Savage Featherweight 30-30

[Dogshooter]

I just bought a Savage Model 1899 Featherweight chambered for 30-30 that was made in 1925. It is NEW and UNFIRED and has absolutely no flaws whatsoever! I fully intend to use this rifle to hunt with but wondered if there would be a reason NOT to use modern ammunition in it. I know I could use the Hornady Leverevolution ammo and since it has a rotary magazine, I could use reloads with decent bullets but am not sure about pressure concerns since this was made in 1925. Any advice you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated.

[mauser98us]

If it is truly unfired etc, the best thing to do is sell it to all those Savage collectors. With the vast sum of money you could get,you could buy almost anything your heart desires.

[Dogshooter]

I know it is probably worth more to a collector than what I paid for it but it is such a neat little rifle I wanna keep it. So it is one of the few I have that ain't for sale.

[billy_56081]

Dogshooter, I am the kind of person who would never own a gun I did not shoot. But here I would say you are nuts. There aint 3 unfired 1925 Savage featherweight 30-30 in this world. Don't ruin it sell it to a collector and get a different gun.

[Dee]

Dogshooter, the rifle is as safe to shoot as a Winchester Model 94, or Marlin made in the same year, and caliber. If you bought it to shoot, then shoot the damn thing. You neither nuts, nor doing the wrong thing. It's your rifle. I personally would not own a rifle I was afraid to shoot, and am not interested in collecting. Your question was it was safe, not what you should do, and it is safe to shoot. All else is personal opinion. Like I said, there is no guilt or crime in shooting the rifle. I personally think it would be neat to shoot something manufactured 85 years ago for the first time. Enjoy it, you only live once, and it will be something no one else has done, and you may never get the opportunity again.

[pastorp]

I agree with Dee on this one.......... you'll be the only guy in hunting camp with one like it I bet.

You fellas that say sell and buy what you want don't understand, he has what he wants.

Regards,

[Doug B.]

Any pictures? Sure would like to see it!

[Old Grizz]

If it was me, I would get that rifle appraised to find out the worth, then deceide what to do. Who knows, maybe you could  buy two or three guns for you might get for it.

[TXSPIKE]

Very good advice.If it's unfired,it could be worth thousands!!!!!!!!!Don't destroy the value by shooting it.Sell it and by you a bunch of 99's.

[mannyrock]

     I hate to jump in here, but the prior posters are correct.  If the rifle is really unfired, then it is worth thousands.

     Now, I totally understand that when you find a rifle you really love,  a part of your mind tells you that you should just shoot it and enjoy it.

    But, in this case, you would be doing two very negative things:  first, you would be destroying history, and second, you would be destroying lots of value.  All lost forever.

    May I offer this solution?   Go online, and find the really serious Savage 99 collectors.  Tell them what you've got.  Send them pictures.  Go to somebody that they recommend, to have an expert confirm that it is really unfired.

    If it is unfired, or even if it is fired and in 99% condition, then you should be able to trade it to a serious collector, and receive in exchange the exact make and model that you have, in 95% to 98% condition, plus a fistful of money. The used rifle you will receive will be used, but not abused, and only slightly worn.  You will have the joy of hunting with a rifle that someone used almost 100 years ago.  And, you will have the pride of knowing that you preserved a pristine model, for future generations to look at and enjoy.

Best regards,
Mannyrock

[Dee]

     I hate to jump in here, but the prior posters are correct.  If the rifle is really unfired, then it is worth thousands.

     Now, I totally understand that when you find a rifle you really love,  a part of your mind tells you that you should just shoot it and enjoy it.

    But, in this case, you would be doing two very negative things:  first, you would be destroying history, and second, you would be destroying lots of value.  All lost forever.

    May I offer this solution?   Go online, and find the really serious Savage 99 collectors.  Tell them what you've got.  Send them pictures.  Go to somebody that they recommend, to have an expert confirm that it is really unfired.

    If it is unfired, or even if it is fired and in 99% condition, then you should be able to trade it to a serious collector, and receive in exchange the exact make and model that you have, in 95% to 98% condition, plus a fistful of money. The used rifle you will receive will be used, but not abused, and only slightly worn.  You will have the joy of hunting with a rifle that someone used almost 100 years ago.  And, you will have the pride of knowing that you preserved a pristine model, for future generations to look at and enjoy.

