All About Pocket Knives

CheckSix wrote:Steve,
It must be a PA thing! Years ago, a friend loaned me his old Savage 99 to use. It was chambered in 300 Savage though. And it was shot so much, it was borderline on headspace spec. The brass was ballooning in the case head.... but it shot okay, minute of venison, if you will.

They are known for the headspace issue Dave. You can't hot rod these for very long without paying the price. The 300 Savage runs maybe a 100 fps slower than a 308 for a given bullet weight. If fact the 300 served as the design basis for the 308. Have a 300 too, it just didn't make the trip. I've had a couple of 250-3000's, a 243 but have decided that 30 cal is all I want for deer hunting. I like the 99!!!

GD, you sir, have fine taste in firearms.

Yeah, I was just using Federal factory rounds through it. He said it was pretty worn out. Don't remember exactly what year it was made but it was an older one that was probably late 40's, early 50's. I forgot to mention but he was from the St. Marys, PA area, which is why I said it must be a PA thing.

I've hunted out that way, east side of the Allegheny National Forest. Will be out that way this year too near Sinnemahoning, east of St Mary's. Not the middle of nowhere but you can see it from there.

Actually, back in the day, the prototypical PA deer hunting rifle is a Remington pump AKA the PA machine gun. State law prohibits the use of any semiauto rifle for hunting, big game or small. Has forever. So you see these quite often, they go well with Woolrich red plaid, AKA the PA tuxedo.

These days though its mostly bolt guns so I use a lever gun. Had a Winchester 94 but sent it down the road. Easier to scope a Savage and you can use pointy bullets in them. Scoping a 94 is a sin isn't it?

The PA machine gun and tuxedo! I love it!!

I have 4 lever guns... the previously posted in this thread Winchester Model 92 from 1903 in .44-40... a Win Model 71 from '54 in 348 Winchester... a Marlin 1895 in 450 Marlin and a nice Win Model 94 in 30-30 but is an angle eject model. I could scope it but I didn't, it's got a great Williams peep sight on it.

I like levers... I think it came from watching all those Chuck Connors Rifleman shows when I was a kid. That 450 Marlin is a bruiser though! You don't shoot it for fun.

I think Chuck Connors received a cut from every Winchester lever gun sold from the 60's on. His 92 was awesome. And all those other western TV shows and movies featured the "cowboy rifle". But aside from that influence the Winchester lever rifles are just a great design, classic.

Dave you have a nice sample of them. The 92 in 44-40 must be a hoot to shoot. The peep sights are the answer for those rifles you can't/won't scope. The 99H above has a Lyman peep that is heads and shoulders more useful than the usual tang sights you see on 99's and Winchesters.

steve99f wrote:I think Chuck Connors received a cut from every Winchester lever gun sold from the 60's on. His 92 was awesome. And all those other western TV shows and movies featured the "cowboy rifle". But aside from that influence the Winchester lever rifles are just a great design, classic.

Dave you have a nice sample of them. The 92 in 44-40 must be a hoot to shoot. The peep sights are the answer for those rifles you can't/won't scope. The 99H above has a Lyman peep that is heads and shoulders more useful than the usual tang sights you see on 99's and Winchesters.

The M92 even being 113 yrs old, the action is still super tight. It is a joy to shoot but I use the low power cowboy action loads in it. I forgot to mention, that the M71 has an adjustable Redfield peep sight, that I just love! The aperture can be ghost ring size or gnat's eye size or anything in between. It's wonderful. On the 450 Marlin, I have a Leupold 1-4x... I've used it for close range dangerous game. I originally intended to have a rifle scabbard with shoulder straps and carry it on my back. I was going fishing in Alaska and needed something better than a big handgun. It has a short 18" barrel and shoots 350gr loads at 2100 fps mv. Shooting off the bench is not fun. I've had it cut my middle finger from the lever biting it hard on recoil. I was a bit too relaxed.

Almost fifty years ago, I qualified "Expert" with the 1911 Army issue sidearm, so when I went looking for a defensive weapon to replace a .380 I had carried for years, I chose a Para-Ordnance small frame, 10+1 Warthog in .45ACP.

