Song Model 1899 rifle

The Song Model 1899, officially designated the Type 99 Rifle by the Kayan military and colloquially referred to as the Song 99, was a Kayan-designed straight pull, cam-action rifle developed in the final year of the 19th century. It was produced in large numbers by several arsenals across Kaya and saw active service in the Unified Armies for more than half a century before being replaced by the significantly more modern Type 56.

The Song 99 is notable for its long service life and novel features at the time. When introduced, it chambered the of any national service rifle, the round-nose .264 Song (6.5x55mm). It was also one of the shortest service rifles at the time, lacking the influence of the that contemporary Artemian nations had. It would be one of the earliest examples of the short rifle concept that would later be adopted en masse around the world. The manual cam-action was also seen as novel at the time and compared favorably to vastly more bolt action.

History
The Song 99 was a rifle developed by Mr. Song of the Song Arsenal between 1895 and 1899. In 1899, it replaced older large-bore rifles in use at the time, becoming the Type 99.1. It took advantage of new cartridges, being adopted as Kaya's fire smokeless powder rifle. The platform would be updated in 1910 to chamber the new spitzer (D-projectile), boat tail .264 Wexford cartridge. A derivative of the original .264 Song, the new cartridge was co-developed by Song Arsenal and Tiperyn armoury Wexford Gunworks. Minimal changes alterations were made and most Type 99.1 rifles were upgraded to the new Type 99.2 standard, involving rechambering and the replacement of the rear sights to match the ballistics of the new round.

The Song 99 had a very long service life as a line rifle, serving from the very end of the 19th century to the mid-1950s before it was by the automatic Type 56 rifle. The Song 99 continued to serve in the Unified Armies for years after this as a marksman rifle, and still sees service with police and wild life services to this day—though most are modern production rifles. The Song 99 is considered a reliable and handy rifle, with its straight pull action allowing for especially when compared to other manual rifles.

Variants

 * Type 99.1 — Original production variant.
 * Type 99.2 — Adopted in 1910 to allow for the use of new .264 Wexford spitzer cartridge developed by Wexford Gunworks and Song Arsenal. Minor changes were made, including rechambering and the modification of the range markers on the rear sights.

Users

 *  Kaya - The Song Model 1899 was adopted to replace large bore black powder rifles that were in service previously with the Unified Armies. It served from its introduction in 1899 through to its eventual replacement in the mid 1950s. It served in every conflict that Kaya had been involved in at the time, and was instrumental in the Tiperyn adoption of the .264 cartridge.
 *  Tiperyn - Several Type 99s were imported to take part in a competition that led to the Gewear 1905 adoption. While unsuccessful in winning the competition, the .264 Song cartridge was well liked and chosen for the final Gewear 1905 rifle. In addition, the use of Kayan manufactured ammunition supplied in cartridges on bandoleers influenced Tiperyn military thinking. The .264 Song cartridge would be improved by Tiperyn creating the .264 Wexford, which would replace the .264 Song in both militaries. Several thousand Song 99s were also purchased for use by Tiperyn paramilitary and rear guard units in the home islands when it entered the Grand Campaigns to free up Gewear 1905 rifles for frontline use. The Song received the Realm Defence designation Gewear 1920.

Comparable role and era

 * Gewear 1905