Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! This Savage Model 99CD prototype represents something extraordinarily rare in firearms collecting—a documented factory research and development prototype that survived corporate housecleaning. Serial number RD278, manufactured in 1974, spent seven years in Savage’s engineering department before finally being released to the civilian market in 1981. The Model 99CD was Savage’s attempt to modernize their legendary rotary magazine lever-action for the 1970s hunting market. This prototype features several innovations that would define the production model: a top-mounted safety, loaded chamber indicator, and magazine release button on the receiver’s right side. The “CD” designation stood for “Custom Deluxe,” reflecting Savage’s positioning of this rifle as a premium offering. What makes this prototype historically significant is its survival story. Factory records confirm it was “created and retained in the Research & Development section” and later “used as a show sample” before being sold to local Westfield, Massachusetts gunsmith Nick Rosselli in 1981. Most R&D prototypes were either destroyed or cannibalized for parts, making intact survivors like this one exceptionally rare. The rifle’s chambering in .250-3000 Savage—the company’s first commercially successful high-velocity cartridge from 1915—creates an interesting historical connection between Savage’s early 20th century innovation and their 1970s product development efforts.
This exact rifle appears on page 104 of David Royal’s definitive “A Collector’s Guide to the Savage 99 Rifle,” cementing its place in firearms literature. The complete documentation chain from factory letter to published reference makes this prototype an invaluable piece of American firearms development history—a tangible link to the engineering decisions that shaped modern lever-action design.
“Documented R&D Prototype Savage 99CD Rifle in .250-3000.” Rock Island Auction Company, https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4094/3042/documented-rd-prototype-savage-99cd-rifle-in-2503000. Accessed 27 May 2025.
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