About a year ago, I bought two after-market extended magazines that held 13 rounds and had polycarbonate sleeves that effectively extended the grip length a bit and made holding it a little more comfortable.

Today, I went to an indoor range to check those out for the first time.

Glad I did, because just about every third round failed to chamber.

That wasn't the case with the magazines that came with the weapon. They worked perfectly, so I cannot think it had anything to do with the loads, which were Winchester Silver Tips.

The extended mags were made in Canada. I bought them off the internet from an outfit called CDNN. They advertised the magazines as factory originals and they were thirty bucks apiece.

Here is the target I shot at twelve meters. The chest and head shots were from that distance, the outliers, I think, occurred when I ran the target all the way back and emptied a ten round magazine on rapid fire.

A left click will right the photo.

Guess I need to go back and see if I cannot move my groups more to the center.

Charlie Noyes

Charlie, after market mags are really hit or miss, but in some firearms you just have no choice. Your shooting is pretty darn good for self defense - I keep these "misery wheels" in my wallet - helps remind me of the finer points when at the range.

Steve, very nice 99 - had two of them over the years (a 243 WIN and a 250/3000 "perch belly") - should have kept at least one of them!

When I was TDY to LEAD (Letterkenny Army Depot) in the early 1980's they referred to the Remington 760 as the "Mennonite Machinegun" - I was very surprised the first time I heard that term, but those rifles were everywhere up there. There used to be a terrific gunshop in Newville PA, Shuman's I believe. I bought my Winchester M88 in 308 WIN there about 20 years ago - still my favorite deer rifle.

OH

OH,
The 88 is a great lever rifle. The Mennonite machinegun. Now that right there is funny.

Some really good deer hunting out around Letterkenny I hear. I've not been to Shuman's but there are plenty of family owned gun shops in PA outside of the larger cities. Especially around the Harrisburg, York, Lancaster region. Plenty of Mennonites out there too. Someone has to drive the Amish to Cabelas.

steve99f wrote:I think Chuck Connors received a cut from every Winchester lever gun sold from the 60's on. His 92 was awesome. And all those other western TV shows and movies featured the "cowboy rifle". But aside from that influence the Winchester lever rifles are just a great design, classic.

Dave you have a nice sample of them. The 92 in 44-40 must be a hoot to shoot. The peep sights are the answer for those rifles you can't/won't scope. The 99H above has a Lyman peep that is heads and shoulders more useful than the usual tang sights you see on 99's and Winchesters.

..........all these decended from the original civil war HENRY, if you want something that is a HOOT to shoot, get one of the new HENRY .44-40's!!!!................... ........................

I bought a .22 Marlin yesterday and the bluing on the barrel is all messed up. The owner, a used sport store/ antique shop operator told me someone had put the gun away wet and it messed up the finish on the barrel. What works to restore the finish? I used cold bluing years ago and that worked pretty well, but is there something that is better. About half of the surface is gone along the entire side of the gun barrel so it is beyond leaving as is.___Dave

How old is the Marlin?
Might be able to have it factory re-blued, but it would cost you.
I think the owners of Marlin are in Huntsville, AL.
Charlie

djknife13 wrote:I bought a .22 Marlin yesterday and the bluing on the barrel is all messed up. The owner, a used sport store/ antique shop operator told me someone had put the gun away wet and it messed up the finish on the barrel. What works to restore the finish? I used cold bluing years ago and that worked pretty well, but is there something that is better. About half of the surface is gone along the entire side of the gun barrel so it is beyond leaving as is.___Dave

Cold blue is an option Dave. There are newer coatings out there now that may work better if you have deep pitting to address on that Marlin. Cerakote is one I have heard about, there are others. Some can be DIY, some need to be done by a gunsmith.

