HiTech Tack-Tickle Assault Rifle...

[Sarge]

HiTech Tack-Tickle Assault Rifle... (Savage 99)

Circa 1899

I've always had an affinity for these things, which caught up with me today. They are not exactly 'svelte' but they do a lot of things pretty darn well- and they suit my style of rifle work to a T. I love the fact that you squeeze near-06 ballistics into a package that carries about like a 94...speaking of which, I could never quite warm up to that 94AE so it got horse-traded into this one. Where I hunt these days 350 yards is a reality, and I caught myself wishing for something that shot flatter/hit harder than the Winchester, well beyond 200 paces. You can sling a 99 too, w/o worry that the lever will flop open. A fine bead, some swivels and a set of mounts will make this one field-ready in short order. I think in reality this is pretty close to what Cooper envisioned with his Scout concept.

I had a 99 in .308 about 23 years ago but the mount holes were drilled just enough out of line that it would kick the mount loose in about 10-12 rounds, no matter how you tightened them. I used it with irons anyway and clean-killed a chicken stealing fox with it at a shade over 350 yards- on the run. It kept making good shots for me so the 99 has held 'magic rifle' status with me for a long time. I have rambled enough, so suffice it to say that am glad to have a 99 Savage standing in the corner again.

 

[hivel37]

Nice rifle, Sarge.

I have a TD in 250 circa 1926. Wish I could figure out a way to sling it without putting swivels on it.

 

[chris in va]

That gun is over a hundred years old?? Looks like you just picked it up at the gun store yesterday.

 

[Scorch]

That gun is over a hundred years old??

No, that gun was made about 1970, the design is over 100 years old.

 

[pesta2]

That would make the .308 over 100 then.

 

[Sarge]

Thank you all for the input and positive comments. No, the .308 Winchester hasn't been around since 1899; but I kinda suspected most folks would understand that the dated reference was to the deign of the rifle as opposed to the cartridge it chambered.

HiVel, for a time I was in possession of a long-barreled, 1920's Model 99 in 300 Savage, which had belonged to a late uncle. It was a slick and tight as my current 308. His son finally came up from OK and picked it up. I was glad* to see it finally 'going home', but sad to part with it just the same.

You have a gem there.

 

[Sarge]

First shots...

I've had a couple of evenings to fiddle with this thing now...the stock & forend were both loose, so I peeled 'em off and put a little oil where no oil had obviously been for several years. Both the striker & sear had grunge/corrosion on them, so I ran a hard stone across them just enough to clean that up. This alone helped the trigger quite a bit.

The front sight on this 99 was a nasty-looking bronze affair; bead looked like a witch's nose and kind drooped off like it'd been bent. It was also way too tall, per the Marble's chart. I dug around and found a .310 white bead that fit the ramp, but the dovetail was oversize so the needle-punch & Loctite were needed to correct that. The bore & chamber were swabbed & both look good. The gun was reassembled and stood in the corner, muzzle down.

I ran the first five rounds of WW 150 Power-Point down the pipe this AM, just to get the irons halfway zeroed. The range road is too muddy to haul the table & trappings down there, so I was shooting seated on a 5-gallon bucket, using the wobbly 1x3 yardage stakes as a 'sort of' rest. I was using a Champion '100-yard Smallbore' target with an 8" bull, with a little red dot in the middle.

I fired one round off the 25 yard stake, which lit 5" out at 2:00. The rear elevator was all the way down so I yanked it out & tapped the sight a tad to port. I held real careful at 6:00 on the bottom edge of the red dot & fired again. A .30 caliber hole appeared in its exact mathematical center. Yee-haw!

Encouraged, I packed my bucket & trappings back to the 100 yard stake and sat down. That stake is wobbly but I shot twice anyhow. The end product was two holes in the black, 2" above and 2 1/2 " either side of the red dot. I was glad they were bulls- and the way I was wobbling around I can hardly blame the rifle for the spread. Hmm... 2" high at 100 should be about right for 200... believe I'll recut the bottom notch in the sight elevator to allow the rear blade to bottom out, unencumbered.

