'' Volume 85 Number 10 (September 1901) The earliest predecessor of the Model 1895 was the Model 1892, and it was one of the contending rifle models offered to the U.S. Army when they were looking to replace the
Springfield Model 1873 trapdoor rifle. The
Krag–Jørgensen was chosen over the Savage and other models. The Model 1892 was never put into production (and indeed pre-dated the actual establishment of the Savage Repeating Arms Company; the Model 1892 was a collaborative venture between
Arthur Savage and probably the
E.W. Bliss Company). Followed by the Model 1893 prototypes, that evolved into the Model 1895 whose prototypes and design was done by
Colt's Manufacturing Company and production rifles made by
Marlin Firearms. A Model 1895 musket possibly in
.30-40 Krag was the winner of an 1896 competition for a
New York National Guard rifle contract, beating out the
Winchester Model 1895 and several other rifles. Political controversy and the offer of free rifles from the US Army led to the cancellation of the contract, and the New York National Guard was therefore equipped with obsolete single-shot
Trapdoor Springfield rifles during the
Spanish–American War. Similarly, the Model 1895 musket won a contract for arming the Mexican Army in 1897, but again had to cancel - this time due to lack of a factory to produce the rifles. Later refinements to the Model 1895 design led to the Model 1899, whose name was changed to the Model 99 with the introduction of the 300 Savage cartridge in 1921. In 1899, Savage offered to convert any existing Model 1895 rifle or carbine to Model 1899 configuration for a $5 fee. After changes to the Model 1899 receiver and internals in 1908, Savage would no longer work on 1895's or pre-1909 1899's and would instead offer to sell a new rifle at discounted price. During
World War I, the Montreal Home Guard was issued Model 1899 rifles in "musket" form, which incorporated a bayonet lug and military-style stock. While similar to the earlier catalogued 1899 military muskets, it has several differences and is thus known as the Montreal Home Guard Musket. The Montreal Home Guard contract was for a total of 2,500 rifles, though according to the Savage ledgers only 803 were delivered. These rifles were chambered in .303 Savage, as altering the design for the Canadian standard
.303 British Mk VII cartridge would have resulted in an unacceptable delay in delivery. Guardsmen were responsible for purchasing their own rifles Many also chose to have their names engraved on the left side of the receiver. Initially the Model 1895 was available only chambered in the
303 Savage, a similar cartridge to Winchester's .30-30 but usually loaded with heavier bullets of 185gr or 190gr. The Model 1899 was also only available in 303 Savage initially, but in 1900 they added the
30-30 and in 1903 they added the
25-35, the
32-40, and
38-55.
Charles Newton worked with Savage Arms to introduce the
22HP in 1912, the
250-3000 in 1915, and finally the
.300 Savage in 1921. In 1956 the
.243 Win,
.308 Win and
.358 Win were added, and later the
.284 Win,
.375 Win,
.22-250 and
7mm08 would all make appearances. Originally incorporated as the Savage Repeating Arms Company from 1894 to 1897 in
Utica, NY (present on the barrel address of Model 1895's), the company reincorporated as the Savage Arms Company in 1898. This lasted until 1917 when the company changed to the Savage Arms Corporation after being bought by
Driggs-Seabury, and they have kept that name since then. The company produced Model 1899s and Model 99s in
Utica, NY from 1899 to 1946, Model 99s in
Chicopee Falls, MA from 1947 to 1959, and in
Westfield, MA from 1960 to 2003. ==Design==