Savage 99 .300

[Country Boy]

Been lookingAT THEN ON THE GUN SALES SITES. dON"T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT 99'S OR THE 300 SAVAGE.











 Been looking at some 99 Savage's on gun sale sites, don"t know much about them or the .300 savage. Would some one enlighten me about the pros and con's of this rifle ? I'm thinking of bidding on one to have as a woods loafer rifle. (no scope) when I'm exlploring new deer hunting territory. Are these rifles very heavy ? reliable,fairly accurate ect. Would sure appreciate your help.

[Mikey]

Country Boy:  The Savage 99 is one of the most sought after lever actions ever.  The Winchesters and Marlins were the most hyped and advertized but the Savage was the smoothest and probably the strongest.  The 300 Savage, for all purposes, is a slightly shorter 308.  The bore is .308 diameter and the catridge is right within 308 ranges.  This is a excellent choice for a woods rifle with a excellent choice for caliber.  Some Savage afficionados may cringe at the thought of actually taking one back out into the woods but that's why people buy them.

And why people had to develop stuff like the 307 Winchester or the 308 Marlin whatever, is beyond me, especially when we still have the 300 Savage around.  JMTCW.

[Val]

I have a Model 99 in 300 Savage that was manufactured in 1941. I develped a load using 130 grain bullets that chronographs at just under 2800 fps. I have a modern scope on it and I get 3/4" three shot groups. It's one of my favorite guns to shoot.

[Cottage Hill Bill]

You can't go wrong with a 99, and 300 Savage is a great caliber for it. As has already been stated, out to 250 yards it's pretty much identical to the .308. In fact the .308 was developed from the 300 Sav. If you're using factory loads you'll probably have better luck with 150 grain bullets rather than 180's. If it's a take-down model you'll want to inspect before you buy, or if you're buying from an auction be sure you have an inspection period with return rights. Sometimes a well-worn take-down model can be loose. It can be fixed but will add to the cost of the rifle. Before you try to take a take-down apart be sure the action is fully open. If not you'll mess up the extracter when you loosen the barrel.

[Savage .250]

Google....300 savage.    You can learn a lot about it.   

 I`ve got one and all I can say is it`s one fine rifle.   

[Tackleberry]

I have a Savage Model 99 in .300 Savage and it's a take down model built in 1926. 26" barrel, and in pretty good shape and with rear peep sight.

I find it very easy to carry, and very accurate and would not hestitate to go deer hunting with it, or even elk hunting with it it my shots were under 200 yards.

[Country Boy]

 What is a fair price on one. I have a bid on one but don"t know what a resonable price should be. This one has a tang safety,detachable clip and is missing a small insert that goes in the grip cap. Overall I would say 90 %. .308 cal. Thanks

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Country Boy, don't know if you bought the .300 or not, but it is a nice one. I have been a bolt action fan all my life, and bought the 99 .300 several years ago. So far antelope and mule deer have been taken . Nice caliber and rifle. i have maybe half a dozen levers, but this 99 is one of my favorites. At woods ranges it is an effective rifle. Mine is very accurate with Rem. 150 grain. It will do about 1 inch from the bench. Not as good with other brands, but good enough for hunting

[T.R.]

I consider my 99 Savage in .308 to be a long range rifle.  Even with this plain 4X scope it's no special trick to down a big muley like this well beyond 200 yards.  The 300 is a genuine great cartridge; my Dad hunted all manner of Wyoming big game with his 300 for many decades.   The .308 came along in early 1950's and killed off sales of the 300 but I doubt game animals can tell the difference between the two cartridges.  Or 30-06 for that matter.

Good hunting to you.

TR

[Ron T.]

Country Boy...

My hunting rifle is a pristine 1953 Model 99 Savage (model "EG") in .300 Savage for which I've developed a few different, but very accurate hunting hand-loads over the years.

Generally, it is fairly common for a Model 99 in .300 Savage to shoot 3/4 of an inch, 3-shot groups at 100 yards.  It is not difficult to get 2630 fps to 2650 fps out of a 150 grain handloaded bullet in the regular 24-inch barrel of a Model 99.

My current, very accurate load is 40.8 grains of H4895 behind a 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet sparked by standard Winchester large rifle primers in once-fired Winchester cartridge cases which I've "regulated" the primer pocket, trim the "spruce" out of the powder chamber that was driving up into the powder chamber when the factory "punched" the flash-hole from the primer pocket to the powder chamber.

I've also trimmed the neck of the case back to minimum length (1.865 inches) and chamfered the inside and outside of the case mouth.  I seat the bullets so that the cartridge measures the standard overall 2.600 inches (including the bullet).

The .300 Savage cartridge is a 250 yard deer and antelope cartridge and is capable of taking black bear, elk, caribou and moose (using 165 grain Nosler Partition bullets) under 200 yards with under 150 yards being preferable.

The .308 Winchester was developed by the Army in 1953-1954 from the .300 Savage which originally was the cartridge the Army chose to replace the .30/06... but they began to tinker with the .300 Savage by elongating it's neck and taking the case's shoulder back from a 30º shoulder to a 20º shoulder.  All of this resulted in making the .308 a tad longer than the .300 Savage which was the original "short, fat" cartridge introduced in 1920 to approximate the then-current muzzle velocity of the .30/06 (2700 fps) in a short round capable of working through a lever action.

Both Remington and Winchester still manufacture the loaded cartridges for the .300 Savage which stubbornly refuses to "die" due to it's perfect fit as very possibly the BEST eastern deer cartridge available.

