Stevens 325C

[Battis]

Stevens 325C .30-30 bolt action.
Is this strictly a hunting rifle or is it a decent range rifle (putting holes in paper)?

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Do you have it yet? I got one a year or maybe two years ago--with the butter knife handle. I'd been thinking about it for years (reason to follow), but Texas by God's .30-30 exploits with his custom small ring Mauser converted to .30-30 finally pushed me over the edge. The great thing about them, and also the Savage 340 version (a bit nicer rifle) is the ability to use pointed bullets not normally used in a Win. '94 (yeah--I know about the Hornady squishy tips!). I can only talk about my specimen, which doesn't give me 1" groups at 100 yds., but would be a very adequate deer rifle. Another member here, Condor John, had a nice one to sell awhile back, but I don't know if he got rid of it or not. It had some nice custom inlays in the stock. They're a pretty basic working man's hunting rifle, about the first widely available following WW II. The bolt mechanism is like no other I've ever encountered. Certainly not as straightforward and simple as the Mauser. The magazine is kind of a chintzy piece of fabrication, and if you disassemble the mag for cleaning be sure to closely observe exactly how the follower is placed in the mag body and on the spring. They can (the mags) be difficult to reassemble. They only hold 3 rounds, but aftermarket spares can be purchased so as to have another in your pocket.

Well, the reason that I wanted one for years is a sordid tale. As a middle teenager I once went on a hiking trip for 3 days with two buddies. We all took a rifle, and one of the guys last name was Stevens, which is why he bought the Stevens 325, used, in a surplus store. We walked and walked, froze at night, and ate poorly for the 3 days, and eventually came out of the woods at a very small State campground.

Just 3 picnic tables and a couple of fire rings. Stevens (the guy) flopped down on the bench of one of the picnic tables below the level of the table top, leaning his rifle against a nearby tree. I asked if he minded if I looked at his rifle and he gave permission. I picked it up, and being safety minded (but not enough!) I pointed it at a large nearby tree and pulled the trigger to see if the safety was on as I was completely unfamiliar with the rifle. Nothing happened, so I turned back toward the table and pushed the safety off, and without my finger being on the trigger the rifle fired and the bullet cut a groove right across the table top. If Stevens had suddenly sat up I'd probably just now, over 50 years later be out on parole. I was a nervous wreck for several days, thinking, "What if...what if...." The odd thing, that also stands out in my memory, is that neither of the other two guys thought much about it. Stevens (the guy) was a tinkerer and often took unorthodox approaches to problems. He phoned my dad once and asked if he thought he could use nitric acid as a bore cleaner. Anyway, perhaps he had tinkered with the rifle's trigger mechanism, or perhaps a former owner had done so. Oddly, a few years later in the army I was chatting with another gun nut, and he had experienced the same problem with the Stevens 325-- the rifle firing when the safety was pushed off. So, it's bothered me for many, many years and I eventually had to buy one and examine the mechanism and see if the accident could be duplicated. When I got mine I tried it, and the rifle will not fire when the trigger is pulled, and then the safety pushed off. But, the point of this whole sad tale is that if you buy one be sure to try it for that defect. I'll always carry mine with an empty chamber. Just because.

Having gone on this long, I'd like to say that I was a Hunter Education Instructor for several years, and told this story to every class when discussing safe handling of firearms. My juvenile intent (probably about age 15) was to be safe in the handling of the rifle, but I went about in in the wrong manner. The first thing I should have done was to remove the magazine, then worked the bolt to clear the chamber. I went about it just backwards, seeing if the gun would fire by pulling the trigger, then pushing the safety off with the intent to empty the chamber and remove the magazine. Wrong, and it almost cost a friend his life. He, Stevens (the guy) went on to become a research engineer on hush-hush stuff for the Navy at China Lake. The other miscreant joined John Kerry in throwing his Viet Nam medals over the White House fence. I became a gunsmith, among other questionable endeavors.

DG

[MT Gianni]

It is comparable to the Savage 340. If you are looking to win money, benchrest matches and Camp Perry medals look elsewhere. I found it to be an accurate very forgiving rifle with iron sights. It has to be fitted with a side mount scope and can be a pain to find a decent mount for one. If you put a set of receiver sights on it, it's a lot of fun. I have owned a couple and sold them off for something different. Mine were accurate with 150-190 gr bullets. I never tried anything lighter.

[MT Gianni]

http://www.leeroysramblings.com/gunsmithing_savage_340.htm
If you own one you should become familiar with Leroy's Ramblings.

[Battis]

I gave a Winchester 30-30 to my son, but I still have the dies and brass. I recently came across a 325C for under $300 and thought, that might be a fun gun. I don't hunt so it'd be strictly for hitting the gong at 100 yds. I haven't actually seen it yet.
But...I bought a bolt action Mossberg .410 a few years ago, and it's a decent trap (from the thrower) gun. Then I came across a Mossberg bolt action in 12 ga and thought, that might be even more fun. Wrong. I'm sure the Mossberg 12 ga would be a good hunting gun where you shoot once or a few times a year, but as a target shotgun? Very bad. Recoil - very bad. I paid about $75 for it and traded it for $50.
I was wondering if the 325C might be like the Mossberg 12 ga.

Good info on leeroys ramblings.

[dg31872]

I, too, had a Savage 340C had that bad habit of firing when the safety was pushed off.
I got mine new, and it was my only centerfire rifle. I used that rifle a LOT. Remington CoreLoc during deer season and Speer Plinkers for everything else. The rifle was fine when it was young, but become unreliable when it was of advanced age.
Fortunately, I did not have an accidental discharge. I always thought it was due to wear from so much useage.

