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Savage 24 Series P .22LR/.410

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For the last several seasons I've enjoyed squirrel hunting with a Savage 24 DL .22Mag/20ga. I decided I wanted a .22LR/.410 to go along with it but finding a decent one wasn't easy. Ran across a lot of the earlier models without the grooved receiver but my eyes require a scope these days for squirrels. I really wanted a "DL" version like my Mag/20ga but they are scarce around here and the ones on the net are bringing collector's tariffs. Stumbled on this one at a pawn shop last month. It is a later model with hardwood stocks and plastic trigger guard but it had the scope groove and is in very good shape. Ended up walking out with it for $290, which seems more than fair these days.
So far it seems to shoot well. The rifle barrel will put them in a dime or less @ 25 yards with the couple loads I've tried in it so far, and the .410 barrel hits pretty much in line with the .22 barrel. I'm looking forward to deer season like everybody else but I'm equally looking forward to those cool fall mornings when I can get out in the oaks and stalk the limb rats with my new prize.

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Nice!! And good price.

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Very nice!! I can definitely see the advantage of having both a .22 and a shotgun together when chasing squirrels. I'm really looking forward to Aug 15th for the opener. Hope I don't get sick and have to miss work that day... wink

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Yep...you got a good grab at that price!

I killed my first squirrel ( first few, actually...) with a Sav 24 in .22/.410, It is literally what got me started in hunting...


Excellent gun for your needs...and when I got out of school and moved west I found it made the perfect "mountain grouse" ( generic term for Ruffed, Blue, and Franklins grouse ) gun.

If they want to play the "fool hen" and stand around...the .22 gets used for head shots!

That gun put more meals on my table than i could possibly count....


"...the left considers you vermin, and they'll kill you given the chance..." Bristoe
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Congratulations!

I don't hunt flea-infested tree rodents nor other small game, but that is indeed a great price for one of those scarce CF Savage O/U combo guns!

When trying .22 rimfire loads, do you ever try .22 Shorts with your scoped guns? Several target-type Short loads are available that aren't too pricey.

Also, what .410 load works best for squirrels at 'normal' hunting ranges?

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Great find! I love small game hunting and it is such a shame that it gets overlooked these days by those obsessed with antler size. Squirrels are a blast to hunt with archery equipment too.

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Originally Posted by StubbleDuck
When trying .22 rimfire loads, do you ever try .22 Shorts with your scoped guns? Several target-type Short loads are available that aren't too pricey.

Also, what .410 load works best for squirrels at 'normal' hunting ranges?



I tried a few shorts out of curiosity but accuracy was horrible at 25 yards with the ones I tried. Longs weren't too bad but it grouped very well with standard velocity LR Winchester T22 and some cheap Remington HV stuff. Will do a little more experimentation before fall. I imagine most any .410 load with shot from #4s to #7.5s will work ok at close range. I'm probably going to try the Federal 3" #5 load or maybe even the Winchester 3/4 oz "magnum" load of #6s.

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SCGunNut .... that really brings back memories ... in the late sixties and early seventies my father had two of those in 20ga / 22mag....it was his do-all weapon , you know the story beware of the fella with one gun .

The early model he had used a knob on the side to select rim fire or shotgun ... the look on his face was priceless when a partridge flushed and on the wing he fired the 22 mag ... and the partridge dropped from the sky !! See him do it twice , always by mistake in switching the barrel , but he was deadly with that combo .... he is in his 80's now but I will mention it tommorow and it will bring a smile .

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I have long wanted one of those classic Savage combination guns, but they are very hard to come by in this area. Congratulations on yours. I love to hunt squirrels, and have used a .22LR for about 30 years now. Before that, I used a shotgun like most everyone else I knew. The .22 is a better choice for me. Hunting skills and head shots. That's real squirrel hunting.


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I have a 24 made in the early 1960s in .22WRM and .410--nice walnut stock and side barrel selector, case-colored receiver. I too have to use a scope because of old-age farsightedness. Put a Weaver V3 on this one and with the scope on 3X it is very accurate with the original Winchester 40gr. hollowpoint .22WRM. And as a bonus, it shoots the sabotted .375 roundballs from Ballistic Products to the same point of aim at 50 yards in the .410 barrel with the scope on 1X! Kinda fun.

Never used it for tree squirrels when I lived in NYS, but did shoot cottontails with the .410 if they ran and then switched to FMJ .22WRM if they sat. Here I use it for cottontails (to eat) and ground squirrels (not).


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The O/U .22/.410s are my absolute favorite squirrel guns.




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Hey SCGN...are you guys in Columbia having squirrel problems? They are all over the upstate and eating everything in site. Including the underground sprinkler systems. Hate to say it but my Dad is on the verge of blowing nests from trees.


Proud to be a true Sandlapper!!

Go Nats!!!!


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Originally Posted by byc
Hey SCGN...are you guys in Columbia having squirrel problems? They are all over the upstate and eating everything in site. Including the underground sprinkler systems. Hate to say it but my Dad is on the verge of blowing nests from trees.


There definetly seem to be more of them in town than in the woods. Don't have too many problems with them myself but I work in a gun shop and usually several times each week somebody comes in to buy CBs to thin the squirrels in their yard. Wish I could catch them all and relocate them to my hunting land come Fall!

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Once when I was just a little kid, I forgot to switch barrels one time and learned I could hit a running jack rabbit with a .22. It was an eye-opening, confidence building experience at the time.


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Nice little gun! You did real well for the price. My favorite rabbit gun is a 24 in .410 22lr. That'll make a great squirrel gun with that scope on it. Have fun!

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I have a 22lr/20g. I cut the butt plate and installed a sheet metal cover so I could carry ammo in the stock like some of the models produced in the 70s when I bought it. Very handy modification. It is choked full, but I have taken two deer with slugs. I have always enjoyed combining deer and squirrel hunting. Some say you can't do it, but I have had several deer come toward my shot over the years. I don't think they could set their reference on a 22 short or cap which is what I shoot for squirrel.

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That should be perfect!

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Seems like it is a no-no here for males over 14yrs to shoot squirrels with a shotgun. Squirrels are to be head shot with a rifle.

Forty years ago my neighbor and some of his buds went squirrel hunting at daylight every Sun morn in the fall. Like duck hunting or a golf date. They all carried nice scoped bolt .22's, LR and Mags. They hunted close enough together to hear each others shots. They made wagers on the squirrels. Only head shots made points. Non-head shot were less and misses counted off.

I have a Sav DL .22mag over 3" 20ga. It is a great gun to call in coyotes from a fence row. It was my camper gun in our motor home. Not shot much, but 70,000mi standing in a rod rack in the closet.

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Hey SCGN,

got a couple of Savage 24's myself (22WMR/20g & 222rem/20g)

Bought them for foxes and rabbits.
Was wondering what the trigger pull on yours is like?
Mine is/was atrocious. Clean break, but VERY heavy.
Is yours (or others here) the same?

Had one worked on, and it is now acceptable, will get the other one taken care of soon too.

Happy hunting with your squirrels, sounds like sonething I'd like to try at least once in my life.

Cheers,
Troy (Aussielad)

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I've got three 24s (the .22LR/.410, .22WMR/20ga, .357 Maximum/20ga) and all of them have stiff trigger pulls. They are all relatively heavy but at least they are crisp so I don't complain too much.

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