SHOT SHOW 2011 - The Savage 99 - An interview with the president

I had a chance to buy one in 308 the last year they were made... I wanted something bigger and picked up a 30-06 bolt. Happy with the 30-06 but wish i had bought the savage 99.
 
I have one in my collection,a 99c in .308.
This gun shoots 1 1/4",5 shots @ 100 M with reloads...Shooting friends can't believe it till
they see it...
 
1951 .300 savage, rotary magazine.

My grandfather's rifle and still a shooter. My all time favourite.
 
I just wish Savage would put out more iron-sighted bolt rifles, like their Scout rifle. I'm sure they'd sell Axis carbines in .308, .223, and 7.62x39 with iron sights. They could probably make them for about the same price as the Axis, maybe $50 difference, and while it wouldn't be a lever gun, certainly not as nice as a 99, it would fill a niche in the market that's empty right now, except for single-shots. You just can't buy affordable iron-sighted rifles anymore.
 
I'm glad that they have no plan to reintroduce the 99.
The good ones are still available at a reasonable price (North of the border anyway) so why bring in a poor imitation of a classic?

Last time I looked 400 dollars buys you a good shooter grade model and 800 buys something pretty special.
I doubt they could make or sell the clone for less than a thousand.

True fans would line up by the thousands to NOT buy the new ones.
 
expensive to manufacture ???

i haven't had my 300 savage apart in a while , but i recall it being fairly simple .... no where near as complicated as my blr or my 1892 rossi .

with cnc machining it should be cheaper than ever to make a savage 99
 
burnt_servo said:
expensive to manufacture ???

i haven't had my 300 savage apart in a while , but i recall it being fairly simple .... no where near as complicated as my blr or my 1892 rossi .

with cnc machining it should be cheaper than ever to make a savage 99
Click to expand...

The biggest problem Savage had to produce more 99's was finding a cheap manufacturer to make the mag spindle. When there machines wore out they had to sub it out but never got what they wanted, I guess they could always make them out of forged metal, but the quality would never match a true 99if it were made that way. Thats why they went to the 99C and all the post mils I believe have spindles made by subcontractors.
 
that's only for the "classic" 99s- the 99cs had a mag, remember? in other words, it's an EXCUSE - the mag fed ones are just as good and nowhere near as complicated
 
in other words, it's an EXCUSE - the mag fed ones are just as good and nowhere near as complicated[/QUOTE]
 
DOUGLAS D said:
I'm glad that they have no plan to reintroduce the 99.
The good ones are still available at a reasonable price (North of the border anyway) so why bring in a poor imitation of a classic?

Last time I looked 400 dollars buys you a good shooter grade model and 800 buys something pretty special.
I doubt they could make or sell the clone for less than a thousand.

True fans would line up by the thousands to NOT buy the new ones.
Click to expand...

I agree. The Savage 99 is one my favourite levers and a truly classic rifle, but I'm glad they aren't reintroducing them. There's something special about handling these guns and looking at those old black and white pictures in the 30s and 40s with savage 99s. The look and feel of a classic 99 simply couldn't be matched by a brand new 99, even if it was the same design.
 
True, no doubt they would sell, but as he explained, not only do they have to sell, they need to recoup all the development expense, the machining costs, labour etc.

In short they need to sell very well.

I think if they were deemed profitable, either Norinco, or one of the Italian firms would already be making them.

Sometimes I think it's better to live with the excellent models from the past, and forget about what some new fangled copy with "improvements" might turn out to be.

I do however hold out hope that Savage will re-enter the lever gun market with something "different" and uniquely Savage, as he suggested might happen.
 
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