What does it take to create a lever-action rifle that shoots as well today as it did 127 years ago? That's the question at the heart of today's #Throwback Thursday, in which we're taking a look at a classic lever-action rifle from Savage Arms, the Model 99. And yes, that "99" stands for the year it was introduced to the public: 1899.
"Arthur Savage was a really interesting guy. He had done a lot of things in his life. And it was clear that he had a mind for mechanics and a penchant for business," American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune said. "So, in 1889, he patents a rotary magazine lever-action rifle. And he enters it into the 1892 Army trials. Ultimately, his design does not win out, but Arthur Savage doesn't give up there. He decides that there's a market for this new design of his, and he's gonna find it."
The rifle came to the market just as the public was really coming to understand the value of smokeless powder vs. blackpowder, and this meant that there was a lot of flux in the ammunition market as well as in the firearms market. The first Savage Model 99 shot a round called the .303 Savage, but that round had little to do with the "other" 303, the very famous British .303 Enfield. Over time, it would be chambered in over 20 calibers, which is quite remarkable given the scale of manufacturing at the time.
Why don't we all still have Savage Model 99s in our gun safes? What caused Savage to stop manufacturing this very robust and popular rifle? In this episode of American Rifleman TV, you'll learn all about this fascinating historical firearm.
