Savage 99 in 303 Sav. Need help.

ivantaranov

Inactive
I got Savage 99 in 303 Sav. Serial #160441, 1914. Wood is in a rough condition. Stock was repaired with epoxy and tape by Bubba and badly cracked and loose. What will be the best thing to do to restore rifle's value?
I"ll post bunch of pictures, as soon as I find how to do this.

Thank you
 

Attachments

  • savage 99 001.JPG
    savage 99 001.JPG
    223 KB · Views: 51
  • savage 99 004.JPG
    savage 99 004.JPG
    234.8 KB · Views: 48
  • savage 99 005.JPG
    savage 99 005.JPG
    183.7 KB · Views: 43
Last edited:
More pictures of Savage 99

Wona add more pictures.
 

Attachments

  • savage 99 003.JPG
    savage 99 003.JPG
    186.3 KB · Views: 43
  • savage 99 006.JPG
    savage 99 006.JPG
    182.8 KB · Views: 40
  • savage 99 008.JPG
    savage 99 008.JPG
    226.8 KB · Views: 36
Depending on how much damage there was to the stock and how bad the repair, replacing the stock is probably going to be your best option.

That being said it's doubtful that this gun will have great collector value. Condition, originality, and rarity drive collector values. Once the stock was broken it lost the first, replacing the stock reduces the second. Not sure how common they were in .303 Savage, if they are rare then that "might" bump the value up a bit.

As it is you have one of the best lever action rifles made, in a good medium power cartridge.

On edit, now that I've seen the pics. You have a project gun that is only going to be a shooter.
 
Looking at the pics, the stock is toast, and the metal finish is shot as well. Collector value is minimal. Not non-existant, as all Savage 99s have some collector interest, but yours is in very poor condition.

A good friend of mine, and a 99 collector has one about like yours, with a bent barrel besides. He has had it refinished, and rebarreled with a .30-30 barrel. Its still being worked on, but the metal is done, and looks great. He knows it won't bring top dollar, but doesn't care. He just likes 99s, and has several.

.303 Savage (NOT the same as .303 British) was a very popular and common chambering for 99s of that vintage. The round went obsolete a long time ago, and ammo was non-existant for a long time. Today you can get it again (but it ain't cheap). I see a lot of .303 Savages at the larger gun shows in my area, as the original owners have passed on, and families are selling them. Ballistically, the .303 Savage (which uses common .308" bullets) is right on par with the .30-30 Win, although factory ammo was loaded with a 190gr bullet vs the .30-30's 170gr & 150gr.

You can get the stock replaced (repaired? doubtful, but ask an expert), and the metal refinished, and have a nice looking example of a vintage 99, worth some, but not as much as an unrepaired/refinished one. If that's your thing, cool. IF not, your best bet is to find a savage collector (not all are looking for high end pristine collectables) and see what they think.
 
Yeah. Help is too soft a word for it. You have a project. It will be lots of work and $ and then it will be the homely step sister at best. I have one like it - a Mod 99 I picked up in a pawn shop in Ukiah around 1974. And thought it would be worth something if I restored it. Not a chance. I did a lot to it. Took it down to the bare pieces. Ordered replacements for the broken or lost ones. Refinished the stock and recut the checkering. Cleaned lots of almost terminal rust inside and out. Got it back together. It still isn't pretty but there is a quiet dignity to it. And it shoots well. And has harvested deer when asked to. If I had to pick a rifle to just go wandering the woods with it would be first choice. Not because it is the coolest or makes the biggest bang but because, like the 1981 Harley I own, I have taken it all apart and put it back better than when I got it...

So, if you are up to the hours, pain, $, and whatnot I would say do it but don't expect it to be something it is not. But I suspect you will care for it for what it will become...
 
I restock rifles for a living, and with the prices of wood these days, it will cost you as much to restock that rifle as buying a 99 in good condition. As others have said, it is a project gun. If you want to sell it, let me know.
 
Gunfreak25, can you make that promise without seeing what's under that tape?
The damage may be less than we imagine and it may be worse. Depending on how the original repair was made you might have to spend more time and money repairing the stock than carving one from a blank.
 
After talking with my Savage guy, and based solely on my discription of your pics, he says its probably a 99C or D. Octagon barrel were ended about 1919.

Full restoration by one of the national guys (like Turnbull) could run as much as $3000. A decent job by a lesser shop still could run you several hundred to $1,000 or so, and while you would wind up with a fine looking vintage piece of history resale market value might not be $700.

He also says you could get it done cheaper, and still have a good job done, but is a common version in one of the two most common calibers for that era. Even if pristine, it wouldn't bring top collector dollar, as its not a rare one.

He says, get it repaired (refinished if you want), and take it deer hunting (assuming the bore is in good shape).

You can get brass in .303 Savage these days, so loading ammo isn't a problem. Or you could look for a guy who doesn't have an octagon barrel .303 and wants one, in any shape....
 
:) I have been working with stocks since I was 17. To this day I have not found anything I could not fix. Including bent barrels and broken parts. I do full restorations as well.

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=119082
http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=116771
http://surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=111150

This was back when I worked outdoors.
http://surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=99314

This customer wanted his buttstock repaired but unfinished.
http://surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=87012

This was the very 1st professional repair I made, he was my first customer and I was 17 years old at the time.
http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=81743

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=137&t=73549


This is just a very small portion of my past work.
 
Savage 99

Thank you guys! You are the best!
I had the same thoughts. It will be good project gun.
You know, as soon as I removed tape stock fall into pieces. And it looks like butt stock was shortened (to remove crescent). Who could put butt plate screw so close to the edge of the hole?
 

Attachments

  • sav 001.JPG
    sav 001.JPG
    190.4 KB · Views: 17
  • sav 004.JPG
    sav 004.JPG
    162 KB · Views: 14
Savage 99

I didn't find "List of parts" older then from 30th, but even then main bolt, part#775-252, looks like bolt. You can see what I found in butt stock of my rifle.
 

Attachments

  • s 002.JPG
    s 002.JPG
    126.3 KB · Views: 14
  • s 003.JPG
    s 003.JPG
    100.1 KB · Views: 12
Savage 99

Gunfreak25, nobody have any doubts in your skills and talent, but it's not worth it. But your pictures-priceless to me, I am going to use original wood from butt stock to repair fore end, as you did with a musket. Buy unfinished repro stock and try to match Slim Schnable fore end in shade and color.
I like old guns to hunt with. My first was made in 1944, second in 1932 and now-1914!

Thank you everybody!
 
Savage 99

You got me!:eek:
I had no idea that my keyboard has Russian accent.:D

Look at my "name". Ivan Taranov - my uncle's name. He was killed on German front in August 1941. Just a little bit history.
 
Back
Top