Info requested about Savage 99 300

R

Robdan1

Inactive
New here and this is my first post. I would like some info about a recently acquired Savage 99 300 that I bought from a buddy. The known history is that it was his dad's from new, and my buddy can remember going with his dad as a kid to buy ammo at Woodward's. The 99 came with a half box of ammo with the price tag still attached. ($5.90)...those were the days.
Anyway, from the serial # I have found that it was produced "after" 1951, which doesn't really help, and it has a 24C within a lightly impressed oval on the front of the lever boss. There is also an oval with the letters "SP" impressed on the barrel.
The forearm may not be original but I don't know for sure, or why it would have been changed. As you can see, the stock butt has been varnished but not the forearm. It also has a Lyman aperture sight, and in cleaning it I found that the aperture diameter could be made larger or smaller by turning the outer ring. Neat! Redfield is stamped on the foresight.
Any info on this Savage would be appreciated. BTW, a great forum!
Cheers. Robdan:)View attachment 83105

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It appears to be a 99EG basex on the forearm shape, caliber, and the sights.

It probably wasnt made that much past 1951.

The item marked Marbles is a dovetail filler plug that went in the dovetail where the rear sight base originally went.

Both Lyman and Williams made apeture rearsights for the 99 at the time. My EG has the williams rear. The othef markings are proofmarks and the like.
 
Nice 99. A few observations:
* The forearm or the buttstock has been changed. The buttstock is checkered, but not the forearm, and I do not know of any shipped with checkered stock/plain forearm. Either one being damaged is relatively common, and lots of them were swapped out.

* The Lyman iris aperture on the rear sight is a relatively rare item.

* $5.90 for a box of ammo is not as cheap as you might think. Minimum wage in the late 1960s was about $1/hr, so your "cheap" box of ammo actually cost most of a day's take-home pay for a laborer, about like paying $40/box nowadays.
 
Savage 99

Thanks guys...Nice to know this info re: 99EG...maybe I'll look for a checkered forearm.
And yes, $5.90 was a lot back in the day, and today where I live min. wage is $10.25/hr. so that would make a box almost $82.00 plus 12% taxes....yikes:eek:
Also interesting about the adjustable iris. Thanks.
BTW this is more of a collection piece for me and will probably keep in the family. Cheers.
Robdan.
 

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[ 24C within a lightly impressed oval on the front of the lever boss. ]

"C" is the LBC (Lever Boss Code) for 1951.

The original FE for an EG should have been a schnobble-tipped walnut w/checkering.

Savage 99's usually had the model letter(s) stamped into the action face, on one side or both (for a two-letter model) of the rotary magazine spool's axle.

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I can tell you how the forearm came to be replaced on my 99. I went hunting with my best friend and stuck the rifle between the seats of his two door 56 Buick. Hidden screws in the seats chewed the forend to bits. I imagine something similar happened in this case.
 
refinishing stock

Thanks for the comments. I'm considering removing the varnish from the stock and bringing it back to natural oiled wood. Then I think it will look better and more like the forearm. I have read that Ovenoff is used a lot then fine steel wool. Then tung oil. Any comments. See new pics.
 

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If you feel the urge to return them to factory appearance and checker the forearm, I can do the work for you. I am a stockmaker, and I do this kind of work. PM me if interested.

BTW, you can see some of my work in a recent thread on this forum.
 
Before any refinishing (certainly not with an oven cleaner), I would give the stock(s) a treatment with HOWARD'S FEED 'N WAX (available at most home remodeling centers like Home Cheapo and/or furniture stores), following the directions on the bottle.


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I've heard of people using Easy Off to remove oil based finishes from gun stocks. Not much different than a commercial finish stripper in that sense.

It won't hurt the wood. It will raise the grain a lot, but that forearm appears to be oversized to begin with.
 
Thanks for the offer Scorch, I tried to find the thread but no luck; & Mike I, it is over sized for some reason by about 1mm;and to PetahW, I'll look into
HOWARD'S FEED 'N WAX but not sure I can get it in Canada. Thanks again guys
 
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