[richhodg66]

I have a 340 in .30-30 and it is a surprisingly consistent shooter with cast that is not real picky. I like it, my first "small bore" cast bullet deer was with that rifle.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I, too, had a Savage 340C had that bad habit of firing when the safety was pushed off.
I got mine new, and it was my only centerfire rifle. I used that rifle a LOT. Remington CoreLoc during deer season and Speer Plinkers for everything else. The rifle was fine when it was young, but become unreliable when it was of advanced age.
Fortunately, I did not have an accidental discharge. I always thought it was due to wear from so much useage.

Sure glad to have some validation on this, dg31872. Thanks for speaking up. Could be the result of excessive wear.
DG

[richhodg66]

Never heard of this being a problem. I have 340s in .30-30, .222 and a Stevens 322 in .22 Hornet and have never had that happen.

[NEKVT]

Same here...I had an early 340 in 30-30 that came with a steel receiver sight I gave to my grandson that is his only hunting rifle. Also have a 340D .222 with an old Weaver 4X that I'm thinking about cutting down and slimming out like Leroy's .223 for more of a walkabout rifle rather than the current clunker style.

[Texas by God]

I had a neat Stevens .22 Hornet as a teen. By the time the side mount and scope got put on it, it wasn't handy anymore ( for me). It was fun as an iron sight gun, though. I sold it for $40 to a friend- I know it was $40 because every decade or so I see him and he mentions it......
I had a Springfield named version in 30-30 and I scout scoped it. It shot well but I had some trigger problems with it (no AD thank God). It took some figuring out which year model trigger parts to use- apparently Savage changed things up within the model.
I didn't like the action because of the split bridge making scope mounting low and centered impossible. For me the scope and pointed bullets was the whole attraction of a 30-30 bolt action rifle.
DG- I know exactly how you felt that day! I was sitting on a hunting stool getting ready for dove. I closed the action of a double barreled 20 gauge and the right barrel fired, plowing a divot in the ground about two feet from my friend's feet. I put that gun away until I had time to get it fixed.
Back to the Savage/ Stevens/Springfield bolt rifle, has anyone ever seen a 340 in .225 Winchester? I lusted after one in the catalogs, but I can't recall ever seeing one.
And before it was discontinued, was it ever chambered in .223?

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[cwlongshot]

I have two 340's a first run 1952 340 in 30/30 and a 340B in 22 Hornet.

This second was a basket case and missing parts. I have it completely assembled and firing. Just need to fit the stock as it now wears a heavy barrel.

The 30/30 is a real good cast gun. I can shoot one hole (ragged hole) groups with its peep out @ 50 yards. I wouldnt hesitate to hunt it close with lead. But have no need its a fun cast bullet gun for me. The hornet will be a heavy weight with that barrel and aside from occasional vermin eradication... It too will be range toy.

CW

[richhodg66]

I had a neat Stevens .22 Hornet as a teen. By the time the side mount and scope got put on it, it wasn't handy anymore ( for me). It was fun as an iron sight gun, though. I sold it for $40 to a friend- I know it was $40 because every decade or so I see him and he mentions it......
I had a Springfield named version in 30-30 and I scout scoped it. It shot well but I had some trigger problems with it (no AD thank God). It took some figuring out which year model trigger parts to use- apparently Savage changed things up within the model.
I didn't like the action because of the split bridge making scope mounting low and centered impossible. For me the scope and pointed bullets was the whole attraction of a 30-30 bolt action rifle.
DG- I know exactly how you felt that day! I was sitting on a hunting stool getting ready for dove. I closed the action of a double barreled 20 gauge and the right barrel fired, plowing a divot in the ground about two feet from my friend's feet. I put that gun away until I had time to get it fixed.
Back to the Savage/ Stevens/Springfield bolt rifle, has anyone ever seen a 340 in .225 Winchester? I lusted after one in the catalogs, but I can't recall ever seeing one.
And before it was discontinued, was it ever chambered in .223?

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

I've seen two chambered in .225, in fact, one of them belongs to a guy who makes it to the local gun shows most times who was trying to sell it with dies and a decent amount of brass. I've heard the 340 action isn't strong enough for it and Savage had to make some mods accordingly, then discontinued it from the line after just a couple of years.

I believe they did chamber in in .223 for a little while. Saw one about a year ago, pretty obvious it had been rebarreled, but the 340 was being made well into the time when the .223 became popular, so it would have been a dumb move for Savage not to have done it.

[cwlongshot]

Yup. I dont know chronological order but AFAIR, 22 Hornet, 222 Rem, 223 Rem, 225 Winchester & 30/30 Winchester.

Its all in Leyroys Ramblings listed above. He has a few pages with alot of excellent i formation.

CW

[richhodg66]

Interesting to note that that series of rifles were the first to incorporate that barrel nut system for setting head space, same system Savage still uses on the 110 series and several other companies copied.


I read somewhere that Savage designed the 340s with the intent of using up .30 caliber machine gun barrels they had produced for WWII that they still had on hand. The 340 was quite innovative at the time.

[Harter66]

I shot 9 different bullets including 2 factory loads , 150&170 Win Silver tips , a 165 SST , the rest cast from 97-180 gr . The 150 and up were full jacket speeds on 4350 . 1.5 or less despite my best efforts to find a poor load .
325C 1950 edition with a White peep and factory ramp .

[rockrat]

I have one and wasn't really impressed with it till I tried some Rem. 170gr core-lokt HP factory ammo. Even with the crummy trigger it would go an inch @100yds.