maverick2
FNG
I’ve got kind of a “long-term, off-the-wall, do-it-yourself” project going on with a Savage 99, but I’m having fun with it so will share it here. Of all the rifles I’ve ever owned, the one I’ve always enjoyed shooting the most is an old lever action Savage 99. That’s the rifle I started hunting with (in a .308) at 10 yrs old when my Dad passed it on to me, and has always been the first one out of the gun safe for sentimental reasons ever since. Over the last 10 years though, I’ve figured out that it’s also my favorite rifle outside of just sentimental reasons: it’s the best rifle I’ve got to carry on long days (it’s light), it feels the most natural (almost intuitive) following moving targets (I’m assuming because of its balance), and last but not least, there’s NOTHING more fun than filling the air with lead using a lever action while trying to nail a running coyote from afar. When I combine all the above, it’s about the ONLY rifle that comes out of the gun safe anymore for me. It’s only downsides are that it’s a little small (ergonomically) for a big guy, and it has some limitations in the accuracy department when it comes to long range and repetitive shooting. (I believe the thin profile barrel and the “hanger” on the barrel for attaching the forearm effectively precludes its use for those two particular applications, both of which I really enjoy).
I’ve since had to hand my original 99 over to my daughter (who now claims ownership) so when I ran across a “sound but abused” 99 in 308 for the right price a couple years ago, I grabbed it with the intent of customizing it for my long-term use. I started by addressing the “fit” issues by making some spacers to fit the crescent shaped butt and then adding a thick recoil pad to tack an additional 1.5 inches onto the length of pull, and then made a cheek piece from kydex to add to the 99’s drop comb stock to make this rifle quicker and easier to shoot with a scope. After that, I decided this needed to function as my primary long range coyote and varmint rifle, so had to fix what I think are the 99’s biggest weaknesses (get a stiffer barrel and figure out a better way to attach a forepiece) while not screwing up the 99’s weight and balance. I addressed the barrel stiffness and weight issue by swapping the original 24” savage 308 barrel out for a 22” medium-heavy contour carbon fiber barrel (6mm Creedmoor) and am hanging the forearm off the 99’s substantial steel on the floor of the action so it creates no interference with the barrel. I ended up paying a 4-6 ounce weight penalty for the carbon fiber barrel, but moved its center of gravity back a bit while GREATLY increasing barrel rigidity, so am pleased with that tradeoff. I think the forepiece is going to work out well also. There’s plenty of steel to attach to w/o interfering with the rotary system in the action, so I started carving up a piece of wood to fit tightly to the floor of the action. That actually attached extremely well – better than I expected. The pics below will give you a sense as to how that forepiece attaches, the interim steps to fitting it up, and how it currently looks. At this stage, I’m pretty pleased with how that forepiece functions. I’ve now got a fully free-floating barrel, and I love how the forepiece feels. (The wood beneath the action is much nicer to hold compared to the cold steel of the action when carrying it in my offhand on cold days, and the beavertail shape fits my ham hands better for off-hand shooting or shooting from a bench rest.) About all that’s left is to drill some holes in the forepiece to get some cooling airflow around the barrel, and then put a sealing finish on it.
We had some sunshine yesterday morning (though 15F and windy) so I shot enough to sight in the scope and get a sense of accuracy. Not the greatest conditions for shooting, but even after 5 cups of coffee to stay warm I still managed 0.75 MOA with frozen hands so I was OK with that given the conditions. This thing is kind of turning into a bit of a Frankenstein of a rifle, but I’m really looking forward to fully breaking the barrel in and shooting it in some nice weather to get a sense of its accuracy potential, and even moreso looking forward to lighting up some coyotes this winter across the snow-covered fields of the Palouse.
I’ve since had to hand my original 99 over to my daughter (who now claims ownership) so when I ran across a “sound but abused” 99 in 308 for the right price a couple years ago, I grabbed it with the intent of customizing it for my long-term use. I started by addressing the “fit” issues by making some spacers to fit the crescent shaped butt and then adding a thick recoil pad to tack an additional 1.5 inches onto the length of pull, and then made a cheek piece from kydex to add to the 99’s drop comb stock to make this rifle quicker and easier to shoot with a scope. After that, I decided this needed to function as my primary long range coyote and varmint rifle, so had to fix what I think are the 99’s biggest weaknesses (get a stiffer barrel and figure out a better way to attach a forepiece) while not screwing up the 99’s weight and balance. I addressed the barrel stiffness and weight issue by swapping the original 24” savage 308 barrel out for a 22” medium-heavy contour carbon fiber barrel (6mm Creedmoor) and am hanging the forearm off the 99’s substantial steel on the floor of the action so it creates no interference with the barrel. I ended up paying a 4-6 ounce weight penalty for the carbon fiber barrel, but moved its center of gravity back a bit while GREATLY increasing barrel rigidity, so am pleased with that tradeoff. I think the forepiece is going to work out well also. There’s plenty of steel to attach to w/o interfering with the rotary system in the action, so I started carving up a piece of wood to fit tightly to the floor of the action. That actually attached extremely well – better than I expected. The pics below will give you a sense as to how that forepiece attaches, the interim steps to fitting it up, and how it currently looks. At this stage, I’m pretty pleased with how that forepiece functions. I’ve now got a fully free-floating barrel, and I love how the forepiece feels. (The wood beneath the action is much nicer to hold compared to the cold steel of the action when carrying it in my offhand on cold days, and the beavertail shape fits my ham hands better for off-hand shooting or shooting from a bench rest.) About all that’s left is to drill some holes in the forepiece to get some cooling airflow around the barrel, and then put a sealing finish on it.
We had some sunshine yesterday morning (though 15F and windy) so I shot enough to sight in the scope and get a sense of accuracy. Not the greatest conditions for shooting, but even after 5 cups of coffee to stay warm I still managed 0.75 MOA with frozen hands so I was OK with that given the conditions. This thing is kind of turning into a bit of a Frankenstein of a rifle, but I’m really looking forward to fully breaking the barrel in and shooting it in some nice weather to get a sense of its accuracy potential, and even moreso looking forward to lighting up some coyotes this winter across the snow-covered fields of the Palouse.