It was time to see if all this theory would actually translate into 200-yard hits, on three-dimensional objects. My back sidewalk is a shade over 210 yards from the target frame, so I set a blue, 100 oz. laundry jug on the ground directly in front of it. With one round left in the magazine, I trudged up the muddy clearcut toward the house.

I have an old dilapidated folding table out back, whch serves as my 'portable outdoor workbench & game butchering table'. One of Peg's little antique benches got commandeered for a place to sit. I hadn't brought anything out to shoot over, but there was a 1# coffee can of Briggs & Stratton parts nearby and it served as a place to rest my hand & the forend. Only then did I discover that I had placed the jug in such a manner that I could only see the bottom half of it, against the grass. The top disappeared against the assortment of targets & stuff stapled onto my backstop.

At this point laziness saved the day...I wasn't walking 400 yards just to move that blasted jug. So I acquiesced to 'the passing of time' and fetched an old pair of prescription specs. At least I could see enough of the jug to put the bead on it now, which is what I did as I carefully pressed the trigger until the recoil surprised me. The sights looked right, the table didn't collapse and my coffee-can rest didn't fall over. I was at least confident that I had hit the backstop, instead of killing a tree in the scrub timber behind it. I levered the last empty out and left the rifle open on the table.

Scanning the ground for a low or wide impact, I approached my target. Seeing none, I walked up on it and found a neat, 30 caliber hole in the jug, about 2" up from the bottom and 2" right of center. I probably yelled 'YES!!!' but won't admit to that unless someone has video... it ain't every day you swap front sights, and within five shots you are punching head-sized targets at 200 yards.

I told you these 99 Savages were magic guns

 

[Sarge]

I mentioned earlier that my ‘99’s rear dovetail was cut crooked and I didn't think I'd be able to use the ladder sight from Jeff's Outfitters. Well, I dug that sight back out and noticed that there was a LOT of meat on the dovetail. A light came on...I was going to have to fit it anyhow, so why not 'fit it crooked the other direction' to make up for the funky dovetail? So I gambled sixty bucks and it worked. I'm sure somebody with a calibrated eye can find a half-degree or two of discrepancy, but it's significantly better than before.

The first order of business of course was to get it to shoot and changing the back sight resulted in some experimentation with various front sights- which further resulted in nearly a box of nice WW .308 factory loads being sent to POI's ‘other than the selected one'. As it worked out, the main, big V notch got cut down to a v.

It works nice with a fine 'ivory' bead, using the same basic sight picture as my 1911- level across the top. It is fast and natural for an old pistolero.

When the rain finally broke I was able to get in enough shooting, to get the windage ironed out. Just at dusk I shot the neck off a laundry jug, and hit another one about an inch lower, at 210 paces. If it checks in good light as well, I'll call that a dandy 'hunting zero'.

I also found a lightly-used, straight-tube 4X scope with real decent optics in a pawn shop, that should look about right on a '99. $37 got me out of there with the scope, a nylon sling and a big bundle of dry kindling. The scope is a Norinco of all things but it's crystal-clear and the adjustments are crisp. We'll see how it pans out.

Just a few more pics and then I'll shut up…

The old 99E in all its budget glory; thin brown Decelerator pad, three-dollar gunshow sling, and all:

The Winchester Ladder sight from Jeff’s Outfitters was nicely machined, finished and bore a dark, even blue that was even better than the ad photo. Of course, getting it from ‘there’ to ‘here’ required some hammer & file work- but nothing a little cold blue couldn’t fix:

Some of that ’file work’ included bringing the top of the hunting notch down about 0.020, so it would regulate at 200 yards. I managed to get a little oil on one side of the notch in this pic, but the finish survived the installation just fine. It isn’t entirely done either. I figure I’m about one light file stroke from a perfect 200 yard zero.

The fine, ‘long range’ notch works perfectly with a 1/16 ivory bead, over a 15 ¾” sight radius. The elevation mast is clearly marked in precise increments, and the notch is held in place by a strong leaf spring built into the sight itself. Please excuse the filings I forgot to blow off the sight

Happy Sabbath to you all & I hope your Easter Sunday is great!