Recommendation on a 99

[KeithNyst]

I want to buy a Savage 99 for my son-in-law for next year's deer season. It will be his first time deer hunting. He is retiring from the Air Force in June; the gun will make a nice gift, both for his retirement and for his entry into our traditional family hunt.

I've been doing a lot of reading the past few days. I new nothing about 99s, other than that I have always liked the quality and looks. I really wanted one in the late 60s, when I was buying my first deer rifle, but cash limited me to a used 30-40 Krag.

I have narrowed down my selection to:
o .300 Savage or .308 Win (initally I was thinking only .308, but reading has opened my eyes up to the .300)
o Factory drilled and tapped to be able to mount a scope (Not drilled and tapped post-manufacture)
o Hand checked, or no checkering ... not pressed checkering.
o Good to very good condition
o No stock cracks
o budget 400-600

From my reading, I believe this limits selection to:
a) a post-war R or RS
b) a late F (I think 55-56ish or later for factor drilled and tapped, but no newer than about '62 for hand checking.
c) an uncheckerd E

Questions:
1) Are there other models that would fit the criteria (e.g. - were late EGs drilled and Tapped; were early Cs hand checkered?
2) I've seen several comments about a tendency for stocks to crack stocks near the receiver. Is this more common with a late F with higher recoil? Should I even worry about this?
3) What else should I take into consideration?
4) What would be your model recommendation to focus on.

Looking forward to your experienced insight and recommendations.
Thanks in advance,
Keith

[Mad Dog]

You can take your pick of the models you mentioned, press checkering didn't start till 1965 so anything under that will have cut checkering.

The easiest of them all to find will be a 99EG in 300, they're like Winchester 94's in 30-30, everyone has one.

The F's pack a bit more recoil due to the weight, personally I like the R's, they're a bit heavy but soak up a lot of recoil.

I wouldn't worry about tang cracks, if you find a gun that doesn't have one yet it most likely won't.