Savage 99 Lever Questions

[MatthewVanitas]

I've always admired the Savage 99 lever action ever since I saw one in a friend's gunsafe. Recently, I saw a nifty Savage 243 carbine at a pawnshop, and rekindled that interest. I did have a few questions though:

1) How does a Savage 99 compare to a Browning lever action? Is it as hard to clean, dissassemble, and maintain as the Browning?

2) Is this style of lever action nearly as accurate as a bolt action, as some say?

3) Did the quality of Savage 99s actually decrease that notably over time, or is that pretty subjective? I note they seem to be dated by letter. Is there a certain letter (A-E) where quality just drops?

4) Are the later box magazines that inferior to the earlier rotary ones? Can the box magazines be loaded from the top?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[OKshot]

What I understand is that SN 1,000,000 was the breakoff point in quality (around 1960). When the safety moved to the tang, many other "cost-cutting" measures also went into place. The removable magazine is one of the last and most drastic of such measures. To get the full experience of this rifle, get one with a spool magazine. Mmmmm, smooth. I always thought the clip mag looked like a hack; have you seen one?

I shoot a 99F in .308 in lever action silhouette matches; it's accurate enough for any intended purpose, but not a "benchrest" rifle. I've never had the need to disassemble one, but I hear it's not that terrible a task.

There are many 99 "experts" who hang out at the Savage forum at http://www.gunandknife.com/boards/, they could tell you better.

 

[Mike Irwin]

1. If you get one with the rotary magazine, it is MORE difficult than a BLR. Otherwise, it's about the same, I'd say. It's best if you have a trained octopus to help you get the rotary magazine back together. The 8 extr hands come in very handy.

I did it once, and it wasn't a pleasant experience getting it back together.

2. "Nearly" as accurate is a very subjective thing. As much as I love the 99, I can only say that on average no, it is not as accurate as a bolt, nor does it have the raw accuracy potential of the bolt.

That's a function of the fact that the bolt on a 99 essentially locks up at the rear, leaving the entire length of the bolt to flex under firing stress.

Accurate enough, though.

3. Yes, but the same is true with virtually ANY gun. 1970s S&W revolvers are nice, but they generally don't hold a freaking candle to the S&W revolvers put out before the First World War in terms of worksmanship, fit, or finish.

4. No, the box magazines are not inferior, just different, in my opinion. As for loading from the top, you know, I've never tried.