Savage No. 4 Mark 1

[Pirate69]

I am looking at a Savage Mark 1 at a pawnshop. It appears to have a two groove barrel in good shape. How does the two groove barrels handle cast bullets? I am having a hard time getting the owner to negotiate on price. He is holding at $265 plus tax. This seems a little high to me. Any thoughts? I already have two Mark 1s, why do I need another? Someone please help me find a reason to walk away from this rifle!!!

[richbug]

Seems high to me. I'd expect it will need a bullet of at least .315", Mine needs .316".

[Gee_Wizz01]

What are the specifics on the rifle? Who made it and when? What is the condition of the overall rifle? Does it have importer stamp?

G

[NickSS]

I have a savage made one and it slugs at .312" and shoots just fine with almost anything I have tried in it. I get really good results with the Lyman 314299 and 12 gr of Unique.

[Pirate69]

No import stamp. Stock in decent shape. However, I did not see any stamps. Does not look like a replacement stock to me. Made in 1942. C in the serial number, so it was made in C. Mass.

I have not doubt that it is a Savage made rifle by the Serial No. and a number of the square S on the rifle. However, every rifle I have seen has a large square S on the left side of the receiver before the No. 4 Mark 1*. This one does not has the large square S before the No. 4. Maybe it is because it is one of the earlier makes; it has a 17C**** number. Meaning it is in the 177,000 range. Can anyone comment on the square S?

[atr]

I have a savage made one also....a two grove.....and it shoots boolits very well
mine has the large S on the side

I think $265 is on the high end

[Multigunner]

Markings on Savage rifles and individual parts varied to some extent, some with missing S marks and some with regular S rather than the squared of S.

Two groove bores can be very picky, especially if even slightly worn. Some handle just about any bullet while others won't handle boat tails at all.
Also they seem to be burning rate sensitive, some powders work fine while others don't.

I use a fairly stout charge of 4320 with a 150 gr .312 Hornady, and get sub MOA.

Haven't tried cast yet.

PS
If the rifle has the L sight I'd say 4265 is a bit more than I'd give for it. If it has the ladder type with fine adjustments the the price sounds fair, but only if the rifle is in unaltered very good to excellent condition with a very good bore.
Theres still plenty of beaters out there in th 150-200 buck range.

Also check for play in the bolt to bolt way or signs of chipping or dings at the takedown opening of the track.

[Gee_Wizz01]

While the price seems a little high, it is very close to what they are selling for here in N.E. Florida (guns generally are more expensive here than most places in the South). I have fired several Savage 2 Grooves with cast boolits, and they all shot exceptionally well once you slug the bore and the boolit fits the barrel. The two Savage barrels I have slugged measure .312 and .313. I have also had good luck with the Long Branch 2 groove barrels.

G

[Pirate69]

Yes it has a flip sight. But the bore also looks like a mirror. Still sitting on the fence

[JeffinNZ]

I agree that is a very top end price.

Two groovers just love cast bullets but it WILL be fat in the groove. I'll put money on that. Expect .315-.317 which is not a problem as there are moulds available to suit. CBE in AU do some GREAT .303 moulds.

Tell him he's dreaming and see if you can get it down to $200.00. Probably still a bit much.

[VintageRifle]

Offer $225 out the door. Unless the bore is mint and the rifle is overall in excellent condition, $265 is on the high side. Mine was $179 and has fat grooves. 3155"

[dualsport]

Is it marked "US Property"? If so, I believe that will increase the collector value. I have two, one is marked and the other isn't. Also check to see if it's the original bolt(I know, you probably already thought of that). If it was me I'd offer $175, play a little hard ball. He probably got it for $50.

[30calflash]

I'd look it over well. In Ct. A well used and abused one can be $200+. Don't let $50 stop you from getting a nice one. You can't rebarrel it for that money. As dualsport said make sure the bolt matches. The last one I got about 2 years ago was solid, well used, almost no finish remaining. But it shoots to beat the band! Most of the Savage rifles show a lot of use as they were used early in the war before the Brits could build enough of them, FWIW.

[Pirate69]

Thanks for the advice. I will let you know how it works out.

[Jack Stanley]

I had one that used .317" diameter bullets and the mold I had was a bore rider . It fit and it worked very well indeed , it was easy to make it shoot well .

While the price may seem high , if the barrel looks in excellent condition I don't think the price would slow me down a lot . Unless of course you have a nice selection of Savage made number fours to pick from .

Pawnshops were made to deal .... right ?

Jack

[TNshawn]

Wow...I live in the wrong area. If I found a Savage for $265 in my area I would be jumping for joy. Enfield's in my area go for $300-$400 easily. Even the Ishys (India .308's) go for $300 here. Now my brother in-law in FL seems to find them all day long at the gun shows in the $175-$250 range. I guess it just depends where you live. Does the S/N match? How about the bore?

[leadman]

I bought a Savage marked one from J&G here in Az. about 4 or 5 years ago. Cost me 200 then. Seems they have only gone up in value a little.

[Pirate69]

The bolt does not have a serial number on the back of the bolt handle (?). It may have been replaced. That hurts the value some.