Yes, a very cool possibility! The odds actually aren't bad for a military rifle, either.
After the Irish Enfield I had every intention of not buying guns for awhile - I'm putting an addition on my house and staying in a friend's spare room during construction, so I can't afford to be spending money on guns for awhile (in the meantime I'm indulging my much less expensive interest in WW2 Commonwealth cap badges).
However, sometimes something comes up you just can't say no to. I went to work on Saturday ended up processing a two month backlog on used gun purchases, since the normal guy was away. Imagine my surprise when I found out he'd priced a very early Savage 1899B at $250! I certainly wasn't going to pass that out.
Sorry for the poor picture, but as I said I'm uprooted at the moment and only had my cell phone camera. There are two different serial number tables available for Savage 1895 / 1899 / 99 rifles, but this one is a very early 1899 by either, either 1901 or 1903 production. Based on the fact that it still has some model 1895 features on it, I'm guessing 1901 is correct. Unlike the pretty strict model differentiation on military firearms, older commercial firearms tend to have a much more gradual transition.
Being an 1899B it has the 26" heavy octagon barrel with the old-style crescent buttplate, exactly the configuration I've always wanted in a Savage. It's got the pre-WW2 style rotary magazine with brass cartridge counter, and is chambered in the original Savage .303 round - slightly more powerful than a .30-30, it originally used a .311 bullet (hence .303) down a .308 bore, under the theory that the higher pressures would increase muzzle velocity! It's in fairly rough shape - the butt has the typical cracks at the wrist (I've not seen many old 99s without them, and I see a lot of them in my job - it was a very popular firearm in Canada), and the forend has split at the tip and been cleaned up, losing the schnable in the process. But the metal is still all good, and the bore is decent, so it'll make a shooter!
