doublegunshop.com - home Forums Thread Like Summary - 1956 (as new) Model 99 in .250-3000

Since I was back in the land of my youth last week, I visited the wife of another dear friend I'd lost several years ago (this getting-old stuff is a bit wearing). We've been in contact somewhat regularly lately as she'd finally reached out after I'd found some photography of her late husband this Spring that neither of us had ever seen before. The photographs caused me to catch my breath when I first saw them and when I arrived for our visit, she'd even had the best one framed and on her living room table. Her world has been very hard since her husband's passing (she has no other immediate family) and she only is just now starting to deal with her surroundings on more-even terms. As I had been back there for another funeral, I'd hoped this visit would be more of a nostalgic tour of my old stomping grounds (and a break from all the painful, emotional stuff) but this visit was almost as emotional as my earlier duties. Oh well...lots of things had been unsaid for several years now and my visit did seem to be somewhat cathartic (for us both). After several hours, I left feeling pretty good about it all and... she had even gifted me with one of his rifles (which he'd evidently wanted me to have). I've never owned anything like it before and wondered what the general feelings were about these firearms here. She included two boxes of clearly early (antique? from the 40s and 50s) ammunition and one more modern box as well. This is easily the nicest Savage I've ever handled. Machining and blue are quite flawless and the wood is clearly wearing it's original finishes. The weight is minimal and the 24-inch barrel is wearing it's original iron sights. Many of his other 99s had been fitted with early Weaver scopes, but this one is unmolested and I seriously doubt that it's even been afield. While it's almost too-nice to use, I was considering using it on a mule deer doe hunt this coming Fall.

These guns seem to have an almost cult-like following back in that part of the world, as does this cartridge. What says the cognoscenti here on the subject?

I just heard from my buddy back in Pennsylvania. The 99 will likely get here Thursday. The shells will follow with my 80's Italian LH Flintlock .50 a few days later (clearing my stockpile of guns back there, people keep dying on me). I've never owned a sub-caliber rifle before (all 30s, .30-3O [the dirty-dirty]. .308, .30-06. .300 Weatherby) so this should be interesting. I did find some Speer 87-grain Hot-Cors at Midway that are on their way as well. Fun thing to contemplate, way better than funerals and flooded grouse camps. I've looked into the market for these guns a little further and like most of the decent weapons from the post-war (WWII) years, they have climbed in value significantly (they used-to be fairly common and quite inexpensive where I grew up). The commentary over on the Savage collectors site is that nobody owns just one. I guess we'll see...

Edit: I guess I did own a another Savage before (bolt gun, Model 340) and in .22 Hornet. I'd forgotten that one.

It's here....









and as I had feared, neither the bolt face nor the muzzle show any signs of use.

In a parallel world, once upon a time I found myself with 2 new Steyr-Mannlicher carbines in 22-250 but only one stock. I decided to send the stockless one (unfired!) off to Snapp's in Michigan and asked for him to rebore it to 250 Savage. This was very successfully accomplished but my old die set slightly oversized the brass so I adjusted the die to not approach the shoulder and give a firm seat on closing the bolt. At a gun show, I was looking at stock blanks and spotted a very dusty one in "Mannlicher" length that had German railway shipping labels on it. For $10 how could I go wrong for a well aged piece of European walnut. A friend mated the 250 to the blank and presto, my favorite non-single shot deer rifle.

Now all I need is brass.

I've gotten quite the education over on the Savage Collector's Webpage (on 24HourCampfire forum) about this gun. Because it isn't drilled and tapped for a scope, the denizens there didn't think it was a mid-50s gun. They asked me for the SN and then responded that from the records they evidently possess (or have access too) it was one of only 501 made in that rather-odd serial number range, and was made in October/November of 1953. The date code is evidently misstamped with an "E" that looks like an "F" (at first glance, I though it was an "I"). All of that means very little, of course, but is part of the fun of discovering the history these old guns. They all have a story, evidently.



Love that brass rotary magazine.

I like it. Looks like it means business. Way-more utility than mine has.