Bucket List Rifle Acquired

[airedale]

I am a big fan of the Savage 99 lever action rifles, I have an older Utica model in 30-30 that was my Dads and special to me because he worked there before going into the Navy during the War. Personally I have always wanted straight stocked 99A model in 250-3000 and I keep kicking myself for not buying one when they were being manufactured. Anyhow I hit the Syracuse gun both in the Spring and in the Fall always keeping an eye out for a 99A in good condition at a decent price and today I hit pay dirt. I found one in great condition barely used for a price I could live with so I took the plunge. Been a long time since I have been this pumped over a firearm, scanning the internet vendors for dies, brass, scope bases and bullets.

Al

[Nytracker]

Sweet.

[rob-c]

That’s a beauty, I am taking my grand dads 300 savage out this coming deer season and will hopefully be killing a deer, it will be my first with that rifle. 

[bugsNbows]

Absolutely awesome. Congrats 

[ny hunter]

Congrats......Enjoy buddy...

[Buckmaster7600]

That’s a beauty! I have a 250-3000 in a takedown that I got for a price I felt bad about after in perfect condition. Enjoy it, that’s an awesome deer cartridge!


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[Daveboone]

You must have made the Syracuse show today! I only get there every few years, and was hoping to go, but wont make it. I love my 99, but the trigger pull takes a lot of getting used to.

[eaglemountainman]

Congratulations on your find. It looks very clean. I have a '50 99RS w/ Redfield L70 receiver sight in 300, a '50 99EG w/ open sights (I filled a doe tag last season with it), in 300 and a '57 99F in 308 with a vintage Weaver K4 on it. The Holy Grail for me is the 1899 250-3000 made between 1914 and 1918 in very clean condition. Came close a few times but still looking.

[moog5050]

Congrats on checking one off!

[airedale]

While the loaded ammo is easy to find I was kind of surprised that my go to sources for reloading supplies do not have the 250 Savage brass in stock, and could not find any at the gun show either. In fact I had a heck of a time finding anyone that stocks it. Had to work at it and finally found Cabelas had some of the Remington brass in stock with free shipping so I am set there and all set with dies as I found a good used set on ebay.

Knew the day would come some day so I have been saving this old box of vintage Winchester Silvertips I picked up many years ago for a song at a yard sale and put away so I at least of something to make a bang with.

[G-Man]

Congrats I have a 300 savage but have been looking for one in .308 as well..someday..

[Will_C]

A factory drilled and tapped .250 is on my list as well. I picked up a Savage American Classic in .250 a few years ago, and I have a 1960 99 .308 featherweight. Like the .250 cartridge and like the 99. One day...

Will

[airedale]

I finally got a scope mounted on this 250 Sav 99A, it was a bit challenging for several reasons. To stay with the 99A's light weight fast handling theme I wanted to use a compact light weight scope. The 250 Savage is a true dual purpose cartridge so I may take a shot at a varmint once in awhile but the reality is it will be used mostly for Deer hunting and with that in mind not a lot of scope power is needed for the terrain-habitat I hunt. I decided on a low power variable namely an old new stock Thompson Center 1X5 compact I found on ebay, these scopes were high quality Japanese made and imported by T/C. Back when I worked my Buddy's sport shop we stocked the T/Cs scopes. I mounted a bunch of them on slug guns back in the day and they made a good name for themselves with reliability and crisp optics. I have some personal experience with the old T/C scopes, been using and abusing a compact4X model with a lighted reticle for 40 years on my Coon hunting rifles with zero problems. I always thought highly of the 1X5 compact so it was an easy choice because it fit the bill I was seeking perfectly.

While the T/C compact has good eye relief it's short dimensions made it hard to get it mounted back far enough to have a full field of view because of scope mount availability that is out there these days for a rifle that has not been made since the eighties. Tried the Leupold one piece bridge mount and the scope was way to far forward even with extension rings. Finally found a vendor that stocked the old Weaver two piece bases and found another vendor that had some B-Square extension rings of medium height that solved the eye relief problem and had the scope high enough for good eye alignment and ease and access of use for the tang safety that is directly under the scope. Whewww!

She is all bore sighted and ready for some range time and we shall see how this classic lays them in there.

Al

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by airedale

[wildcat junkie]

On 5/2/2019 at 7:45 AM, airedale said:

 I decided on a low power variable namely an old new stock Thompson Center 1X5 compact I found on ebay, these scopes were high quality Japanese made and imported by T/C. . I always thought highly of the 1X5 compact so it was an easy choice because it fit the bill I was seeking perfectly.

While the T/C compact has good eye relief it's short dimensions made it hard to get it mounted back far enough to have a full field of view because of scope mount availability that is out there these days for a rifle that has not been made since the eighties. Tried the Leupold one piece bridge mount and the scope was way to far forward even with extension rings. Finally found a vendor that stocked the old Weaver two piece bases and found another vendor that had some B-Square extension rings of medium height that solved the eye relief problem and had the scope high enough for good eye alignment and ease and access of use for the tang safety that is directly under the scope. Whewww!

 

Hard to beat Japanese glass and the Weaver base system is a very solid option.

Edited May 12, 2019 by wildcat junkie

[airedale]

Spent some Range time with the 250 yesterday and got her dialed in for this up coming season. I decided on loading the Sierra 90 gr hp bullet and used H414 powder, according to the Lee manual I should be between 3200 and 3300 fps which is pretty good velocity for this little cartridge, I will chronograph these loads to see how they jive with the manual. The 90 Sierra was a favorite of mine fired in my first 25-06 many years ago, it gave outstanding accuracy and was used for long range chuck hunting. Today Sierra markets the 90 gr bullet as a dual purpose varmint-big game proposition, I am confident with good shot placement it will do it's job.

The 99 Savage A performed well putting 3 shots in slightly under an inch, it's trigger is very heavy but crisp, not good for shooting tight groups but will suffice for Deer. I will be looking into this heavy trigger for a remedy.

Edited September 7, 2019 by airedale

[ny hunter]

Can not wait to see the deer it drops... Good luck.