In the postwar era, the bolt-action began to dominate, but the Savage 99 continued in production in Westfield, Massachusetts, with the last 99s shipped in 2003. The Model 99 also has a cocking indicator just behind the rear of the bolt, raised when cocked and seated flush after firing.īetween 18, approximately 425,500 were made at the old Savage factory in Utica, New York. I’ve never been sure how significant that is, but it’s unique. On the forward left face of the action, there’s a small window displaying a brass cartridge counter numerals from zero to five tell you at a glance how many rounds remain. For example, the original magazine was a five-shot rotary spool, loosely borrowed from Mannlicher-Schönauer. Feeding was very smooth, but legend has it that this magazine was difficult to fit and assemble, which added to the manufacturing cost. Although partially borrowed from Mannlicher, the rotary, or “spool,” magazine was a classic Savage 99 feature. The Savage is also a side-eject, and as scopes came into more common use, it was readily adapted to conventional scope mounting. The ability to use faster cartridges with flatter-shooting bullets was obviously a huge advantage seized by many hunters. However, Arthur Savage’s lever action was ahead of its time - by more than a half-century. The new Henry Long Ranger and Browning’s Lever Action Rifle (BLR) also have box magazines and the strength to handle modern high-performance cartridges. In the world of centerfire lever actions, only the Winchester Model 88 (1955) and the SAKO Finnwolf (1959) solved both issues with forward-locking bolts and one-piece stocks. There were accuracy limitations thanks to the 99’s two-piece stock and the reduced rigidity of its rear-locking bolt. His 1895, 1899 and the ultimate Savage 99 threatened the established brands and were popular enough for the rifle to pass into legend. 32-20 Winchester that might have competed with Winchester’s 1892 and Marlin’s 1894, but it was never marketed. His prototype 1892, produced by Colt, was a short-throw in. Savage’s goal was to build a better mousetrap than Winchester or Marlin. Back in the day, sling attachments to the barrel was quite common. Manufacturers today avoid attaching slings to the barrel at all costs. Chances are good that this lever action is a Savage 99. It has a two-piece stock, forend and buttstock separated by the large block of steel, gently rounded on the bottom for its receiver. Sometimes it wears a scope (because it can), but it more often has a barrel-mounted rear sight or receiver-mounted aperture. It’s a lever action, but obviously not a Winchester or a Marlin because it lacks a tubular magazine under the barrel. And we still see them in vintage hunting photos from the Adirondacks to the High Sierras. Today, we sometimes see them in the used racks in gunshops across middle America.