SCORE! A Savage 340

[JohnH]

Was at a gunshow today and picked up a very nice condition Savage 340 in 30-30. When I got home, I loaded up 10 rounds using Lees 312-180 and 12 grains of 107 and was rewarded with a 1" group at 50 yards, fired another three into 1.5" and my buddy put three into a nice cloverleaf. This is definately one of the best deals I've made in a long time. I passed one up a couple years ago that was not in as nice shape, and have kicked myself since. I'm pattin' mesef on the back now for doing so

[rbstern]

Was at a gunshow today and picked up a very nice condition Savage 340 in 30-30. When I got home, I loaded up 10 rounds using Lees 312-180 and 12 grains of 107 and was rewarded with a 1" group at 50 yards, fired another three into 1.5" and my buddy put three into a nice cloverleaf. This is definately one of the best deals I've made in a long time. I passed one up a couple years ago that was not in as nice shape, and have kicked myself since. I'm pattin' mesef on the back now for doing so

What's the going rate for a 340?

[mr mom]

i picked up a westernfield 30/30 2 years ago for my son.. its the same thing as the 340.... he has used it for high power sil shooting .... the guys at the range couldnt beleave what he was useing , but he got at least 1 ram at 550 yds with it ... he got a total of 15 targets with it . the kids plays around with his guns.. he put a 2.5x10 on it .... he calls that his target rifle ....

[KYCaster]

I stopped in the local gun/pawn shop a couple weeks ago to get a fishing license and ended up going home with a Savage 340 X 222. Set me back $225 for the gun, base, rings and a box of Rem 50gr. PSP. (plus tax, title and transfer) Put a 4X Ted Williams yard sale scope on it (five bucks!) and took it to the range today.
Took the first ten rounds to get it zeroed and shot the other ten for group at 100yds. First round was a flier, high and left. The other nine made a nice round 1.35in. group.(3.25 with the flier).
Not too shabby, I think. Anybody got any tuning tips for the 340 to make that first round go where I want it to?
I also have a Revelation Mod. 225 (Western Auto brand, same as a 340) in 30WCF I found in a shop out in the country about a year ago. Got it for $185. I had a Williams FP sight that fit and improved the sight picture quite a bit. I haven't worked with it much but I think it will do OK.
Just a guess, I think that barrell band screwed to the stock way out in front of the reciever is probably the reason for the fliers. Find some way to change that and I think it would improve groups tremendously.
Overall, I think a nice rifle for the money. Work out a couple of kinks and I think you could embarass some of those guys with their high dollar Remchesters.
Looks like you have a winner, John.

Jerry

[Bass Ackward]

Anybody got any tuning tips for the 340 to make that first round go where I want it to?

Just a guess, I think that barrell band screwed to the stock way out in front of the reciever is probably the reason for the fliers. Find some way to change that and I think it would improve groups tremendously.
Jerry


Jerry,

There could be a bazillion reasons for that flier.

Most of the time it's related to how the bullet / bore is creating / handling bore fouling. Especially if you allow a gun to cool. Now I am not saying that you are fouled or that the gun wasn't cleaned etc. Just that after you fire the first shot you now have a combination of fouling that can alter conditions enough that the rest of the group prints somewhere else because it exits the harmonic cycle at a different point. The tighter the bore dimensions, usually the worse the effect.

You can test for this by shooting and waiting for 30 minutes while you shoot something else and then shoot another round. Do this for 5 rounds and see what you get for group from the same box of shells. If the groups are better, work on the band because temperature is elongating the barrel and the band is preventing that. If they are worse, then your problem is load related.

Same logic as lead fliers. Set a gun up for a week after firing and if the lube hardens the fouling, the first shot will go somewhere else. Fouling. 22 calibers see this effect more often with jacketed because the jacketes and lead are so soft in comparrison to other calibers. A reason match bullets tend to have heavier / harder jackets. If a jacketed bullet has trouble with fouling, you can see why most cast designs have a sharp shoulder to help scrape it out of the way.

[Buckshot]

.............A buddy had a 340 in 30-30 that belonged to his brother, and I borrowed it for my daughter's first trip deer hunting. Trying it out it wouldn't hit squat. Checking it out it looked like they'd (whoever 'They' is) had tried to put another crown on it and had it offset. Got my friend's permission to straighten that issue out and it turned into a real shooter.