Thanks Steve. I'll clean it up a little with steel wool and see how deep the damage is. It shoots well so maybe if it doesn't clean up well I'll just fix it the best I can and let the grandkids plink away with it. The scope on it has moisture inside it and I can't get the two glasses apart where the dampness is so I put a different scope on it.____Dave

Charlie, I don't think it's old. It is a basic plain stock newer semi-auto model 60. My old gun traders book says it's worth about $50 so it's a great one to play with without making some collector about 100 years from now angry with my attempts at "fixing" something. Thanks. ___Dave

Academy has a brick (10 boxes of 50) of Federal .22 for $24.99, and has some in stock as of this post.

Free shipping, too, for orders over $25 (it applied free shipping on the $24.99 for me). Cheapest I have seen it in awhile.

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/federal ... tid=169504

.....and now they are out of stock. That didn't last long.

Unk wrote:.....and now they are out of stock. That didn't last long.

The good deals don't.

Just announced: Smith & Wesson plans to change its name to American Outdoor Brand. The change will be submitted to stockholders.

Won an auction this week for a prewar Savage 99R in 300 Sav with Stith mount and a Lyman Alaskan scope. Looking forward to shooting this and hunting it next year. It'll arrive while I'm out for the PA buck season Monday after T-Day. A lighter rifle than the post war models by a skosh. This a seller's picture as it is still in transit.

Steve99f,
That Savage looks like it ought to be fun to shoot! Interesting old scope and mounts too .Those Lyman Alaskan Scopes bring a pretty good price for some reason. I believe they were manufactured from 1939 through 1960. I wonder how they compare to new scopes as far as clarity and light gathering since they only have a 7/8 inch tube? Just my opinion, I'd think about a newer scope for the great old Model 99 if I was going to hunt with it. The reason I say this, I have a 2X7 Redfield made in the late 60's, worked well but when I paid attention to newer scopes in the late 80's, I was shocked at the difference even the 4X Simmons I had purchased for my son was much brighter and clearer than my faithful old Redfield. For hunting I had to upgrade, still have the old Redfield but not in the deer woods!
Treefarmer

TF

The Stith mounting system was(and still is) a well thought out method of putting a scope over the centerline of the bore without drilling and holes in the stock or metal. In fact, there is a gentleman on another site that makes a similar device using Leupold one piece bases and making mods. If you want to use a scope on a collector rifle that isn't drilled, this is the way to go. I have always wanted a Stith mounted scope on a 99 and now that itch has been scratched. The R model 99 is nice as it doesn't use the schnable fore end which is thin in my hand. This has a fuller fore end and feels better to me. This one looks a lot like the post war 1950's F model.

You are correct the Alaskan is a 7/8ths tube and so will be somewhat less bright than a 1 inch tube. I'm not sure but I don't think these were gas purged so you have to mind the temperature. I hope the lens and adjustment screws have no issues. The downside with the Stith mount is that it is tube diameter based. They were made in 3/4, 7/8 and 1 inch models. Not many choices out there at 7/8 ths diameter. Time will tell.

If the scope is good it'll stay where it is and I will fit my shoot/don't shoot to the limits imposed.

TF you wouldn't believe what this set up cost. As you know the scope and mount can bring 300 plus easy. Let's just say the rifle didn't cost me very much. Online auction too. Could not believe my luck. Which is a cause for concern. I'm not that lucky as things go.

Quick Steel wrote:Just announced: Smith & Wesson plans to change its name to American Outdoor Brand. The change will be submitted to stockholders.

Sounds like a precursor to outsourced manufacturing (think global). I haven't kept up so maybe they're already doing that.

Edit: Understanding that no one cares what I think, I'm glad I live in a country where I'm still free to express my opinion out loud. I don't like generic names like that, especially for an old traditional and respected company like S&W. To me it feels like tear down the old, make way for the new.

Steve,
I've never had the privilege of owning a 99 but have been surrounded by them for years. Before I graduated high school, I bought a couple of Model A Fords from an old feller up the road. He was the proud owner of an old Savage 99 in 250-3000. 3 of my wife's brothers were gifted with 99s for Christmas one year by an old retired Army officer that worked for my father-in-law. They were all in .243. One day I may luck up one before I get too old to sit in a shootin' house .
Treefarmer

Agreed Cuz.

Very good looking old 99. I've never had one, but they sure do intreague me.