Savage 24V series D .30-30/20

[Digital Dan]

Was at the range today and found a curiosity or two about the old cannon.

Manufactured in '51, it languished in a pawn shop a long time before I picked it up. Very good condition for the most part. Vast collection of grunge accumulated in the inner workings that prevented the extractor from working, but with a little TLC it is up and running. I've run a small variety of loads thru it with a few different powders using 50/50 Pb/WW + a touch of tin. It shot well up to about 1800 fps then went a little sideways.

Today's load used a harder alloy of about 9# Pb/WW each and 4# of linotype and 8 oz of tin (air cooled). Sized with a Lee push thru sizer at .309 and tumble lubed twice, a gas checked 311041 that weighed about 175 gr. 10 shots each with 2 loads, 16.0 and 16.5 SR4759, 2.57" COAL.

Load 1 printed two groups (5 ea) of about 3" at 50 yards to POA. Load 2 printed two groups of about 2", centered at the 4:30 and 4" from POA. I thought that rather curious that .5 grain of powder would cause something like that. The smaller group, sure, but the displacement surprised me a bit. The bore was spotless after 20 rounds from all appearances, though the patches found powder fouling afterwards of course. No visible lead particles or other mischief.

Anyway, when I get the 8-10# trigger pull sorted out and quit shooting offhand it might show promise.

It patterns #3 buck very loosely at 25 yards and that surprised me as well. It has, near as I can tell, about .020" constriction in the choke, the bore measuring .595". After cleaning I took a look from the muzzle end and it looks like it was reamed with a dull carbide masonry bit, or the equivalent.

It will give me something to fiddle with on hot summer days.

[runfiverun]

that is a great combination to have kickin about.
on the years when our grouse numbers are up I'd end up trying to wear out the shot shell barrel and scaring all the deer away from the area.

[Janoosh]

Very nice gun...been looking for one at a reasonable price for a long time. Color me jealous. ..

[schutzen]

Great little gun! Janoosh, keep looking they are out there. I looked for five years before finding one in January for $330.

[smoked turkey]

Yes very good combination. I too have been sort of looking for one myself. Enjoy, and don't scare the deer away..just put one away with the 30-30 barrel. Although it would be tempting to shoot the shotgun at certain winged species if the opportunity presented its self.

[cwheel]

Was looking for the 30-30 over 20ga. when I bought a 24F with a 223/20. The offer was cheap enough I couldn't refuse it, almost new for $400. Would sure like to have the 30-30/20 barrel set for mine to go with this one. Nice combo gun, sure a heavy thing in the field though. Sure better than packing 2 to get a shotgun and a rifle with you. I suppose I should contact Savage to see if I can buy that barrel set.
Chris

[John Allen]

I have wanted one of these savages for a while now. The only ones I ever come across are either abused or obscenely expensive.

[Digital Dan]

I've been pleased by the ease of getting it to digest lead bullets. Purchased it about 1.5 years ago for $275. The factory installed scope rail was a bit cockeyed so I had it removed. I've shot a couple of 1" groups with it off the bags at 50 but nothing further.

On another point, I have handled the newer 24s and found them cumbersome. Though I have not weighed this one it it less than 8# and handles well enough. Had a machinist fabricate a clamp on scope mount that is contoured to the barrels. 'Tis aluminum and so far seems to work ok without being obtrusive. Have a Millett SP1 on it.

[Baryngyl]

I almost got one when I was 17-18 years old, but at the last second the guy changed his mind about letting it go.
If I remember right it was 22Rf/20ga.
I am still looking for them but they are always way to expensive.


Michael Grace

[Artful]

My first "NEW" in the box was a Savage 24 - 22LR over 20 Ga - it was a great gun to carry up and down the trails of western Oregon.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/Misc/th_Savage24D22LRover20gawithpeepandscope.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/Misc/Savage24D22LRover20gawithpeepandscope.jpg.html)

And a great reminder to make the first shot count. :wink:

I'm still looking for 357 over 20 gauge at a price I can afford.

