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steve1

Should I buy this rifle?

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I like to shop for a new gun, but I haven't bought one for years. Nothing has really caught my eye, as something I have to own.

I always liked the looks of the Savage Model 99. This may be the next rifle I buy. I'd like to get one in 308. I'll probably put a scope on it. They are a little long, but I may use it for a saddle gun.

The accuracy with one is supposed to be good. I was wondering what size groups are possible with one. The Savage 99's were made for about a 100 years. I guess you have to be careful to get one that doesn't have a pitted barrel. Is there anything else to watch out out for.

That rotary magazine looks cool. I haven't heard anything bad about it....

A gun show might be a good place to get one. A friend picked up a rifle recently, on gun brokers. com. Maybe I'll give that a try...

I'll bet some of you own one of these rifles. I was wondering how you like it....

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Just be sure to check the magazine spring, or have someone knowledgable and trustworthy do it for you. Other than that, it's a handy little rifle. All the usual caveats apply, but there aren't any real downsides to using it as a hunting gun.
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It's an OK hog gun, but that short barrel, in 7.62, makes shooting it a bit uncomfortable if you are without ear protection. For example like when you are out hunting or not at the range.



That brings up another question I was wondering about. I think they come in more than one barrel length. Some look fairly long, like 22 inches or even longer. Anyone know anything about that? I've read some reviews on that, but noone mentioned barrel length....

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I did some checking on barrel length. There appears to be a carbine model with a 20 inch barrel. That is a little too short, for me. I'd like to have at least a 22 inch barrel.

Most come with a 24 or 26 inch barrel. That is longer than I would have expected. I could live with a 24 inch barrel, but a 26 is really long...

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Ever put any thought into a Ruger? My father has a Mini-30 and I love it. It's a great all-round rifle. But I'm sure there are others with more knowlege than I do...but I love shooting this rifle! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4SVwSGPLOc



In have a Ruger carbine in 44 cal. It's the berryz to shoot, but a dandy hog gun. I agree, Rugers are kool.B|

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It's an OK hog gun, but that short barrel, in 7.62, makes shooting it a bit uncomfortable if you are without ear protection. For example like when you are out hunting or not at the range.



That brings up another question I was wondering about. I think they come in more than one barrel length. Some look fairly long, like 22 inches or even longer. Anyone know anything about that? I've read some reviews on that, but noone mentioned barrel length....



I have a Savage 99 in .308, and I like it a lot. It is reliable, accurate and hard-hitting.

The point about a short barrel contributing to muzzle blast/flash on a full-patch cartridge is valid. In addition, putting rounds over a chronograph was enlightening, where I got almost as good ballistics with a 20" .30-30 as I did with a 20" .308 (both with 150 grain bullets) with a lot less blast and kick. I would thus go with as long a barrel as I could, and would likely put on a 22" or 24" tube if I was to rebarrel it.

The rotary magazine makes the issue of pointy bullets in a tube magazine moot, so your long-distance ballistics are likely to be better. In practice, however, flat or round nose bullets in a tube magazine tend to keep you honest. Do you REALLY want to make a 342 yard kill shot, and then have to shlep back and forth through the underbrush with loads of venison? Not my idea of a good time.

In any event, the 99 is a rifle that really has a lot to recommend it. If you only had one hunting rifle you could do worse, and as part of an assortment it fills a niche nicely.


BSBD,

Winsor

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A 22 inch barrel is not a short barrel. Most of my bolt guns have a 22 inch barrel. Magnums usually need a 24 inch barrel to get all the good out of that powder charge. I have a 300 winchester with a 26 inch barrel. That extra two inches helps for velocity, but I hate packing it around, and through the brush. It just seems too long.

I did some looking. It's really hard to find a Savage Model 99 in 308. There are a lot in 300 savage, that are for sale....and most aren't very cheap. They run anywhere from $600 to $4,000. I hope not to pay more than 6 or 7 hundred.

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Ever put any thought into a Ruger? My father has a Mini-30 and I love it. It's a great all-round rifle. But I'm sure there are others with more knowlege than I do...but I love shooting this rifle! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4SVwSGPLOc



I too, am a big fan of Rugers, but I don't know if you guys have ever come across a British Enfield MK1 Jungle Carbine 303. Wound up being one of the best deer rifles I ever owned and can still be picked up for a couple of hundred bucks.

EDIT: Some History - http://www.gundigest.com/gun-collecting-firearm-collecting/gun-collecting-the-british-303-jungle-carbine
Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

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The 99 I fired belonged to a buddy. I said about 22". The bbl seemed kinda short when I let that thing go. If the rifle is collectable in .308, then go for it, sez me. B|
I also have several Enfields, including the jungle carbine mentioned by BIGUN. The .303 is a true hitter. There is some talk about a "wandering zero" on a jungle carbine, but I have found mine to be excellent.

