Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 220 age question

Got a 12ga 220L-E (I think I have the model right) that I picked up cheap at an auction a few years back. Has a side lever to break it open, a serial number starting with P, and a barrel that says Westfield, MA.

I know JTC has told us that P serial numbers were made in Puerto Rico, does anybody have an idea for when they were made there? Was it a late 80's thing they did during financial troubles?

Looks like the bottom one here:

Did you have a look for a date code Rory?

I'm thinking mid 60's on the 220-L.

Don't know much about the L-series, but I would also say mid-to-late 1960s, based on a couple of catalogs I have from that period.

Puerto Rico? Naw, they wouldn't make anything that looked like THAT! !Bastante feo! Probably shoots OK, tho; after all it IS a Savage!

No obvious date code on it. There is a half struck stamp which might be a date code, but with a serial number of P372xxx I figure it has to be post 1968/Gun Control Act. It is a model 220L-E, 12ga and 3" chamber.

Nope, can't go with that kinda thinkin.

I've got data on 219's with serial numbers on them as far back as 1957 so the post 68 thing is blown outta the water.

Still thinkin mid 60's. That's when the regular 220L's were catalogued.

It's the letter on the serial number that makes me thing post-1968. Numbers prior to that were just numbers, no?

But I know nothing about 220's or when they were catalogued. Was surprised to see a P serial on it, only others I remember seeing with that was rim fires.

Yep, they were just numbers prior.

Wondering if the P serial numbers were made in Canada? A lot of the rimfire Savages were made up here but I don't know when they started production of the Savage rimfires up here.

Sticky note worthy material..

Okay, okay, I take it all back!

Actually very interesting. Anybody know what other guns were made there, if any?

Were these guns (219/220L w/P prefix) made for Latin American markets, just taking advantage of cheaper labor in PR?

From your S/N, P372xxx, this shotgun was made in 1972. Savage did have a plant in Bayamon, Puerto Rico from around 1960. It produced mostly single barrel shotguns, some model 94 singles, the 220-L, Model 947, the model 24-S and most of the Model 15 single shot B/A , .22 RF rifles. One day in 1977, in a review of manufacturing costs of the Model 94, I believe, it was found that the cost to produce it in PR was more than what it was costing in Westfield. The decision was quick in coming to shut the PR operation down. Only very few people from PR relocated to Westfield and the machinery was shipped back to Westfield. In fact it was part of my job to integrate a lot of that equipment back in to the Westfield operation. JTC

Forgot to add that the guns made in PR were stamped with the Westfield address as they were all shipped from PR back to Westfield for distribution. JTC

Thanks !

Thanks very much for the great info on the Puerto Rico plant! I had no idea it dated back to 1960. Cool...

As always John on those rare occasions when you post here you give us a wealth of knowledge. Thanks!

Ditto.

Definitely something to jot down.