1899C short rifle ???

[C6S1C]

Hi Folks,

I am new to this forum. I recently acquired a Savage 1899....I am guessing a "c" model as it has a half oct/half round.....it has a shotgun butt plate( it looks like it was supposed to have a crescent but plate and it was replaced with a shotgun and a small piece of wood was used to fill in the section the rolls over the top of the stock)......but a 22" barrel ??? ( also what is the proper way to measure the barrel length ). Not sure if it is a retro fitted mess or was a special order gun... The S/N is 103,85X. It should put the gun in around 1910. Thanks in advance for any help or direction.....

[Jeff518]

The original 1899-C half-octagon barrel (1899-1915)all had 26" barrels (28" and 30" were options at $1 extra). There was another model C (1922-1927) with 22" round barrels, and of course the modern model C (clip model) which have 22" round barrels. Given the reworked butt plate yours probably was cut, but the best way to check is to have it "lettered" by the Savage archivist, or at least chat with the fellows on 24hourcampfire / savage collectors. They love hearing about puzzling oddball 99s. Is the front sight still there, should be a knife-edge in a dovetail slot?
-measure from closed bolt face to muzzle