Savage 99 Takedown

[Gazz]

I have a Savage 99 takedown in 250-3000 that the owner complains will not group well as the barrel is loose in the frame. I've never messed with one of these before and upon unscrewing the barrel I noticed two things. One, the threads were bone dry and two, there is a fair amount of slop in the threads that is not noticed when the barrel is fully screwed in. Putting it back together I see that the barrel will turn past the proper position that would let the key in the forend iron lock it in place. To fix that, I thought about small center punch marks on the barrel shoulder to raise just enough metal so that the barrel stops turning in the correct location and that may be sufficient to tighten it all up so that it shoots well. I also wonder about peening the the tops of the square or acme threads to tighten up that engagement. I will also apply grease and inform the owner that lubrication is important. The rifle is about 100 years old so I'm sure there is some wear in the threads. Do my plans sound reasonable? It seems I do not have many options with this.

 

[GGaskill]

I am not familiar with that action but high quality takedowns tend to have some mechanism for taking up wear. The barrel threads may be on a sleeve that can be rotated (Win M12), there may be screws that can be backed out to take up the slack, etc.

 

[Gazz]

Nothing like that on this rifle that I saw but will look again. I'll try to get some pictures later today.

 

[akajun]

I have one about the same age with the same issue
However mine was factory shipped with a 300 savage barrel and a .410 barrel which was never used
300 barrel is sloppy and indexes past the slot, 410 is tight
I thought of machining sone breaching washers/ shims to take up the slack but was afraid that would make the headspace excessive
I think peening the front of the threads individually might be a better option

 

[GGaskill]

One thing I might try is making a steel shim that will take up the looseness and epoxying it to the receiver but not the foreend. At the least, this would tell you how much adjustment is necessary and might also tell you if addressing the wear will solve the accuracy problem. You should be able to determine the required thickness by measuring the barrel thread pitch and measuring the overshoot with the barrel screwed in tight. Probably need to allow a little space for the epoxy. And put some release agent (paste floor wax is what I use) on the areas that you don't want the epoxy to stick.

You can break down the epoxy joint with heat if you want/need to remove the shim.

One other thought--this is not likely to affect headspace as the gap is being expanded when the cartridge fires now.

 

[Gazz]

I tried peening the threads but after several courses I found the barrel to still be loose. I did the center punch thing on the barrel shoulder enough so that I had to clamp the barrel in a vise and put a wrench on the receiver to get the key slots to line up. I told the owner that while it remained a takedown with tools, he should just shoot it as is and not take it down. The parts were to worn for anything else and he was fine with that.

 

[john.k]

It always been the advice with the Savage 99 takedowns to not take them apart ............I was once given one with not only loose takedown ,but stock problems ,where it apparently been fallen on ,or dropped .....anyhoo ,the stock was loose on the action ,and the stock bolt was bent ,and poorly straightened .........when fired ,the stock would bend and partially open the lever ......which meant the case would not fit back into the chamber without jamming ...........and a jammed case had been rammed out ,bending the "L" shaped arm that retains the cartridges in the rotary magazine..........Got it all sorted ,and sold it for top dollar ............IMHO,a heavy clunky action ,but when fixed it was a super accurate rifle ,very nice to shoot.

 

[animal12]

I had to do a google for a 99 with a 410 barrel & came across this on another forum , I haven't read all 3 pages but a guy mentioned how he dealt with what sounds like the problem your having indexing the barrel https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/14844527/1
I have a 99 chambered in 303 Savage that belonged to my great uncle . I need to get my hands on some brass & dies for that rifle .
animal

 

[jmm03]

did your fix solve the accuracy problem?

 

[clarkmag]

1917 sav 99 with loose takedown

I built a new front end with a stainless Benchmark 10" twist barrel blank.