a few bucks on that deal. Last year I saw one at a gun show just like the one I used to own.$750.00 price tag on it! Oh if only you could go back in time and do something different.

[kombi1976]

How about a Win 88 or Savage 99 in 338 Federal?
Bears thinking about.

[jim huntington]

       I forgot about the .338 federal . Ya! Hmmmm! That sounds like a winner, chambered in either one of those rifles.Maybe Browning and Marlin will read these posts. If we couldnt get the 99 or the 88.They could build a lever gun for this chambering.Marlin could do one in a leverevolution? Oh the possibillities!

[Hairtrigger]

I would buy a Japanese copy (Browning, Winchester) of a leveraction.. already have several Brownings and like them.
I would not buy a S. American import

[deltecs]

I live in Alaska in Prince William Sound, an area with lots of deer, black bear, and a few big browns in the neighborhood.  I bought a Win 88 in .308 in PA and brought it to Alaska when I moved here in 1969.  Mine is a pre '64 Win 88 and the action is extremely smooth.  It has served me well on many hunting trips around my house.  The only thing about the 88 is that you have to be extremely careful not to dry fire the weapon without snap caps.  I've had 2 broken firing pins from this.  The original 88's were introduced in .243 Win, .284 Win, .308 Win, and .358 Win.  There weren't many .358 Wins made but if I had a chance to buy one at fair market value and not collectors market, I certainly would.  Having an old .308 rebarreled to .338 Federal makes a lot of sense to me.  It would be a superb weapon for Alaska's big game, especially from horse back or 4 wheeler.  The slick profile of the 88 in a scabbard permits easy withdrawal for quick shooting.  Also, my wife is left handed and the safety on the 88 is easily turned over and placed on the left side of the action by a competent gunsmith.  Mine is.  As I am right handed, I use this left handed safety without a problem. 
deltecs

[Lone Star]

deltecs, there was a recall on M88s years ago that dealt with the firing pin breakage problem.  Perhaps you could contact Winchester to see if they would still warranty the rifle and perform the repair.


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[Slamfire]

Keep an eye out for a Sako Finnwolf. Looks like a Model 88 but has better extraction with a rack and pinion action.  They are even rarer than 88s though. 

[deltecs]

Well, the last time I sent it back for repair was over 20 years ago.  I haven't had the problem since, so maybe the last time it was there the rifle got the new fix.  Anyway, I'm still very careful not to dry fire these models.  Appreciate the info.  Didn't know that.
Greg
deltecs

[jim huntington]

    Hello you all! Im back from vacation.So what did I miss?I just read the guns & ammo mag.(April issue ) In it was an article on the 338 Federal cartridge. In the article, this Chub Estman was mulling the idea of rechambering a savage 99 for the 338 Fed. after a successful antilope hunt were he made an instantaneous one shot kill at nearly 200 yrds.using a Federal 180grain accubond loading in a Kimber 84 rifle. Its nice to know that some one else sees some merit in the old 99s and 88s. He must of read your thread on chambering the 99s and 88s in this cartridge.

[BigJakeJ1s]

Obviously, there is still some market for lever guns in modern, rimless, high pressure cartridges with pointed bullets: the Browning BLR. If Browning can manufacture them at low enough cost to make a profit, maybe someone else could too. OTOH, as rifles go, that's a pretty small market with an existing product already well entrenched. 

I personally prefer the looks and engineering of the BLR over the Savage 99 (except the rotary magazine), and Win 88. Lever guns were just meant to have external hammers. And the BLR is available in calibers the 99 and 88 were never capable of (270, 30-06, 7 mag, 300 mag).

Andy

[deltecs]

Obviously, there is still some market for lever guns in modern, rimless, high pressure cartridges with pointed bullets: the Browning BLR. If Browning can manufacture them at low enough cost to make a profit, maybe someone else could too. OTOH, as rifles go, that's a pretty small market with an existing product already well entrenched. 

I personally prefer the looks and engineering of the BLR over the Savage 99 (except the rotary magazine), and Win 88. Lever guns were just meant to have external hammers. And the BLR is available in calibers the 99 and 88 were never capable of (270, 30-06, 7 mag, 300 mag).

Andy

Andy, there's been the small market for a long time for these weapons.  There just isn't a large enough market for good profits.  The BLR is alive because it can load those longer rounds.  If you look at the sales trend for firearms, you'll notice the majority of firearms sold are magnums.  I realize that in any one caliber per rifle model is the 30-06, with the .270 and .243 among the top 5 calibers sold.   However, the 7mm mag, 300 win mag, and .338 win mag round out the rest of the top 5 calibers sold in varying order, depending on the manufacturer.  Add up all the mag sales versus non mag and the volume of mags win market wise.  Hunters wanted a short action 35 but wouldn't buy enough to keep making them.  I wonder if the .338 Federal will start and go the way of the .358 Win.

[jim huntington]

     Could Marlin do a 336A for the 338 Federal by using the leverevolution concept? It seems they would be able to do it and keep it in an affordable price range.

[coyotejoe]

I've owned several 99 Savages and now have temporary use of a friend's 99 and I am no fan of the design. It's a heavy action and a very rough and "stagey" action due to the strange design which has the bolt cam up to lock while the lever end is arching downward and viceversa, makes for a jerky lever travel. Never had nor handled a Winchester 88 but it's really a moot question since Winchester couldn't even keep the '94 in production.

[deltecs]

According to my info, the 99 and 88 both are relatively complicated actions for manufacturing.  There are few more pieces that must be made to close tolerances and this added to the retail cost.  Compared to bolt rifles these profits were not good enough for continued manufacture.  The last time a took my 88 to a gunsmith he looked at my face with dread in his.  It was to change the safety to the other side of the rifle.  He later told me when I picked it up that it was a complicated and touchy mechanism to work on relatively speaking.  My action is pretty smooth but it is pre 64 and the quality of the rifles were a bit higher then.  I suppose with frequent use a later model would be just as smooth.