The Model 99 family featured a unique rotary magazine. The rifle was popular with big game hunters and was even issued to the Montreal Home Guard during the First World War.
The Savage Model 99 lever action rifles were introduced when the American lever action was first being challenged by the European bolt action magazine rifle. While the Winchester 1894 and Marlin 1893 still retained under barrel tubular magazines that required the use of flat-nose bullets, the Winchester Model 1895 used a single stack, internal box magazine and the Savage 1895/1899 design used a superior rotary magazine. These latter rifles allowed the use of spitzer (pointed) bullets, like the new bolt action rifles with which they had to compete.
The Savage 99 lever action is quite different from the Winchester 94 and Marlin 336 designs. It is a right side ejection, hammerless action with a rounded, streamlined receiver shape. The action is enclosed in a solid steel receiver designed to protect the shooter from any possible trouble.
Its smooth feeding, machined, rotary magazine incorporates a cartridge counter on the magazine spool, which is visible through a small oval window on the left side of the receiver. This shows the number of cartridges remaining in the magazine (not including a chambered cartridge, if any) and counts down from 5 (fully loaded) to 0 (empty). The magazine's smoothly rounded, solid metal parts cannot dent or damage the cartridges within.
The action also has a cocking indicator in the form of a pin that protrudes from the top of the receiver behind the bolt when the rifle is cocked and ready to fire. Lacking an exposed hammer with a "quarter cock" hammer position serving as a safety, the Model 1899/99 has a small safety catch mounted on the bottom tang behind the trigger that blocks the trigger and also locks the lever closed. This is commonly called the "trigger safety," due to its location. In the 1960s, the Model 99 safety was changed and became a slider on the top tang.
The Savage's big, squared bolt is wedged firmly against the rear of the loading/ejection port in its massive, machined from billet, steel receiver. (Much later, a similar system was used by Gaston Glock in his autoloading pistols.) The Savage 99 lever action was inherently stronger than its competition and this allowed it to be chambered for high intensity cartridges when they came on the scene. The action's strength and rigidity minimizes cartridge case stretch, making it suitable for reloaders who prefer to only neck-size their cases.
There is a long, hook style extractor mounted in the right side of the bolt that grips the case head as a fresh cartridge is levered from the magazine, making the Model 99 a controlled feed action. If desired, a single cartridge can be loaded directly into the chamber; the extractor will easily override and engage the rim when the bolt is closed. A large, combination magazine cut-off and ejector mounted inside the left receiver wall reliably kicks fired cases out the side of the action when the bolt is opened.
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