99e info

[chainsaw]

Gentlemen,I came across a Savage 99E in .308 win,at a gun show today.After a little thought,trying to talk myself out of it,I needed the money more than the gun,i bought it.I don't feel bad about it now,I have been looking for a .308 for a while.And I only gave $350. for it.I have never owned,or even shot for that matter,a Savage rifle.My boss has one in 243win and swears by it,is the reason I grabbed it.
My question is this,what do these rifles like best,as far as reloading goes?I have a bunch of 165 gr bullets that I bought for my M1917,which I sold to make money for the Savage I bought.Are there any favorite loads that you fellas like?
Any info is appreciated,here is a pic.
http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt15 ... uns037.jpg

[J Miller]

chainsaw,

Welcome to the forum.

Each rifle is a law unto itself. What one likes another seemingly identical one won't.

It's also important to determine what you are going to do with it.
Hunt, target shoot, plink?
If hunt, then what are you going to hunt? That makes a difference in what bullet weight and design you're going to use. And if you live in CA in the Condor range you're restricted to non lead bullets.

So what I do is answer those questions, then buy factory ammo till I get to know the rifle. After that I got nice fresh brass to work with and I break out the reloading books and start the research. I got LOTS of reloading books. Can't live without 'em.

Joe

[chainsaw]

Hey Joe,thanks for the reply and welcome.I plan on using this gun for mule deer and quite possibly elk.I have a bunch of 165 gr bullets,a little big for deer but good for elk.I have been reloading for several years and know my way around a press.I guess I was hoping someone had a good starting piont as far as what kind of powder to use.

[Old Savage]

I like 4064 as starting point.

[fordwannabe]

308, I am a VARGET MAN try about 44 grains of varget with that bullet and see if it doesn't make 1 itty bitty hole for 5 shots. I have a 99e in 300 savage which I like a bunch. Tom

[86er]

I've use my Sav99 in 308 on deer, antelope, hogs and a variety of plains game in South Africa. It is very accurate with 165 grain Nosler Partitions. I use the same load for 165 gr Speer's for practicing and plinking. H4895 with CCI 200 primers. I get just over 2550 fps, a little slow with the 165 gr in this caliber but it works great on the game, is accurate and functions perfectly. Welcome and best of luck with your rifle!

[BigSky56]

Reloader 15 works so good in 308 that the military uses it in their 308 sniper round. It also works good in my 300 savage and its not temperature sensitive. danny

[Hobie]

Interesting question! I have a 99 A series .308 and have yet to load for it. I've been using some CoreLokt I traded into.

[Wes]

I use RL-15 as well. It is the top powder for my 308's and 300 Savages as well. Meters well too. Usually get close to top velocity and accuracy with this powder. Beside those two cartriges I use it in my 35 Rem, 35 Whelen, 260 Rem, and 22-250. Very versatile.

[PaperPatch]

Winchester 748 and Hornady 165 BTSP bullets are accurate out of my Savage 99c.

[Hecter]

I shoot 4064,4320,4895 and R-15 in my Savage 99F. 150&165gr. bullets work very well. Don't worry about the fastest load,but the ones that shoot best. Most 99's should group .5 to .75 inches at 50 yards or better with mid-velocity loads. With a good 165gr. load, you can handle anything on 4 leggs.

[chainsaw]

Thanks for all the replys guys,I loaded 20 rds with 44 gr. of BLc2,because I had some,and 165 gr sp.I will report my results in a couple days,it's awful snowy here right now.I do like 4064,that's what I use in 243,35 whelen,22-250.I'll try it too.
Thanks again.
Rich

[BigSky56]

Chainsaw if that 99 doesnt group well take the forearm wood off and shoot then if it starts grouping then a couple of fix's on the wood will keep you in the money. danny

[chainsaw]

What a day,I loaded up 20 rds of ammo for my 99,went off to the range.The snow was too deep to get in the access road so I had to shoot at the alternate spot.25 yrds across a narrow draw.I loaded the 99 up and chambered a rd.or so I thought.The cartridge wouldn't go in.See,I used to have an FR7 and only neck sized the brass for it.Well,this is the same brass and I forgot all about it being only neck sized.Back home I go to get this cartridge unstuck and pull bullets so I can fl resize the brass.
Second try.Go back to the alternate spot,rounds chamber nicely,shoot one,shoot two,shoot three,case is stuck!Man!Back home I go.Knock out the stuck case,look into chamber and it appears to be dirty.so I insert the top two sections of a 3 piece cleaning rod down the muzzle.I screw on a .44 cal brass brush and chuck up the other end in my cordless drill.VERY carefully I spin the brush in the chamber and try my best not to let the cleaning rod touch the rifling in the bore.It looks better but not polished like I had hoped it would.Actually there are a few shallow scratches,I shure hope I didn't do that somehow with my polishing trick.
Tomorrow I will head back to the woods and try it again,this time taking all my tools and dowel to knock out any cases if it happens to stick again.
I was wondering if there is any way to maybe polish out the scratches without expanding the chamber dimentions?I would like to get a shinier surface in there.

[chainsaw]

Chainsaw if that 99 doesnt group well take the forearm wood off and shoot then if it starts grouping then a couple of fix's on the wood will keep you in the money. danny

What fixes are there for my handguarg? thanks.

[chainsaw]

Well,my son and I took the 'ol Willys out and crawled into the shooting range.At 40 yrds. the 99 made one ragged hole in the target,so I feel a lot better now about my 99.I just hate the nervousness of a used gun purchase.

