Savage 99 in 22 HP

R

RCEME1

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My son has been given a 22 HP that has been in the Family for 5 generations now.
when we got it home it was a mess and not cleaned at any time in all that time or so it looked.
After a lot of T.L.C. we took it out to shoot only to find it was shot out.
Everyone of the bullets would key hole at 15m and miss all to gether any farther out.
Now here is were I need some advice>> do I get it fixed? and loose any value.
>> Or leave it and have its history?
Its 100 years old all in the same family and looks great
any help in making a choice would be welcomed
 
If it has a light take-down barrel there is not much metal to work with in terms of re-lining. The bullet diameter for the .22 HP is .228, as opposed to the normal .224, so it would be quite an undertaking to get it re-lined.

I also have a family heirloom .22 HP which my grandfather used to shoot coyotes, deer, pigs, cattle, and even a bear, in his homesteader days in Saskatchewan. The bore is rough from the old corrosive priming mix, but it still shoots as I used to pop gophers with it as a young fellow. The small of the buttstock is cracked and then taped after he used it to whack a coyote on the head (saving a round). I managed to get an original replacement buttstock for it (quite close in serial #) at a show in Syracuse,NY some 20 yrs ago. The metal was pitted and gouged in spots,so I polished it out and will have it re-blued some day.

As long as there is no active rust on your piece, I'd be inclined to keep it in the cabinet as it is.
 
.22 Sav. HP

Hi rceme1,
Many years ago I also purchased a Sav. HP sight unseen, cheap(as it should have been) a real pos. After years of looking at it sitting in the gun cabinet,
I decided to try and do something with it. Thanks to the computer I found a take off barrel and a new stock. I kept the original stuff "just in case".
I now have a functional rifle that I use as a go to rifle for coyotes, plinking and slaughtering on the ranch, I have even taken a few deer with it when the opportunity was arose. I enjoy reloading for it even thou there is not much selection for bullets, and brass can be hard to find,but it is out there if you keep looking. WARNING: this is not a cost efficiant, but I'm glad I done it.
 
I inherited my fathers 99 HP with a history not all too unfamiliar with yours. I would recommend replacing its parts if you intend to reload; if not ammo is so scarce there really is no point to it. I have no idea if rechambering it is even a possibility if you want to go down that road.
 
If it REALLY needs to be shot I'd take it to a smith and get him to measure it up for wall thickness to see if it can be relined, theres always hope....

As for the shortage of Savage 22HP ammo, it's the same stuff as European 5.6x52R, do a search theres lots of it out there.
 
Have it rebored to 30-30 and bang away another 100 years.No magazine changes required................Harold Or rebarrel to .219 Zipper .224 bore
 
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Can't go to a 30-30 I don't think as these barrels had a rapid taper to them, there wouldn't be enough wall thickness to open it up to a 30 cal slug.
 
Ken Water's got 1.5" groups at 100 yards with .224 dia 70gr Speers.Lots of nato heavy ball .224 these days.In Handloader magazine a guy rebored a shot out takedown 22HP to 30-30 no problem....................Harold
 
mbogo3 said:
In Handloader magazine a guy rebored a shot out takedown 22HP to 30-30 no problem....................Harold
Click to expand...

Hey I ain't trying to tell anybody what to do or what not to do, just trying to keep things safe.

Once had a guy argue with me till he was blue in the face that he was shooting 303 British out of his 303 Savage rifle. Just couldn't pound it into his head that he couldn't but hey, to each their own.
 
I have Hornady bullets for sale on the EE if you reload,and a few boxes of factory ammo-S&B,Imperial,Dominion if you don't.
have a gunsmith check it before considering anything too extreme.
make sure he checks the muzzle,counterboring an inch or so may make a dramatic change in how it shoots.
What do the fired cases look like?
 
It will cost $300, including shipping both ways to have it rebored to 25-35. You will end up with a brand new bore and new chamber. Is it worth that to you? If so go for it.

If not, you can look around for a used barrel for $100, or just hang it on the wall. :)

Ted
 
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