![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
It’s not like I didn’t know what the Savage 99 was; it's just that they weren’t common among the hunters that took to the woods with me. Oh, I’m sure if I could have asked my late father or uncle about them, they might have had a story or two to tell, but I just had “no interest” in or exposure to these leverguns earlier in my life. Now, I’ve always enjoyed the Winchesters and Marlins that I’ve shot or owned, and the first-ever gun I shot was a leveraction Daisy BB gun. This novel Savage design came on the heels of the old single shots like the Ballards or High Walls that my father introduced me to at a young age. But I just never got bit by the “99 bug” -- until recently, that is…
I looked at many .303 Savages, a bunch of .308s, and a smattering of .300s, but I never found a .250-3000 Savage, which really would have sealed the deal for me. Without getting into the serious collector-type pieces, I was seeing 99s range +/- $200 from a $600 average, with stock sights. Scopes or octagon barrels always added more. I think I did well at getting this one, with the $120 to $200 value (depending on where you look and how bad someone wants it) Lyman tang sight on it. My price was $550 out the door, and I think I did OK. Did I???
Here she is, a 1938 Savage 99F with the desirable (to me) straight-grip stock, schnable forearm tip and tang sight. Those are 3 features I inherited a love for, from my late father. Come to think of it, my vintage .22 and replica .38-55 High Walls have all those features too. You can see from this angle that I’ll need to fill the dovetail slot with a blank. The rear sight was still on it when I got her, but I like the clean sight picture of not having the rear sight there when a tang sight is used. Here’s a shot of the receiver and the Lyman No. 1A tang sight, followed by an original ad for that sight. Mine has the flip-down “combination” smaller aperture inside the larger peep, but it’s stuck for now, so I will have to soak it in Kroil overnight. There’s a low white-bead front sight on the ramp for now, but the sights are too high at 25 and 50 yards, so I’ll add a slightly taller brass-bead sight instead. This should be just the ticket to use in the thick woods here in Southern Maine or when it’s pouring and I don’t want to take a scoped rifle out in the woods. I went a long time without having a Savage 99… And I had never shot one before this afternoon either! But 10 shots went downrange well, and now that I’ve got her –- yippee, another levergun!!! It's odd, but the older I get, the more I find myself attracted to the guns that my father would have enjoyed in his youth. He's been gone 6 years now, so maybe this brings me closer to him; as he's just a "heartbeat away" anyway...
I sure will enjoy cleaning her up some, repointing the checkering, staining the buttstock and forearm to match, changing the front sight and sighting her in. I have plenty of time to get her all ready for this fall… After all, I waited almost 54 years for her to come along; so I guess just a little more time won’t hurt us any.
* Does anyone have any good .300 Savage reloads to share?
...$2.00 a round for today's 15-minute adventure at the range... Yikes!!!
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
* Or do you have any good Savage 99 memories or hunting stories too?
Tight groups!
Old No7