Best regards,
Mannyrock

Now that is an option that would still give you the same basic rifle, plus cash.

[Bigeasy]

Any pictures? Sure would like to see it!

Yea, I sure would like to see a few pics myself.

The 99 is a strong action that will handle any factory 30-30 round.   You can use any bullet style with the rotary magazine.

Larry

[Rangr44]

First - That rifle is perfectly safe with ANY commercial .30-30 Winchester ammunition/loading.

Second - EVERY rifle has been fired, at least, once by the factory testers.

Third - There would be no reduction in it's value, by shooting it in a normal manner, and not physically abusing the rifle while hunting by using it as a crutch or to shove aside brush, dropping it, etc.
That also means, zero alterations, or - use "as is".

IOW, with light-to-normal shooting/hunting use, that rifle will be a joy to own & use - and will someday still be worth a bundle.

.

[mannyrock]

Ranger44

    As a collector of antique firearms, I must very respectfully tell you that your advice that shooting and hunting with the rifle in a non-abusive fashion will not lower the value of the rifle is simply not true.  A collectible firearm in 99% condition can be worth 5 times more than the same one in 98% condition.  The value of a particular firearm to collectors is totally geared to condition, condition, condition.  And, for all we know, his rifle may actually be in 100% condition.

   If it is true that this particular rifle has never been fired, and is in pristine condition, then I agree with the prior poster who said that there may only be five of these in North America.  And you are advising him to to take it out into the woods deer hunting? 

  If this were an absolutely mint condition 66 Corvette Sting-Ray, with 100 original miles on the odometer, would we be telling him to take it out on the highway for a spin, or that ordinary non-abusive driving would not reduce its value?  I know we wouldn't be telling him that.

  Of course, he doesn't have to take our word for it.  All he has to do is go on the internet, find the top collectors of the Savage 99, tell them what he's got, and ask them if he should run a few boxes of ammo through it and take it out into the woods.  (They will have a heart attack!)   :-)

Best,

Mannyrock

[wreckhog]

Reminds me of that movie Brewster's Millions. Guy gets a priceless, just one in the whole world, postage stamp. And uses it to mail a postcard.

[Rangr44]

With all due respect, the fact of the matter from my side of the fence is that I've shot/hunted with several 100% condition, high-grade, collectible rifles over the years (besides "regular" arms) - that I later sold for 100% (or more) of what their value was before I used them................Carefully (as noted in my prior post, above).

Simply shooting one, or carrying it while hunting - in the woods or whereever - doesn't damage a firearm.

Of course, accidents "happen", and some folks cannot resist literally "beating brush" with their guns - more's the pity.

FWIW, I've owned, etc, some of my guns for almost 40 years - and they all look like they just came out of their box, new,   this morning.
YMMV, of course.

.

[Freezer]

   Mine is a Savage 99f in 308.  I bought it for $300 dollars.  Why take a chance with that gun?  My stock was a little rough and the gun had some hunts on it.  It shot so well I decided to clean it up a little, touch up the trigger and refinish the stock.  Since it was a shooter not a colectable I felt no remores for the decission until I took that pretty gun on my first deer hunt of the season. I slipped on a shale hill and slid some ways.  That stock isn't as pretty anymore.  It still shoots one ragged hole at 100yrds if I do my part.  Don't take chances with a collector when a shooter will do.  Besides 300 Savage and 308 Win are far superior hunting cartridges.  JMHO

[mannyrock]

Ranger,

   I understand what you are saying, but the fact that you eventually sold your rifles for 100% or more of your original purchase price, after using the rifles for hunting and shooting, does not mean that the hunting and shooting did not reduce the value of the rifles.  Had you left them in totally pristine condition, you may have gotten 200% or more of their original purchase price from a collector.   

   Any rifle, in really good shape, and moderately used without unsightly damage, will eventually sell for 100% of what you paid for them, assuming you hold onto them long enough.

  I believe that the difference here is that you are talking about the price of a rifle if sold as a shooter, and I am talking about the price of a rifle if sold as a collectible to a collector.

   Hola's rifle, if in the condition he describes, is currently a true and rare collectible.  Subject it to ordinary use and wear for a short time, and it will immediately lose hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars of value to a collector.   The slightest scratches, dings or dents in the stock, and the slightest wearing-off of bluing at the edges of the muzzle or anywhere else, drops its condition rating as a collectible.

