Savage 99F and Mercury recoil dampers?

J

jmstr

New member
Has anyone used Mercury recoil dampers in the buttstock of a Savage 99F? I'm looking at those two extra bore holes in the length of the stock and thinking of Mercury dampers in the holes to make it more 'civilized' on recoil.

1957 Savage 99F in .308. Much more kick than 1954 Savage 99EG in .300Savage.
 
1957 Savage 99F in .308. Much more kick than 1954 Savage 99EG in .300Savage.
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The 308 shoots 150 gr bullets about 30-40 fps faster than 300 Savage. You're looking at about 15 ft lbs recoil vs 14.5 ft lbs of recoil from 7.5 lb rifles. Both of those are quite civilized and most people can't tell the difference with 2-3 ft lbs of recoil.

The Mercury works, but I've never known of anyone using them on anything with less than 30-40 ft lbs of recoil, once you get into 50-60 ft lbs of recoil they aren't bad idea. They add about 1/2 lb to the weight of the stock which does as much as the mercury. You could add some lead shot to the holes for a lot less money and do the same thing, or just put a better recoil pad on it.

I suspect the real problem is with stock design differences. While the mercury will work I think there are other options that are less drastic that will achieve the same thing.
 
The 308 shoots 150 gr bullets about 30-40 fps faster than 300 Savage. You're looking at about 15 ft lbs recoil vs 14.5 ft lbs of recoil from 7.5 lb rifles. Both of those are quite civilized and most people can't tell the difference with 2-3 ft lbs of recoil.
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You want to try that again? According to Chuck Hawks' recoil tables, the difference is 2630fps for the 300 Savage vs 2800 for the .308 which is 170fps, not 30-40fps.

Cartridge (Wb@MV) . . . . . . Rifle Weight . . Recoil Energy . . Recoil Velocity
.300 Sav. (150 at 2630) . . . . . . 7.5 . . . . . . . . 14.8 . . . . . . . . n/a
.308 Win. (150 at 2800) . . . . . . 7.5 . . . . . . . . 15.8 . . . . . . . 11.7

Further, Remington makes Express, 150 Grain Core-Lokt Soft Point for each caliber. The 300 Savage is rated at 2,630fps while the .308 is rated at 2,820fps which is a 190fps difference. That's a far cry from 30-40fps an even larger difference in felt recoil out of the same platform than Chuck's table above.
 
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Thanks all.

Jmr40, you are partially right. It is part stock differences.

The "F" stands for featherweight. It is 2" shorter in the barrel, a thinner barrel and the stock has 3 long holes drilled through it, unlike the 99eg, which gas 1. 1 hole is necessary to access stock screw. The other two reduce weight.

So, 99f is at least half pound lighter, and .308 has more kick. Not like a 45/70, but more.

These are reasons for mercury recoil tamer.

I can handle recoil in 99f. I just don't want to.
 
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