I posted an inquiry in the Free Classifieds here on the Fire. I was directed here. I have a Savage Model 200 in 22 Shot. Can anyone tell me about this gun? The owner apparently has a mini-trap and mini-clay pigeons. I am waiting for them to arrive to clarify the brand. My understanding is the Mossberg Mo-Skeet-O was the start of this game back in the 50s.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/5266800/2

dave

Look/ask on www.savagesingleshots.com. The guy that runs that site literally "wrote the book" (you can buy one, too!) on Savage 219/220s.

One of the "myths" about these 220 rimfires is that they were made to kill pigeons and other pest birds in aircraft hangars in WWII. Unverified as far as I know. Does yours have an offset firing pin or an offset bore?

These guns are pretty rare as far as I know, and they were made long before the Mossberg M0-Skeet-O guns, prewar, I think. You can date it roughly by the factory it was made in--if it was Utica, NY, it was probably prewar or right after the war. If in Chicopee Falls, MA, it was postwar.

That's a Utica gun, so 1947 or earlier. Neat gun!

If they had Utica marked barrels left over when they got to Chickopee Falls they would still use them - I have some 29-A pumps with 1949 & 1950 date codes that still have Utica address barrels. As rare as those 220's are in 22 if they made a run of barrels they may still had Utica ones in stock for a long time after they moved. I still think the undocumented story about WWII makes the most sense.

The factory record show that my "22 shot" was shipped from the

Chicopee plant on November 23, 1959 to Little Rock AK. with a

Utica barrel.

1959? Okay... That's holding on to a barrel a long time!

OP, look around for a date stamp then to date it. May not have one, but then again it might.

Roe told me about the 22 Shot also about the 9MM and the 357

barrels for the 219

Did he give any indication when they were first offered? Having Utica stamped barrels makes me think it possible they were NOS they were getting rid of. (and is it still possible one of the original intended uses was shooting birds in aircraft hangers?)

Another factor is that the Utica leftover parts were bought by Numrich's and sold in (I think) the early 1990s. Some were assembled into finished guns, using (again, I think) receivers and "parts guns" that Numrich's had in stock from parts customers had sold to them over the years. The offset bore .22 shot barrels could be fitted to any centerfire 220 or 219 barrel of the right model Up to the "B" models, if my memory serves, but not including the "B"s.

I don't recall seeing any .22 shot 219s or 220s or .22 shot barrels at Numrichs when I visited during that period, but then I'm mostly a hunter and they wouldn't have meant much to me. Nor did the 9mm Rimfire Shot barrels and guns that I DID see.