Model 99 cartridge convertion ?

[Hallbilly]

Model 99 questions. Never actually seen one but they do look nice and appear to be a robust practical rifle, I'm sort of getting interested.
Someone local is selling a model 99 in 3030 with a shot out barrel and there doesn't seem to be much interest in it.
I'm not afraid of re-barrelling but while spending time and money on it how practical would it be to covert to 243 or 308.
Also see some are advertised as being breakdown, were they all breakdown or were there specific builds ?
(Post edit. Sorry, Breakdown...Takedown : Tomato... Tomaato. Blame it on my British Colonial up-dragging).

[Mad Dog]

First off if it is chambered in 30-30 it means it's a pre-war rifle and the action won't handle the 308 or the 243. They modified the actions in 1955 to handle the Win calibers.

If you were going to sleeve it or something I'd go with the 25-35 or something on that route.

[Hallbilly]

Thanks Mad Dog, since posting I've had a look on the internet and found answers to most of my questions.
It is an older rifle, most likely with plenty of history, restoration would be okay but modification and modernization would be rude.
Besides 3030 gets the job done and for good reason is still a popular round here.

[J.Baker]

I'd make sure you can find someone capable and willing to do the rebarrel before buying as gunsmiths willing to take on the job are few and far between. Sleeving the barrel isn't so much an issue, but making a new barrel is more headache that most gunsmiths want to deal with these days.

[Mad Dog]

That's true.

Bought a Savage pistol model 1915 in .380 for $50 once cause the barrel was done, cost me $250 to have a new barrel made but still well worth the cost getting that old girl back up and running.

[Fireball]

Could have JES rebore to 38-55 and have a screamer of a huntin' rifle.

[Jeff518]

rebarrel to 219 zipper or 7-30 waters, both would work with the bolt face/extractor, and in the rotary magazine, but of course there's no flies on 30-30 either.

[Hallbilly]

Thanks folks,
I let this one go, but am now intrigued with these rifles and will keep an eye out for one in the future.

[wbm]

I let this one go

Good move! Jim Baker was telling you right by the way. The only really good smith I know that specializes in 99's is in Montana and his barrel replacement cost is $425.

[J.Baker]

$425 for a new barrel - installed & blued isn't a bad deal considering how much more machine work goes into a 99 barrel (compared to a 110 barrel).

[RevGeo]

How about having it reamed to .32 Win Sp. or maybe .303 Savage? Both are way cool cartridges for jacketed or cast bullets and more than enough oomph for deer and bear hunting - with either style of projectile.
What can I say? I'm a fan of the old cartridges. Because they work.

[gunner79]

If it were me I would get a 300 savage barrel for it. It is basically the same thing as a 308. In fact if you look up the origins of a 308 it is a direct copy of the 300 savage with a slight modification. There is about a 200 fps difference, however that is hardly noticeable on a good field gun with a good bore. The ammo is still made by hornady and is pretty inexpensive. I have a 99 in 300 and I shoot it a lot. The reloading components are also available, but you have to look a little for them. A good place to start would be Buffalo Arms. They are the company I buy most of my hard to find ammo from. I think they may also carry barrels for the 99 in 300 savage. I bought a kruiger from them a couple of years ago for a 1903. There website is www.buffaloarms.com (http://www.buffaloarms.com).

[gunneyn]

I would like to post a new question. I have a 99 takedown in 30-30, built in 1909. The barrel is ruined by corrosion. I would like to re-bore to a 30-30 wildcat such as 35-30-30 (35-30).
The gun is in poor condition finish wise so no collector value lost. Bluing is gone on the receiver and some previous owner sanded the stock.
A possible stumbling block I see is the dovetail under the barrel for the fore stock retainer. It has a deeper slot for what looks like a retaining hex screw. I calculate with measurements that the thickness of steel remaining
if the barrel is re-bored to .358" will be only 0.088". The area of this hole is only .10 sq. ", however. Will this be a problem? (Considering that at.308", the steel thickness would be only 0.110". Not much thicker)
I originally was going to re-bore to 32 Special, but when I reamed the barrel out to 0.315" there was still rifling visible, although not measurable by slugging the barrel.