I have a 99eg that is not drilled and tapped and will keep it that way.

Question is does it have to be drilled to accomodate the Lyman 57SA?

My other option is to install some sort of tang sight with a large eyecup like the Marbles....I can't see through most of these unless they have a cup due to vision problems.

My preference is for a receiver sight....any advice would be appreciated.

[I have a 99eg that is not drilled and tapped and will keep it that way.]

Then, AFAIK, you will be limited to the sights that are currently on the gun, or upgraded like replacements - since any other sighting option, whether receiver peep sight, tang peep sight, or scope sight - will require at least one hole [tang sight], two, [receiver peep], or four [scope base(s)] holes be D/T'd for their installation.

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I would have to disagree with above post as I believe they were drilled from the factory for a tand mounted sight. The only ones in my present collection already have tang sights so I cant say for sure however I used to regulaly mount peeps on older 99's in my youth and never had to drill or tap. Could it be that the dozen or so older 99's had all been drilled aready? Could you post a picture of the reciever tang?

All 99's that I know of are drilled to accomodate a tang sight such as the Lyman. What I'm wondering is did the Lyman 57sa receiver sight require drilling the receiver side or did it somehow employ the tang holes to mount it. I'm guessing it had to be drilled on the side but am not sure.

Lyman made receiver sights that fit the tang holes,and later made them for the newer 99's that mounted in the rear scope base holes.

Found a pic....thanks for the info!

My 99 Savage (.303 Savage) was orignally owned by my Great Grandmother and was made in 1903 it does not have the tang drilled. At the time she was the cook for Bill Cody's TE ranch and she used her 99 for camp meat. A real popular tang sight, at least in Northern Wyoming, at the time was the Marble tang sight. I have photo's of my Great Grandmother standing with other hunters in what is now the Bridger Wilderness area in North West Wyoming circa 1915 and except for her 99 the rest of the hunters who had 99's, or other lever guns, had a Marble tang sight installed. One of these photo's shows Teddy Roosevelt using a Marlin lever gun and it too had the Marble sight installed. This Marble sight is (of course) still in production. http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,4188.html What is real sweet about this tang sight is it folds down and you can still use the original sight mounted on the barrel, this made it real handy in a saddle scabbard.

The oldest 1899 that I have is a "B" in 25-35 circa 1906, and it was D&T for a tang sight. Those same holes are used for Lyman and Redfield receiver sights. My later 1899s (1919 and 1925) and 99(1935) were all D&T for the same tang sights, and all sport Redfields.

I do know that there are at least 2 different Lyman receiver sights for the Savage. I can't say for sure, but I suspect that one is for the rifles with the top tang safety vs the sliding trigger safety of the older rifles.

The early rifles can be fitted with a scope without D&T IF you can locate the Stith mounts that use the tang screw holes and rear sight dovetail for mounting. IIRC, these use 3/4" tube scopes.

Before anyone gives me grief about a 1925 1899, the serial number is listed at 1925, but the receiver is definitely marked 1899. Its a G in 300.

I have a 1899, 30/30, made around 1907, that's not drilled or tapped. I installed a Lyman "tang sight", which installed in place using the two tang screws. My other 99 is an EG model (circa 1951) tha has a Redfield receiver sight installed on the two tang screws. Neither rifle was T & P'd for a scope (thankfully) by their previous owners.
I've owned later model 99's with the top tang safety's; "Excess650" is right, they take a different receiver sight for that configuration change. The brand I used was a "Williams" receiver sight for that model.