[chainsaw]

I reported above that my 99 made a one hole group at 40 yrds,well,at 100 yrds that group opened up to well over 4".Trying 4064 powder instead of BLc2.

[BigSky56]

Chainsaw, on your next shooting adventure pull the wood off the front end try your grouping then if it groups fine if not I'll walk you thru a couple of fixes for the wood that amount to floating the forearm and putting a spacer between the forearm stud and forearm steel insert and centering and tightening the forearm stud that mounts in the bbl dovetail. danny

[chainsaw]

Thanks a lot Big Sky,I have been net searching for instructions for the fore end fix.I am going tomorrow and try 41.0 gr of IMR 4064.I am really eager to see if thig gun shoots,I like the look and feel of it and want to make it my go everywhere shoot anything rifle.

[Hobie]

If you don't like loggers,wipe your hiney with a plastic bag.

I love it.

That 99E should serve you well.

[BenT]

My 99 in 308 has a very tight chamber , make sure you full lenghth size every time. I set up my 99 for my brother to hunt with since it didn't fit me quite right. The more I shot it, the more I liked it and I was amazed on how accurate it is. So I gave my brother my BLR to use . I have two loads loaded in 308 one with H4895 and another with RL15. One load shoots great I just don't remember which one.

Using a brush to clean out the throat is just fine. Let some gun solvent soak in there for a little while and scrub it with a brush.

[chainsaw]

O.k. you 99 experts,I went to the range with the hand guard off and it improved the grouping quite a bit.What are these handguard mods that I hear about?

[DougB]

First thing I would try is quite simple. With the mounting screw inserted through the forearm, forearm not on the gun, place the appropriate size o-ring around the screw, so it "rolls" on and fits snug around the screw. Now reattach the forearm to your rifle. This o-ring will help isolate the forearm and the forearm stud/barrel. Put some lead down the barrel making sure you are supporting your rifle on the forearm and NOT the barrel. Now see if your accuracy improves. My guess is you'll like the results!

[chainsaw]

Thanks DougB,I may have to find another fore end as mine seems to have been hogged out some in order for the swivel stud to go in straight.

[Mutt]

Real nice rifle!!!!!
Mutt

[chainsaw]

Thanks Mutt,now if I can get it to shoot good!

[DougB]

Thanks DougB,I may have to find another fore end as mine seems to have been hogged out some in order for the swivel stud to go in straight.

You might need some advise from a real pro on your firearm. As I stated, my o-ring trial might be a simple fix. If there is a fore-stock alignment issue or other concerns, maybe BigSky56 would chime in with more advanced solutions.

The o-ring in combination with powder and bullet experimentation has my '99 down to slightly less than 3/4" at 60-70 yards with a receiver sight. That's on a good day with my eyes!

Shoot straight and have fun!

[BigSky56]

If theres a big hole you can find a large rubber washer like a faucet washer (hard rubber), drill a hole where the screw hole is, the diameter of the washer with the flat side of the washer around the stud and against the barrel start with the washer above the wood about 1/8-1/16" and adjust the depth as needed to get the wood parallel to the barrel . You can use a standard bit as the washers are convex on one side. when you get the wood right check to see if the barrel is floated from the receiver forward with a couple of bills if not get a wood dowel with sandpaper wrapped around it and take down the channel, when your happy with the floating put a good coat of tung oil on the sanded area, whole inside of forearm. Most of the older 99's have been tightened so often that the barrel stud is imprinted and gouged the forearm wood.
One more fix if you have a dovetailed forearm stud: if the forearm screw has been replace with a after market sling stud screw you need to put a bushing in the insert as the screw is 1/8" and the insert 1/4"+ a bushing that will go over the screw but fits tight in the insert. What this fixes is when carry the rifle with the sling the forearm wood will migrate forward from the receiver and puts tension on the barrel about time you need to shoot a distant bull. Find some brass or steel tubing that fits cut to length from the bottom of the rubber washer to just short of the insert face maybe 1/2" adjust length as to long will push against the washer or barrel stud. Some of the sling stud screws have a 1/8" step that fits the insert tight thats not enough to support the screw so adjust your new bushing length with that in mind. If you have a dovetailed stud and its loose and not centered let me know . danny

After thought: If you can wait a week or 10 days I have a 99e that Iam going to do this procedure on, I can take some pics of the project and the accessories involved and post them for you.

[chainsaw]

Oh,that'd be great BigSky.i am waiting on a set of fold over scope bases anyway.Thanks!

[chainsaw]

Well,I have been tinkering a little with the fore arm on this 99e,i hogged out a little material in the barrel channel.i also bought an O-ring and put between the barrel and the wood,over the sling stud.Went to the range and saw a good improvement,with the scope installed,cheap Tasco Pronghorn 4x fixed for now.
I would still really like to see your improvements though.I am always interested in any kind of 'smithing.thanks.

[DougB]

Excellent!

Practice will bring those groups even tighter.

Safe and good shooting.

Doug

[chainsaw]

O.K.,I got this gun shooting about 1.5 moa.Tweaking the speed made another good difference.The old load,40.0 gr of 4064 saw it hitting 2,2.5 moa.Increasing to 42 gr of 4064 brought that down to 1.5 moa.I forgot to throw in the chrono,but ithink they are shooting about 2600 fps.I'll remember the chrono next time.

[Hobie]

Way to go!