[Naphtali]

I placed this query in 24 Hour Campfire SAVAGE COLLECTORS forum also.
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I appreciate the grace and simplicity of side lever safety Savage 99 actions with rotary magazine. I also appreciate my 45-70 rifles that shoot 425-grain LFN GC bullets.

While I accept that altering 99 actions to accept cartridges shooting .45-caliber bullets is infeasible, I'm still curious about why this is so. As thoroughly and specifically as you prefer, please identify gunsmithing involved to alter these 99 actions to accept larger bore cartridges - not necessarily .45-cal

 

[pisgah]

Without getting too technical, hopefully -- it won't fit.

If you wanted to build a 99 action from scratch, scaled up in every needed dimension to handle the cartridge, you could perhaps make it work. If you have the skills for that, I'd love to watch you do it. If not, you'd better have a FAT wallet.

 

[Rangr44]

FWIW, The Savage 99 was designed in 1895, then first modified in 1899 for cartridges the size/shape/power of the .30WCF & the Savage proprietary cartridges - so it was made barely large enough to handle them and still have a relatively small/graceful receiver (sic).

The next mod was in the late 50's/early 60's, when the action was lengthened slightly to accommodate .308-length cartridges.


All of the above had rotary/spool magazines, with different spools that had different contours/dimensions/machining to accommodate the various cartridge length & shapes.

The last mod, before it was discontinued, was the elimination of the rotary mag, and replacing it with a removable sheet metal box magazine, which makes cartridge changing a little simler because the rotary mag spools don't have to be dealt with.

That said, there's insufficient "meat"/material designed into both the barrel shanks and receiver ring areas to safely accommodate cartridges any larger or more powerful than what the action was designed to handle.

IOW, like Pisgah said: "It won't fit".

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