After our hunting expedition I tried some ammo I had loaded for my M93 Marlin 30-30, which the Savage swallowed without a hitch (a clue?) and shot like a shotgun. Couldn't have been the crown :-)! I broke down and slugged the mangy beast and it was perfect had it been an Argentine. I recall it at something like .302"x .310. That Marlin does wonders with lead sized .309".

Once I'd plumbed the depths of the generous chamber (necksized the fired brass) and decyphered the barrel I tried some Lee C312-185's in it. It handled the pretty much unsized .312" drive bands well. Finally it became a shooter of a very decent sort. I would have liked to have bought it from my friend, but since it had been his brother's (who'd been killed in the Navy) he didn't want to part with it. Oh, the trigger was darn good as it was.

Since it's been 12-14 years gone by since, I should approch him again about it. I did spend some time after that looking for one with only a couple sightings. Those I did find for sale were a bit more then I felt they were worth. If I could find one for $250 or less I'd probably be on it.

....................Buckshot

[Flash]

I bought one about 10 years ago in 30/30 and it had a Savage 4x scope with a Savage mount for $150. Yes, both were savage products and a heavy leather sling that hadn't been adjusted since the day it was installed. Needless to say, I was a fool for letting it go.

[Ranch Dog]

My oh my... My first deer rifle!! :cry:

I broke the ejector so I sold it (mistake). I now understand this was a common problem back 40 years ago so you might want to find another ejector just in case. I see them on eBay once in awhile.

[felix]

The ugliest rifle that shoots. The only competition in both departments is the K31. ... felix

[jeff223]

good for you John.they are a nice shootin iron.

hows the TC Encore shootin for you?

got some good results with cast in my G2.it took awhile but i got that sucker shooting now.i still have a few buys to work out though with it.

[BBA]

Williams Gunsight Co has a website with used guns etc. They had one in stock when I was there a few days ago. I think it was around 220.00 I can't access the site my dial-up is too slow. Also Wessel's gun shop in Warren, Mi had one a few weeks ago, in very good shape for around 190.? If anyone interested.

[JohnH]

I ran another 30 rounds of the same load through it today, man does it shoot good :) I'm one happy camper for sure

rb, the 340 I ran into a few years back was priced at 160, reflecting the rough outside; this one I lucked out and brought home for 200.

Without question the bore is a tad generous, I can feel the lands with the bore ride nose of the Lee boolit, but it slips freely into the bore with dragging and can be turned frrely too. I've not yet slugged it, but I'm sizing the boolits to 310, and they chamber a little hard. For a 1500 fps plinker, all seems well

I could see where inconsistant tightening of the barrel band screw could make the gun kinda srewy, it's easy enough to clean without removing from the stock, so my present approach to that problem is to leave well enough alone.

Jeff, the Encore is shooting well enough for a hunting rifle, but it's nothing I'd put up as a shining example of a cast boolit shooter for sure. May have to find another 340 and stick a 38-55 barrel on it. Least it ain't a Handi.

[BerdanIII]

Hope I'm not too late to the party, but take out the action and barrel band screws and see if the action can be moved back and forth in the stock. Mine could, and groups tightened up considerably after I put a shim in the recoil lug dado to take up the slack and bedded the barrel like an SMLE; contact under the chamber, then none to the barrel band, contact under the band, then none to the end of the stock. You might want to try this incrementally.

[dk17hmr]

I have a Savage 340 in 30-30. I bought the gun for $125 bucks, bought a side mount for $25, and a new mag for $25, I traded my dad a Weaver K9 for a Weaver K3. I refinished the stock and touched up the blueing. Probably the best $200 bucks I have spent.

This is acutally my only deer rifle with the sole purpose of deer hunting. I have other high power rifles that I use for deer hunting but they are multi purpose varmint/target rifles.

I loaded up some Spear 110 grain Hollow Points that are going well over 2600 FPS with groups roughly 3 inches at 100 yards. Obviously not a target gun but it will work for its purpose.

Dk17hmr

[rbstern]

I'm just now getting my Foremost 6400 (aka Savage 340) dialed in with cast loads. It looks promising. I've still got some scope mounting challenges, but I was putting 150 grain cast loads into a single overlapping hole with the iron sites at 25 yards. The scope is a Sears branded K3. Once I've got it shimmed correctly, I'll take it out to 100 yards and see what's what. If it works well, I expect this to be my deer rifle, too.