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I had a 99 in .308 back around '78-'79. First shot accuracy was fine, but following shots tended to drift (to the right, as I remember) as the barrel warmed up. Easy 2" groups if each was from a cold barrel, but 5 shots within a couple minutes would string out to about 5"-6". Just something to be aware of.
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If you want a shorter and handier gun, Ruger M77 in 44 magnum is a good brush gun. It's effective in a shorter barrel. It has the power to knock down most targets. Good choice of bullets. Easy to cast if you're into that. Plus if you really want a treat, you can get it integrally suppressed.

It won't drive tacks at hundreds of yards, but from what you're saying that's not an issue.
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Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
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I've always liked the looks and feel of a model 99. When I first started hunting I had a lever action, but I've never been a big fan of them.

One of the first 99's that I saw belonged to a hermit, named Denny O'loflin. A friend and I would spend days, hunting out of Denny's cabin, back in the mountains. We were only about 12 then. We were out hunting alone, for deer and elk. We were learning how to hunt, mostly on our own. Kids were raised differently back then.

Denny had been a paratrooper in WWII. He jumped in on Normandy, and saw a lot of action. As a result of that, Denny was shell shock. He didn't get along with people much, but he seemed to like kids okay. He taught us a thing or two about hunting, and even showed us how to trap beaver.

Most people were scared of Denny. He made a living trapping, working his mining claim, and sometimes working construction. Denny had guns all over his cabin, and a case of dynamite under his bunk. One story said that Denny had shot a guy over a woman. Supposedly he had wounded the guy with a shotgun. Whether or not that story was true or not, I can't say. There were a lot of stories floating around about Denny.

When they made the movie the Longest Day. Denny was one of the guys they wrote to. Every morning, Denny would pin on his jump wings. Denny may have been a little crazy, but he had a good heart.

When we were kids, Denny was our hero. His favorite rifle was a Savage model 99. He carried it where ever he went. We'd follow him all over his mining claim, and anything he said was gosphel to us.

On another hunt, I remember following my Dad around. We'd ridden in on horseback that morning. We ended up following some mountain lion tracks through some steep cliffs, for miles. Dad was packing a Savage, model 99 that day.

We later saw four mountain goat, right next to us, across a frozen creek. It was all I could do not to cut loose with my Winchester 30/30. They stared us down with the wind blowing their long hair.

"Don't shoot," Dad said, " The game warden will get us." So, We watched them climb back up the mountain.

When I pick up a model 99, those are some of the memories that come to mind. I'm going to have to buy one.

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I got to shopping on Guns International.com. I only found one in 308. That was after looking at three pages of different 99's.

I had to do some serious begging, to get my wifes's blessings, but that gun is on the way. I may have paid to much for it, but it was exactly what I was looking for. It has a 22 inch barrel. It was made in 1954 and is in 95% condition. Somebody had it stashed in a closet for a bunch of years. I'll let you know how it shoots....

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My new 99, 308 came in the mail recently. It shoots well. I forgot my glasses, and had a heck of a time seeing the iron sights and the target. I'll be glad to get a scope on it. Everything seems to function well on it.

People warned me that the recoil might be a problem. I figured this is just a 308, it couldn't kick much....but it does. This rifle is very light, which I like, but that does transform into more recoil. A metal but plate doesn't help much either.

To line the iron sights up, you have to press your cheek into the stock, fairly hard. You do feel quite a bit of recoil in your face as a result. I'm putting a scope on it, as soon as the mounts arrive. I ordered a long Leupold base. I hope there is enough room to feed shells into the magazine, with that. I think they will eject okay, because it throws them directly out to the side.

I have to say, that I don't like the trigger. I'm not used to that much pull. I think a guy could adjust that with a file....but I'm going to let a gun smith do it.

On You-Tube there are a couple videos on how to disassemble a 99. This helped a lot. It really did need a good cleaning. I did booger up a couple screws, because I didn't have the proper hollow ground screw drivers. I know better than that.

All in all, I like this gun a lot....

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Nice!
I bought an old mauser that I will be installing a scope on. Rifle cost: $125 or so, scope cost: $150 on sale (regularly $300ish) drop in aftermarket trigger: I forget how much, less than $100.
So for less than $400 I will have a hard hitting rifle (8mm is almost identical in ballistics to the 30-06, which is a fairly large round) with a great trigger and a nice scope. Should do well for pig and deer, and maybe elk at 250 or less yards.
I have heard great things about the savage rifles, in regards to being able to modify them. Do some reading on building a cheap 1000 yard target rifle, I found a great article that used a savage rifle as the base gun.
If I buy another bolt gun it will probably be 300winmag or bigger, just in case I head out with my buddy to elk hunt. Otherwise, most of my gun funds are being dumped into my new 450 bushmaster AR (still need to buy an upper) and various AK projects.

Does anybody want to buy an FN FAL?? California legal... :)

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