Make: Savage Arms Company

Model: 1899-H

Serial Number: 192910

Year of Manufacture: 1917

Caliber: .22 H.P. (Savage Hi-Power)

Action Type: Lever Action Takedown Rifle with Rotary Magazine

Markings: The left side of the barrel is marked “SAVAGE HI-PRESSURE STEEL / -MODEL 1899-”, “.22 H.P.”. The top of the barrel is marked “MANUFACTURED BY THE SAVAGE ARMS COMPANY UTICA N.Y U.S.A. / PAT-FEB 71893.JULY 25 1893. OCT3 1899. MAY 25 1909. JUNE1.1909.”. The rear sight is marked “SAVAGE ARMS CO. / PAT’ OCT 13, 1914.”. The bottom of the receiver is marked “192910”. 

Barrel Length: 20”

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade screwed to a slotted base integral to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a an elevator sight adjustable for windage and elevation dovetailed to the rear of the barrel. The top tang is drilled, tapped, and filled for a receiver sight (none included).

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece walnut with schnabel forend and takedown lever, straight wrist, straight comb, and Savage hard rubber checkered buttplate. The stocks have scattered light nicks, scuffs and scratches with more wear in the forend than the buttstock. The LOP measures 13 1/8″ from the front of the trigger to the rear of the buttplate. The plate has wear on the heel and toe but the checkering is for the most part strong throughout. Of note, the bottom of the plate including part of the belly both have a consistent matching loss. However, the rest of the stocks are free of such damage and there are no cracks. Overall, the stocks are in about Good condition.

Type of Finish: Blued, Case Colored Lever

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is well defined. There is minor erosion in the grooves. In this writer’s opinion the bore rates 8/10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 60% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning throughout the receiver and barrel. The barrel has some scattered minor finish wear, light nicks and scratches, with some more defined finish wear on the bottom from the forend, concealed when assembled. There is infrequent scattered minor surface oxidation. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in about Very Good condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. It has a safety on the right side of the receiver that locks the lever and the trigger. The lever locks up tightly. We did not fire this rifle. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance requirements.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None.

Our Assessment: The Savage 1899/99 model rifles have quite a history. They were preceded by the Model 1895, which was the first hammerless lever-action rifle produced. A hammerless action was useful as it reduces the lock time, allows the rifle to be fired more accurately and is less likely to jam in brush or snag in clothing. The 1895 and 1899/99 models used a rotary magazine to hold the cartridges, using a spring-loaded spool with grooves. The 1899/99 models added a counter to the spool to indicate how many rounds are loaded. This design allowed the use of spitzer bullets, which could not be used in the Winchester rifles of the times because the pointed tips in the tubular magazines could cause accidental discharge. This gave Savage a lead in producing rifles that could handle high velocity smokeless powder cartridges with bullets offering flatter trajectories than other lever-action designs. In 1912, the 1899 was chambered in .22 Hi-Power Savage that was essentially a .30-30 case necked down to hold a 70-grain .228-inch-diameter bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,800 fps.