Rick,
Looks as though I must eat some crow. Logic be damned, my assumptions vis-a-vis the Savage M29/Stevens M75 are apparently incorrect.
I have gone to the West book on Savage/Stevens and find that the Savage M29 originated with Savage, as previously thought, in 1929 as a pistol grip octagon barreled rifle. Production continued until 1968 per Bill West. At some point the octagon barrel was dropped in favor of a round barrel.
The Stevens M75, rather than being a predecessor model, was apparently brought out in 1931 as straight grip/round barreled "cheapie" version of the Savage M29 and was continued in production through 1938 after which it was discontinued.
The Stevens M75 was actually a parallel product line with the Savage M29 for the period 1931 through 1938.
The foregoing makes the assumption that Bill West is correct in his reportage.
However, that old saw "assumption is the mother of all screwups" must certainly apply to this issue.
Repectfully and humblely submitted (for whatever it's worth),
Dave (dewker)
