lever action 7.62x39 (Savage 99)

desperation

desperation

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Before I get a hundred posts on here as to why the conversion here are the details.

Got my daughter a savage 99 in 30/30 to shoot. Needed a new stock so had one in custom done for a left handed shooter. Once I finally got it all together the barrel was shot out unfortunately (everything out of it key holes and when slugged no rifling marks on a 310 lead bullet) and I have now sourced a cheap gunsmith barrel from green mountain. In the mean time, she has been shooting my ruger m77 in 7.62x39 and loves it (very easy recoil). Thought about what might it take to get the savage 99 to fire 7.62x39 with mag working. From what I can tell during some dry test runs it will pickup the case fine but extraction is a problem as the short case "falls off" before it can be ejected. Seeing as I am re-barreling it anyways, thought I might ask! It is already costing me more than the gun is worth but hey all our hobbies usually do and now I am invested so might as well go all out!

If anyone has any input .... would love to here. (other than why 7.62x39 etc, etc.).
 
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there is a really good chance that the extractor is not going to work on the smaller case. Have a look at 30-30 reduced loads, and if you don't already reload then have a look at getting into it.
 
I just finished rebarreling a 99. If you aren't going to do it yourself, it is really going to cost you more than the gun is worth. Complicated job, in comparison with most other rifles.
As far as extraction and ejection go - maybe a custom extractor and an ejector added closer to the chamber might work. Once again - if you are going to pay to have this done...
I'm surprised that the rounds work through the magazine.
Nothing wrong with the idea of 7.62x39, apart from the challenges in making it happen.
 
desperation said:
... Thought about what might it take to get the savage 99 to fire 7.62x39 with mag working. From what I can tell during some dry test runs it will pickup the case fine but extraction is a problem as the short case "falls off" before it can be ejected. ....

...
Click to expand...

When I read that I thought about a Win 1300 shotgun bolt face. As the empty shell is extracted, there is only a little lip to engage. So on the left side is a a long flat spring that is attached on the front end. The shell pulls back the spring hold it on the face. Maybe you can see room for something like that.
 
357 mag would be a fun conversion too, maybe a bit closer in dimensions (or not) than the 7.62x39, and cheap for plinking too!
 
357 mag and the 7.62x39 take the same shell plate. Interesting, I have a martini cadet converted to 357mag.....Martini cadet single shot re barreled to 7.62x39????? :)
 
diopter said:
357 mag and the 7.62x39 take the same shell plate. Interesting, I have a martini cadet converted to 357mag.....Martini cadet single shot re barreled to 7.62x39????? :)
Click to expand...




The extractor would need to be converted for a rimless cartridge.
 
Why not just rebarrel to 30-30 ? There is not much difference in 7.62X39 and 30-30 any way. If you decide to reload the Savage 99 action works good with pointed bullets .
 
She can use the M77 but she is left handed and the lever works for either. Ejection is not even an issue as it has lots of side eject angle.

As for reload....I do. Reason for 99 as I shoot a 30-30 from a 340 Savage which has a clip and takes spitzer bullets. Think the 7.62x39 would be cool in lever and the recoil (or apparent recoil anyways) is significantly less.
 
Glad I found this thread and didnt have to make a new post about the same concept!

A lever action in x39 is very appealing to me, and I'm wondering which bolt face from a 99 donor rifle (.300, .303, .250-3000 and such and others on the inexpensive end to acquire) would be best for this project with the help of my gunsmith, as well as needing to source a barrel to put it all together
 
As I mentioned 6 years ago, if you are not going to do the work yourself, it is going to be an expensive project.
IF it could be adapted, an SKS barrel from True North Arms ($106) would be the least expensive barrel. I don't have M99 or SKS barrel shank thread specs at hand, so I can't say if the SKS barrel could be adapted to a 99.
I do know that threading and fitting a barrel to a 99 is considerably more complicated than threading and fitting a barrel to many other actions.
And then there is the magazine to be adapted.
 
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I don't fully understand how the cartridge is controlled in a Savage 99. I see an upper protrusion that limits vertical travel, and an extractor that limits horizontal travel. Both could potentially be built up, remade, or otherwise modified to handle a smaller-diameter cartridge. I don't see or understand how the rifle ejects. How does the giant protrudy thing in the left hand side of the action function? Spring-loaded and retractable, somehow, as at rest it clearly interferes with the bolt.
 
The thing on the left side of the action is the cartridge stop/ejector. It moves laterally. Vintage rifles and more recent ones used different designs, but the functions were the same. Shifted sideways, a cartridge is released from the magazine. The ejector is a stud located toward the rear end.
The finger at the top of the bolt and the extractor require cuts in the barrel face. The bolt cannot close until the cut for the upper finger is made in the barrel breech. This means that headspacing cannot be confirmed until the barrel is installed and timed.
A pull reamer setup would make final headspacing easier.
The forend is attached to the barrel, so that is another chore.
I am not saying that a 7.62x39 conversion would be impossible - but it would be challenging. I would not want to pay a 'smith hourly rates to do the job.
 
If you're doing all the work yourself, it would not be hard to make the top finger a removable item. Machine off the existing protrusion and slot to top for a new one.
 
I suppose that could be done. But it might take as much time and effort as working around the existing finger.
 
The op hasn’t been signed in since 2019 so I doubt we are going to get n update on his project.

There was a time when 7.62x39 was very cheap and available. Even non-corrosive brass cased ammo from Eastern Europe was cheap. These days with surplus mostly dried up and no ammo coming from Russia, 7.62x39 just isn’t as appealing. If Canada ever stopped ammo imports from china, 7.62x39 price and availability would be in the same ballpark as 303 British and 8x57 (meaning only practical for reloaders).

For a calibre conversion in 2026 I would give more consideration to 300 blackout. Almost Identical ballistics but a lot more options from North American ammo manufactures. Probably better availability in the future too.
 
The smaller diameter of the .300B would complicate the conversion.

When this thread was started, 7.62x39 was cheap. G rank restarted the discussion.

If a 99 is to be rebarreled now, a cartridge similar to the original would make the most sense. Last one I did was a .250, rebarreled to .22-.250. No magazine issues, of course.
 
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