   Of course, I guess if he doesn't care, then its none of my business.  :-)

Best,

Mannyrock

   

[pastorp]

Interesting discussion, and you guys are right from a $ & cents standpoint. But the gun belongs to dogshooter and he didn't ask the question you answered.  Guess he'll decide what he wants to do with it.

I must admit I've shot a few older guns that were rare in the 100% condition I bought them in...

Regards,

[Savage .250]

That 99 is not just a "shooter" it`s a piece of American Gun history. Don`t screw it up. 

[Dee]

Yeah, as I recall his ONLY question was if it was safe with modern ammo, and that question has been answered by several. All this other is opinon on what he should do with HIS rifle.

[scott cudworth]

Please....please don't shoot that gun....sell it to me!!!!!

[jimster]

"Yeah, as I recall his ONLY question was if it was safe with modern ammo, and that question has been answered by several. All this other is opinon on what he should do with HIS rifle."

Yep!

  I can tell you first hand shooting a rifle like that for the first time, sighting it in, breaking it in, and making it one of your hunting rifles is a feeling that will tickle you and make you very happy, and to some people, is worth a few thousand bucks right there.  It's yours.  And if I could afford to buy it from you, I would shoot it because it would be mine.  Life is short....and I can tell by reading your post I fully intend to use this rifle to hunt you already figured out what happiness really is. 

[Dogshooter]

Thanks for all the feedback and to hopefully put an end to all the gnashing of teeth and hand wringing............It has been done. It shoots great and it ain't going nowhere but to my safe and out to hunt mule deer this fall. I have more firearms that are (or according to some, were) in the same condition as this one when I acquired them and they are all being used as they were intended to be used when they were manufactured. And yes, I have a half dozen rifles that are ballistacally better suited for taking Mule Deer but that ain't the point. The only value in any of the guns I own lies in their value to me personally, not what some book says they are worth. Carrying this gun in the mountains this fall, hunting for Mule Deer, will add exponentially to the experience and at my age, quality experiences are far more valuable to me than turning a profit on a work of art like this. I have owned many guns and there were some that brought a very big grin to my face when I handled them. Those I still have. Those that didn't are in someone else's collection and hopefully, they bring the same grin to the guys that bought them from me. As I said, I thank all of you for your feedback and opinions and I truly appreciate ANYONE who shares my passion for this sport and the tools we use to persue it.

[Dee]

I had a kid last month tryin to sell me an Fender Stratocaster in a guitar shop. The price was around 2500.00, and I started laughin. He asked what was so funny. I told him I wanted the guitar to play, not DISPLAY. He then went into his pitch about COLLECTIBILITY, and I let him finish.
When he finished, I said: Son look at me and tell me what you see. He didn't know what to say, so his just stood there. I said: Hoss, I am 60 years old, and love the sound of a good guitar, but I don't give a damn what that guitar will be worth in 20 years, I'll most likely be starin at 6' of dirt, if I've got a flashlight. The light bulb came back on, and we looked at cheaper guitars.

[Freezer]

   Dee that said, your exactly right, that wasn't the guitar for you.  In addition why mess up such a nice piece.  If you could have bought it for $1000 then sold it for $2500 you could have bought a nice Strat worth playing and had lots left over for sheet music, pics or an amp.

[owenv]

Here are a couple featherweights

[Dogshooter]

Owen,
  I liked the 1st one I bought from a friend so much that I bought another one. In fact, the one you have in the first picture is, I beleive, the one I bought. It was on Auction Arms. This one doesn't have the original box and I think it was refinished but looks pretty good from the pictures and description. This one goes to my grandson. Small world.

[Cottage Hill Bill]

Post some pictures of your 99 over here http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/40/page/1

There are some very serious and very knowledgable Savage collectors there. They'll give you an honest idea of what your rifle is worth. I hunt with 99's in .243, 300 Savage and 303 Savage and love them, but all of mine are $300-500 shooters. they'll be worth just as much with a couple more dings and scratches as they are now. there are plenty more just like them out there. That's not true of one in collectible condition. The addition of sling swivels or drilling and tapping for a scope will make a $500 99 out of a $5000 one.

[pmeisel]

I think the only thing wrong here is that you haven't invited us all to the range with you!