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vigillinus
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CC Johnson Savage 99
Jun 18th, 2007 at 1:44pm
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CC Johnson is of course renowned here for his single shot work but a couple weekends ago at a Harrisburg PA gun show I found a Savage 99, ser. no. 141474, barreled by him in .219 Zipper.  Barrel a bit heavier than a standard 70 pre64, 24".  Mint bore.   Stamped .219 Zipper top line C.C. Johnson bottom line.  No Thackery Ohio stamp.  So according to CCJ's grandson Jerry C. Johnson who occasionally posts here that means the barrel was put on after CCJ moved from Thackery to Lawrenceville OH in 1947.  This is confirmed by the barrel number underneath, 51026 BMR, according to JCJ the first two numbers are the year, which would be 1951.   Is it the 26th barrel CCJ fitted in 1951?   And what does the BMR stand for?   Perhaps if JCJ sees this he will explain.   As apparently is often the case the woodwork is unexceptional, the stocks are in the Fajen Aristocrat style if some of you gents remember it, flat bottom scoop sided forend, hook pistol grip, slab cheekpiece, plain wood, no checkering.   Workmanlike and OK for varmint work but, frankly, ugly.   It has Weaver bases, no iron sights or slots.  I have some old factory ammo and will try it out in the next few weeks.   
  
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vigillinus
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Re: CC Johnson Savage 99
Reply #1 - Jun 18th, 2007 at 1:47pm
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Another question, where did CCJ get his barrels?   My impression is that he did no rifling and had many heavy SS barrels relined for him by Diller.  But what was his source for conventional barrel blanks?
  
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3sixbits
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Re: CC Johnson Savage 99
Reply #2 - Jun 18th, 2007 at 2:33pm
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Sounds like it was built for somebody that had figured the woodchucks had taken over his farm, and he was out for some pay back.
  
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Green_Frog
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Re: CC Johnson Savage 99
Reply #3 - Jun 19th, 2007 at 8:52am
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Hopefully Jerry will stop by, but in the meanwhile, CCJ was in the practice of marking his barrels with info about the source of the barrel...I'm guessing BMR was the barrel maker.  IIRC Jerry said his grandfather did not make the barrels themselves but rather got a lot of his barrels from Douglas, and liners and barrels from Diller and others were used for those who wanted something special.

The numbers you mention sound like you have them interpreted correctly, and when you do get in touch with Jerry, he can probably give you all the data about exactly who, when and where the job was done for.  As you note, CCJ almost certainly didn't do the woodwork...although what I have seen that he DID do is great, he didn't routinely do that work for his customers, preferring to concentrate on his precise metal work and leave the wood to others.  The records Jerry has MAY tell if CCJ farmed the wood out for the customer, or the customer may have arranged (or done) it for himself.

Froggie
  
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j_c_johnson
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Re: CC Johnson Savage 99
Reply #4 - Jun 19th, 2007 at 8:02pm
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51026 was the 26th gunsmithing job of 1951 - all work received a job card, whether rebluing, repair, drill and tap for scope mount, or rebarrelling.
Prior to Diller's death, CCJ preferrred Diller barrels and liners (Diller made .22 rimfire and .22 centerfire barrel blanks and liners) , but would install what the customer supplied or requested.  After Diller died, his personal preference was Douglas for barrel blanks and Parker-Hale for liners.  I heard many tales of barrel lining and blank contouring  from mu dad, who helped in the gunsmithing shop while growing up. 
As to codes:
BMR is Buhmiller, Doug is Douglas, Doug XX is Douglas Premium, still trying to decipher others.   
Can't find the card for 51026.  Best guess is that the customer bought a semi-inletted stock and fitted it himself.  CCJ did little stock work, never building stocks from scratch.  he was always far too busy with metalwork.
HTH 
Jerry C Johnson
« Last Edit: Jun 19th, 2007 at 8:10pm by j_c_johnson »  
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vigillinus
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Re: CC Johnson Savage 99
Reply #5 - Jun 20th, 2007 at 7:30pm
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JCJ, thank you so much for the details.   I am pretty well pleased at the idea of a Buhmiller barrel that was installed by CC Johnson - can't get much higher in gun crank snob appeal !

  
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