savage 1899

[gizmo2]

Hi i have a savage 1899 lever action rifle ser no933xx i cant find whzt caliber it is on side of barrel has patent dates ect under rear buttstock witch is metal with and Indian head and savage logo there is matching ser no and big number 28 i cant find caliber on gun anywhere can someone please help thanks.

[Mad Dog]

Holy, that's weird, never seen one without the caliber stamped on the top of the barrel.

How long is the barrel? I wonder if it was rechambered and set back which would make the smith rethread the barrel and it would take out the caliber stamp.

If it's still factory it could be five calibers, 303 Sav, 30-30, 38-55, 32-40 or 25-35.

You can go two routes, one, send for a letter to the historian which will tell you what it left the factory as or, two, send it to a gunsmith and let him figure it out.

Personally I'd go the gunsmith route in case it was rechambered for something else.

[J.Baker]

If it's ever been reblued the caliber stamp could have been polished off during that process as well.

[gizmo2]

If it's ever been reblued the caliber stamp could have been polished off during that process as well.
Hi thanks for your help I'm going to take it to a gun shop and try some different calibers to see what fits all serial numbers match one under barrel hidden by front stock, receiver number buttstock number stamped in wood under buttplate plus stamped under buttplate all numbers and wording on barrel are sharp so I don't think it was reblued .

[jonbearman]

If all else fails have the smith make a chamber cast to be sure of what you really have.

[Mad Dog]

If all else fails have the smith make a chamber cast to be sure of what you really have.

Yep, the safest way for sure.

I'm wondering what will happen if you drop a 303 Sav shell into a 30-30 barrel or vice versa, would they still fit, they were pretty close on specs.

[Hotolds442]

The head and shoulder of the 303 is slightly larger, I'm not sure it'd chamber.
One 303 cartridge in a 30 caliber barrel should tell you whether it's a 303 or 30/30. Did we determine the bore diameter yet?

[Jeff518]

I think if you look at the address stamp on the barrel it will have something like this, which designates it as 303 Savage;

SAVAGE ARMS CO. UTICA. N.Y., U.S.A.
PAT. FEB.7. 93 JULY 25, 93. OCT. 3. 99 CAL .30


SAVAGE ARMS CO. UTICA. N.Y. U.S.A.
PATENTED FEB 7 1893, JULY 25 1893, CAL 303

[gunner79]

It could also be a 300 savage could it not. My 99 is in 300 sav and it has a pretty close serial number. If you don't want to take it to a gunsmith you can always do a chamber cast. I am a gunsmith and I use cerosafe for casting chambers. Its pretty easy and most of the places that sell it will tell you the cartridge if you send in the casting. I usually use midway usa or http://www.buffaloarms.com