Identification Help 99m

My google and Savage Shooter forum searches have turned up nothing on this rifle and I am desperate to identify it.

My father who is not very gun savy bought this gun from a friend.

It is a Model 99m .243 Win with the serial number 1143xxx

The reciever is nickel plated and engraved with a deer on the bottom of the reciever.

The trigger and safety are gold.

I primarily want to know if this is factory engraved and how much this rifle might be worth.

Thanks for the help.

Yes it sounds like it is a factory engraved 99DE. It is the lower of the two factory engraved models of the time (DE and PE). They were offered from 1965 - 1970. Yours should be 1967. The finish is not nickel, but unblued and protected. I haven't seen one sell for a while and the prices have softened. It also depends on condition.