[quilbilly]

I have both the 30/30 and the 222 over 20 ga in the 24 series. Love both of them but haven't used either in many years. My 30/30 over 20 has acquired a rather light hammer strike so about once per 10 the 30/30 doesn't go bang (no problem with the shotgun barrel). My local gunsmith says that since few parts are available you have to "bend" a component a bit which risks ruining it permanently but a fix is possible. I am debating whether to keep it or not since I don't use it. To CW - The different runs of the 24 series are not necessarily interchangeable. My 30/20 barrel won't fit on the earlier 222/30 frame since they are at least 10 years apart.:cry:

[Artful]

quilbilly does it have the sliding side button barrel selector?

[quilbilly]

quilbilly does it have the sliding side button barrel selector?
Both have selectors on the hammer.

[Artful]

What's he trying to bend then, the Spring throws the hammer (which works the shotgun fine) the block rotates and actuates the firing pins???
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/pub/schematic/Savage_24V24VA_schem.jpg
http://www.gun-parts.com/savageshotgun/Image001.jpg

[quilbilly]

Sadly he described it and I don't recall but he did say that he was actually taught that procedure in his gunsmithing class which I found interesting. I discovered this problem the hard way when I was aiming at a 3x4 black tail along the Willamette River in Oregon about 20 years ago. He did note that the fix isn't that hard, just risky due to lack of replacement parts. The other nine times out of ten, it loves cast boolits.

[cwheel]

As I recall, over in the Savage 24 forum, they address just that problem, ( lite firing pin strikes ) and it sounds like a easy fix. I realize if I'm looking for the 30:30 barrel over the 20 ga. to interchange with the newer one I have, there is almost only one option, send it back to Savage. I hear the model 24 is out of production now and parts could be tough to come by as far as barrel sets go. I understand Savage has to fit to match what you have. Mine looked unfired when I got it several years back, but I understand the 24F was one of the last produced.
Chris

[Artful]

Cwheel is this what your thinking of ?
http://savage24forum.boards.net/thread/410/20-ga-light-strike-help

http://savage24forum.boards.net/thread/362/firing-help

Hmm THR
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-465768.html

http://www.cylindersmith.com/savage24/misfire.html

Fixing light strikes by "Legionnaire"

Thought I'd post the solution I discovered for fixing light strikes on the shotgun barrel of my 24E-DL.

The Problem: I have a very nice Savage 24 E-DL .22 mag/20 gauge combo that I bought used. The .22 mag shot fine: reliable and very accurate. The 20 gauge, however, only fired sporadically. I'm guessing that the gun fired 30% of the time using Remington #8 Game Loads. But the gun would NEVER fire if pointed up at anything more than a 30 degree angle. The primers showed signs of light strikes. I completely disassembled the gun, cleaned the firing pin channel. I also ordered and installed a new firing pin from Numrich.

Things were better; ignition 60% of the time, but still unacceptable. So I ordered a new plunger, main spring, and a bunch of other internal parts from Numrich and played with the lot.

Solution:With the "new" parts from Numrich, the problem was worse! So once I had the gun apart again, I studied all the parts I had to see how they were different. Turns out that the critical factor is the angle of the mainspring plunger head. If it is bent down a bit, it exerts more forward pressure on the hammer, and less on the "standoff" that keeps the hammer from contacting the firing spring when the action is at rest. If the head of the plunger is canted upwards, the standoff distance is greater, and there is less forward pressure on the hammer. The pic below shows what I mean. Once I figured this out, it was a simple matter of bending the plunger head down, bending the plunger shaft slightly so it aligned properly in the frame (it's more of a gentle curve than the angle shown in the illustration), and putting everything back together. Back to the range and had 100% ignition, even with the cheap Remington loads (also tried two versions of Winchester). Hope this helps with others experiencing the same or similar problems.
http://www.cylindersmith.com/photos/strut.jpg

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/SavageStevensSpringfieldFox-33479/RifleShotgunCombinations-40501/24V-38512.htm

[JeffinNZ]

PERFECT wallaby gun. Man, I'd love one of them.

[Artful]

What I would love is someone to come out with a nice over under with a fixed shotgun barrel with interchangeable chokes and a changeable rifle barrel system that was easy to regulate and worked with peep sights and had a rail built in so that you could put on Red Dot or Scout Scope without hassle.

Make it a light weight in say 20 gauge and rifle barrels in calibers that are cast friendly - 22 hornet, 32-20, 357 mag/max, 30-30, 44 mag, 45 colt - heck take it up thru 45-70 even. Cost of rim fire these days just skip that option (have 'em get that ugly Savage 42)