Picked up a Model 7 with a Weaver 344 scope. Wood is good, but metal is pretty bad. Paid too much for the condition, but it will give me a little project to clean it up with Kroil and 0000 wool. Will be a neat Savage to shoot with, and someday give too, one of my two grandson's born last year.

Ah don't kid yourself, you'll probably pick up five or six more grandson .22s between now and when they are old enough to shoot. Just kidding but I want to say to use some Oxpho blue to touch the rifle back up if needed. I've used the gel with great results. Nice project and be sure to post the results of your work. I'd like to find a Model 7 sometime.

I've got one, only it's a 7S with the peep sights.

Damn thing went full auto on me at the range one day, told the guy next to me at the bench I was sorry, he laughed and asked if he could shoot it next! Took it home, tore it down and found some gunk in the action, all back to normal now.

Born last year? Looks like you'll have plenty of time to break that in for the little guys.

The Model 7's seem to be much harder to find than the Model 6's or the bolt actions from the series. They were the last to be introduced and one of the first to be discontinued. The Model 3 & Model 7 are last listed in the 1951 catalogs (the Stevens version of the Model 7, the 85, was still listed into the 60's).

I picked up one locally years ago and did not find a decent one again until recently and it had some surface rust and was missing a lot of internal parts.

This is from 1951, I would suggest not shooting the gun as a single shot with 22 Long Rifle, there have been quite a few on RimFireCentral who have had broken locking bolts, that may have been the cause, or they may just have bumped the exposed knob hard. Note the thin spot in the center for firing pin clearance that creates a weak spot.



mad-dog - did you save that 'gunk'? If so could you sent it to me so I could put in my gun and give it a try?

The model 7 had a checkered grip area and I think were D&T'ed for the Weaver side mount.

The 7A (post WWII?) was not checkered and was only D&T'ed for the model 150 peep sight.

My 7S was D&T'd for what looks like a Weaver T mount. Only two holes.

Good karma there. My grandfather gave me an 87A when I was a kid. Good to know about the weakness in the cocking knob.

Heck, you probably could have sold it for a premium as a full auto!

Looking through catalogs -

Parts catalogs, 1948 no 7A, Nov 1, 1951 7A listed and shows a bent sheetmetal trigger guard for it (a Model 15 part No.) and a cast guard for the 7.

Product catalogs -
1946 price list - Model 7 listed as having checkered wood and being drilled & tapped for Weaver scopes, also the 7S version describes the No 100, No 105 & folding rear sight set.
1947 thru 1949 - Model 7 not listed, nor is the Stevens version, the Model 85.
1950 & 1951 - Model 7 listed, no mention of being drilled & tapped for telescope mounts but is for the No 150 receiver sight.
1952 to the 1960's - no Model 7 but the Stevens 85 is still listed

Product catalogs do not list the alpha characters with the model numbers.

Great info, Gene. Thank You.

Here's a pic of the scope and mount. Is is a Weaver T mount?

You can see the poor metal condition.

I have a 7S and a 7A and both are as you listed.

Not related to the Model 7 but the factory D&T on .22's was stopped in 1955 and went to a grooved receiver for the tipoff mounts.

FYI, I found some good additional information at this link on Rimfire Central:
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=408663

Yep, thats a T mount.

Still has the original mount screws too!!

Keith, is anything stamped on the head of those screws?

Mike, I'll look close when the shipment gets here. All I have is a half dozen pics of the rifle. I cropped the pic to get closeup of the mount. Looks like it is stamped "T 1". Don't see a number stamp on the screws in the pic, but will look closer when it gets here.

Mike, I picked it up today. front screw has an F, rear has a R stamped on them

Thanks! You see that on the Savage T7 too. I've looked at them with a magnifying glass and can't see the difference between them.

I think it's an engineering prank

I like that. I think the same thing when I look at those stupid little plastic condiment packets that have a specific corner marked "tear here." As if it matters from what end of the packet you squeeze out the catchup or mustard.

Picked it up today and spent time cleaning it up. It was in pretty tough shape but looks a lot better already. Used the ultrasonic on the action parts, and Kroil and 0000 wool on the outside. Also applied snake oil to the stock. Bore is real nice in it. I'll try shooting it tomorrow.

Took it out to the bench behind the house this morning to see if it would feed/fire/cycle ok. No issues/problems at all. Interesting thing I found out is that after you fire a round, the bolt stays back until you release the trigger ... different. Nice little .22.

25 yards, 20 rounds. 1st 5 aimed COM. Last 15 aimed 6 o'clock, open sights, bench but no rest.

I's say it cleaned up real nice. Looks to shoot real well too.

Neat huh, threw me at first to. Got a model 6 after that for a pest rifle at the hunting camp after I played around with the 7.

I would think that trigger-bolt thing would be selectable. It does it for every shot? Seems like a pita after a while.

Yep, every shot, as long as you hold the trigger the bolt doesn't run forward and load the next shell.

The very first guns did not hold the bolt back, the trigger assembly was set up to just catch the striker or hammer or what ever it was called, that apparently led to problems and the bolt hold back was an early design change. The parts catalogs do not list any parts for the earliest guns but have a note that says the only repair for them is to do a conversion to the later type action. I think holding the heaviest part back helped slow the movement down so the timing was not as critical to keep the guns from going full auto.