[AnthonyB]

I became the proud owner of a 340 30-30 last week. The stock needs repair/refinishing and the bore is very casual. Got it from a friend of a friend for $125 and plan to turn it into a 35-30. Tony

[felix]

Shoot it first, Tony. Might shoot good enough for a couple of years. If going with the same barrel, rebore to 358 with 18 twist. If going to shoot condom 158 as a regular diet, then do rebore at 357 instead. ... felix

[Jumptrap]

Hmmm,

My 340 arrived today...not a bad rifle for the $164 delivered cost. The trigger sucks.....who's gonna step forward with the cure? I'm a ways from shooting...first thing is a bath whenever I get a 'new' gun and check the bedding and crown. Me thinks some acraglass is in order. No extra holes drilled in the receiver, so it's open sights for the time being. Gte it cleaned and slugged and I'll shoot it.

[StarMetal]

Jump,

First thing to do on the trigger is take it apart and clean it real good. Then lightly polish all the contact areas and I mean lightly and create no heat. Then put a wee bit lube on it and put it back together and try it. Also on the sear that sticks up to catch the firing pin striker, put a WEE WEE small dab of STP on that. Report back what all that does.

Joe

[Bucks Owin]

Too bad there weren't many bolt action 30/30s made other than the 340. (Which ain't exactly a M-70 in appearance!) :-D

The 30/30 cartridge is an extremely accurate round in a rifle that will let it "strut it's stuff"....

FWIW,

Dennis

[StarMetal]

One time Layne Simpson, who likes Marlin 336's, talked to Marlin and asked about the barrel contour before they machined it down for their 336. They said it was pretty fat and a forearm and if I'm not mistaken or not, nor could the magazine tube be put on. He said send me one with the fat barrel on it minus what doesn't fit. He got it and assembled some jacketed rounds, scoped it , and shot it. His best groups were 1/2 inch at 100 yards. Not shabby for a leveraction 336.

Joe

[Scrounger]

Too bad there weren't many bolt action 30/30s made other than the 340. (Which ain't exactly a M-70 in appearance!) :-D

The 30/30 cartridge is an extremely accurate round in a rifle that will let it "strut it's stuff"....

FWIW,

Dennis

A Mauser action, 93, 95, 96, or 98 works fine for the .30-30, I have 3 friends who made them. They made heavy barrel single shots but I'd bet it could be made to feed with a single column magazine ala Remington 788...

[Bucks Owin]

A Mauser action, 93, 95, 96, or 98 works fine for the .30-30, I have 3 friends who made them. They made heavy barrel single shots but I'd bet it could be made to feed with a single column magazine ala Remington 788...

No doubt but then why not go with, for instance, the .308? Better ballistics and the rifle would be "happier" in feeding them out of the magazine. Brass is even more plentiful too since 7.62 NATO rds have been made in the billions I bet...

Dennis

[JohnH]

No doubt but then why not go with, for instance, the .308? Better ballistics and the rifle would be "happier" in feeding them out of the magazine. Brass is even more plentiful too since 7.62 NATO rds have been made in the billions I bet...

Dennis

Ballistic efficiency. Esspecially with cast, the beauty of the 30-30 is that is a near perfect case capacity as well as a longer neck for moe consistant bullet pull

[Bucks Owin]

Ballistic efficiency. Esspecially with cast, the beauty of the 30-30 is that is a near perfect case capacity as well as a longer neck for moe consistant bullet pull

OK, that'll work....:drinks:

Dennis

[Jumptrap]

I know I am going to **** in somebody's Cheerios with this statement....but since I have now owned BOTH........the 340 has it all over the 788. The Savage is uglier, the trigger at least as bad and from what I have thus far READ, shoots as well. I haven't had a chance to play with the 340 yet.....but just looking at the innards....I can tell you the design really is superior to the 788's for the 30-30 cartridge. It feeds and extracts better......the 788 in 30-30 has the most wimpy assed extractor I have ever seen.....broke one too. Ain't gonna be breaking a 340 extractor so easily. The 788 is almost delicate in comparison.....this 340 is built like a tank. I love the way the locking lug goes into battery like a Mosin.....horizontally. From where I am looking........this gun is a piece of work! If it doesn't shoot well...not likely.....it is going to become a 25-35.

[cherok9878]

There is a Savage 340, 30-30 on gunbroker.com for $199.00. 1 day 14 hrs left on auction, no bids at this time. Photos look OK.
Let's see who buys it. Any takers that it will be someone from this forum?........larry