Savage 99 vs Browning BLR: go!

I think the savage is a great rifle....but ugly.

I'll take a BLR please.
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I guess the old adage that "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" is certainly true.

I look at the picture of that 99 streamline beauty that salvo posted and for the life of me do not see anything ugly about that rifle.
I also know from experience that 99 will handle as sleek and as fast as it looks.

I sure took a lot of Missouri deer with a 99, and most of the shots were running shots.

I'm sure the BLR is a fine rifle, never owned one or had a chance to shoot one, did not need to as I have a 99.;)

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
 
Excellent dialogue everyone...nice to see someone differ from the rest Dirty Harry...though I'm also a 99 guy....the blrs I've handled have seemed clunky and with not enough room in the lever to comfortably fit my hand into...but I have a great uncle who is 6 foot four or five and has truly enormous hands, and he has used his .308 win BLR to take dozens of elk and deer. Maybe he just has 2 fingers in the loop? They're both certainly innovative guns, the blr with is front lockup, the 99 with its rotary mag...keep this discussion going!
 
my vote would also have to go to the 99. This is based on looks alone as I have no knowledge regarding which has the superior mechanics.

FWIW The only rifle I kept when I stopped hunting is a 1980 Win. model 94 trapper .30-30. Wouldn't trade it for either a BLR or 99.
 
A true classic

I have a Savage 99 almost just like yours, Salvo, and it is a fantastic rifle. They just done come any classier. The fact that it was in production for about a hundred years should prove its worth. Also like yours, mine had a very creepy trigger, but fortunately it's fairly easy to adjust it to a much better pull if you know what you're doing. But if you don't, you could make it unsafe. You'll probably want to carry it to a really good gunsmith and let him do it. Unfortunately many of them are reluctant to take on trigger jobs because of liability.
 
Speaking of triggers on 99's, I would not wear heavy gloves when hunting. The trigger guard is small for big hands and when you go for that fast second shot, it may be faster than you want. Been there done that.
 
Savage 99

Mine's also a .300 savage with a 4X Weaver scope, and it's very accurate with handloaded ammo with 150 grain Speer bullets. It'll usually group in less than 2 inches at 100 yards if I do my part.
 
Make mine a 99!

The 300 Savage cartridge was actually the predecessor of the 7.62 NATO and 308 Winchester which a lot of people thought were the first shortened 30/06 cartridges. Nope, the first abbreviated 30/06 was the 300 Savage in the ole 99.
 
I have both. Both are chambered to the .358 Win. I prefer the looks of the 99 but the BLR is a lightweight pleasure to carry, especially in rough and rugger territory. The 99 is pristine and does slightly under one inch. The BLR is in nice shape and will do .75" after I did a bit of tinkering by relieving pressure on the barrel from the forearn and barrel band. The trigger you just have to get used to. ;)
Paul B.
 
Mine is a .300 Savage also, and it wears a Weaver K4 scope. It's not quite as nice as Salvo's, but it shoots pretty good, keeping most groups around 2 MOA or less. I would really like to have a 99R. They have even better shaped stocks and forends. I think I would have preferred a 22 inch barrel, but for some reason, nearly all .300s came with 24 inch barrels.
 
To my eyes, the 99 is not a pretty sight. Just another opinion.
But the BLR without the pistol grip, in takedown design chambered in .308 is very high on my list. The magazine design waters down the notion of it being a pure lever but it's fine for me. And the TD design makes it a great gun for traveling. I have one on order but I don't know if it will ever arrive.
The Sako is another interesting gun. Beautiful beyond words though I've never seen one 'in the flesh'. And I hear that parts are impossible to come by. Nonetheless if I came across an excellent example that I could afford, I doubt I could resist.
B
 
Mechanically probably the Browning, pistol grip models look best to me. Sadly they could never have the sole, history or character of a 99. Savage is back on their feet, time for some nice cnc'd 99's.;) 243,260,7mm 08, 308, 338 fed, 358. Oh, and 250 and 300 Savage.
 
As far as intangibles like character and class go, hands down to the 99. The 99s rotary magazine is cool, but the detachable magazine of the BLR is more practical. (Yes, I know there are DM 99s.).

One big advantage of the BLR: You can still buy a new one in your choice of chamberings.
 
I don't want a cold weather hunting rifle with a hammer.

A hammer might slip from my thumb and and also click when game comes into view.

I like the tang safetys on my 99s and wings on my M70's and Kimbers.
 
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New Savage 99?

I'm afraid we will never see the Savage 99 being made again. A couple of years ago, I asked a Savage manufacturer's rep if that was a possibility. He said they checked into it and decided not to, since it would have to sell for about $2,000. I guess that, like a lot of the old classics, its design is just too expensive to make and sell and make a profit on. What a shame!
 
The patents have all expired for sure. Why doesn't someone else? Oh, I know, I can buy a fair condition .308 99 Savage for about half that. A rebarrel and finish later I am sill below that price.

Quite a few car compnies lose money on limited production sports/luxury models. I have found it odd no gun companies seem willing to do the same. Having a $2500 amazing looking lever gun in every fifth gun store everyone stops in to drool over has some marketing value even if no one ever buys.
 
And as far as price is concerned, CNC machining should help offset a good bit of the price incease. Ruger kinda came close with their discontinued lever guns, if not in style maybe principle.
 
Ruger kinda came close with their discontinued lever guns, if not in style maybe principle.
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Oh I have to agree they sure did try with their model 96.

Nice little light weight carry rifle. But Ruger's section of caliber for the 96 was again a little lacking in foresight. "44-Mag <-Oopsie-Daisy!!" {many like me a bottle neck cartridge lover thought I'm sure.} As their lever rifle didn't impress or sell. If the 96 were chambered with any bottle neck cartridge period. Even a 30-30 or 35 Remington round would have garnered way more attention. But as it turned out Ruger didn't.
 
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