It's recoil is noticably less than the .308 Winchester which gets it's velocity advantage from being loaded to considerably higher pressures (53,000 CUP vs. 46,000 CUP for the .300 Savage cartridge) which, of course, results in more "kick" for the .308 Winchester.  Yet... there is no finer eastern deer cartridge available... even with all the "new" (and mostly "unnecessary")cartridges and calibers that are coming out... one after another... and mostly DUPLICATING the ballistics of cartridges already out and readily available.

The .300 Savage was the "magnum" of it's day (1920) when the competition (.30/30 Winchester) was considered the "hot rod darlings" of the lever-action users... then the most popular type of "action" used by most hunters.  In addition to a fairly great muzzle velocity advantage, the Model 99 in .300 Savage could use POINTED (aka "spitzer") bullets whereas the Marlins and Winchesters had to use ballistically-inferior ROUND NOSED bullets.

As far as cost goes... a Model 99 in good or very good condition made before 1960 (aka "pre-mil"... i.e., having a serial number BELOW 1,000,000) will sell for $450-$1,000 or more if it's a collector's item (no changes or additions since manufactured).  The average "EG" model like mine will go for $600-$750 in very good-to-excellent condition... and "condition" means a LOT.

For the later models ("post mil") having serial numbers above 1 million or having a letter in front of a 6-digit serial number (like "C123,456") using a "clip" instead of having a rotary magazine, expect to pay $300-$600 depending on condition and model.

Occasionally, you'll find someone selling a Model 99 who doesn't realize it's value.  Someone on another site recently said they bought a pre-mil Model 99 for $150 and it's in "very good" condition and in .300 Savage caliber.  I.E., they "stole" it from a widow who was selling off her dead husband's rifles and she didn't realize the Model 99's value which was more like $750.

I can appreciate getting a "bargain", but cheating a widow is a skum-bag thing to do... and the guy doing the bragging must be as stupid as he is crooked because he thought it was much to his "credit" to get such a bargain when, in fact, he is a P.O.S. in my eyes... and in the eyes of any decent man/hunter/sportsman.

You won't find Model 99s "cheap" if they're in good condition... but they'll give you a life-time of excellent service and retain their value or even increase in value as the  younger generation of hunters come up and find out about the truly fine Model 99 Savage lever-action rifle.   


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

[Skunk]

T.R.,

Awesome old pics there. Love those old black & whites.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Ron that was a nice piece on the .300 Sav. When I was a kid, there were still lots of .30-30's, 30-40's, and 300 Sav. in the Penna. mts killing whitetails. In my immediate family the 99 was very popular. The .300 Sav. was about the only caliber they owned in the 99.  I just bought my .300 a couple years ago it is a nice clean old rifle. It is not my primary hunting weapon, but it will see much use if I live long enough. The guys I bought it from said that it had killed about 200 whitetails in Wis. I have only used it on mulies and antelope. I may take it to Pa. this fall for whitetail there. Interestingly, in my immediate family, it wasn't the 308 that replaced the .300 sav., but the 284. Many of my cousins and Uncles went for the 284. they loved it. The older .300's were passed on to kids in the family. Nice caliber. Today, there are a few 99's in use here in the valley. When I first came to this country, they were fairly common. Now our elk have spread out into their former habitat the plains, and most go after elk with bolt action rifles. In Pa. the most common rifle I see is the Remington pump in 30-06. 

[mannyrock]

Countryboy,

  Nobody has answered your last question regarding the Savage in .308.

  First, determine which model it is.  If it is a Model 99C, then this was one of the most inexpensive models that was made. They came in .243 and .308, with a detachable magazine.  They were decent hunting rifles, but are not sought after by collectors.

  If it is a Model 99C in the condition you describe (only 90%, which is pretty beat up), then I would not pay more than $325 to $350 for it.

  If it is a different Model 99, by which I mean that it has a different letter after the 99 designation, then you would probably have to pay $375 to $400, depending on the exact model and year. The detachable magazine rifles were made in the later years of production, to help cut costs.

   Althought the .300 Savage round is an excellent round, I would opt for the .308, only because the ammunition is widely available everywhere, in several bullet weights, and costs much less than the .300 Savage.

  Also, take a long hard look at your situation.  If the only game you are really going to hunt is deer and black bear, out to 150 yards, then all you really need is the .30-30 Winchester round, in the factory loaded 170 grain bullet.    If this is the case, then you can easily buy a very good (95%) Marlin 336C lever action, for about $300.  Or, a very good Winchester Model 94 for about $350.   You can't go wrong with either of these rifles. (As far as strength and mechanics, the Marlin is the better of the two.)  These two rifles also weigh about a pound less than a Savage 99.  If you go for a Winchester 94, then make sure you get one that is an angle-eject (an "AE"), so that you will not have any problems mounting a scope on it.

  Hope this helps.

Mannyrock

[Halwg]

The Savage 99 in 300 Savage is one gun I'd like to add to my collection.  The only problem I have with them is the price.  You can pick up a nice Marlin or Winchester for under $400.  But as soon as you start looking at 99's you are in the $700 and up range.

Maybe one of these days I'll stumble on a bargain.

[Bowjack]

The Savage Model 99 in .300 Savage is my favorite deer rifle.

[Country Boy]

I b0ught the 99 featherweight for 375 in .308 win caliber. It is extremely accurate  3/4 inch groups with federal 150 grn  bullets. As a matter of fact I shot a buck with it November 15th. at 90 yds. boom flop. I ended up putting a bushnell legend on it, perfect fit. Thanks for all the replies.