Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Combination Guns and Drillings Savage 24 variations

Over the years I have owned several different Savage 24 guns. The first one I used for squirrel and rabbit hunting was not mine, but belonged to a good friend's mother. I was about 14 at the time and had a single barrel Winchester Model 37 .410 and she knew I liked that little Stevens 22/.410 gun, so whenever I was there to pick up my hunting buddy, she always let me use her combination gun. Savage later bought Stevens and the name on those combo guns changed to Savage.

But that first introduction to and use of a combination gun hooked me for life, although it was much later before I actually owned one. My wife and I never had children, but I do have three nephews and when they got big enough to hunt, I remembered how well that little combination gun served me, so I bought each one of them a Savage 24 22/.410 as they started hunting.

The first couple of them I bought had the barrels soldered together and were always consistently accurate like the first one I used. Then Savage started making them with the barrels separated and although they would shoot straight, I noticed that they just did not seem to be as consistent in their accuracy as those with the barrels soldered. That consistent level of accuracy becomes important when you are aiming at a squirrel's head 80 feet up in a tall pine.

I was always certain that if I held it on him, he was a dead squirrel. The guns with the barrels separated would sometimes hit the squirrel and sometimes it would not. Now my nephews did not at the time have the skills necessary to be able to notice that, but I sure did.

So I ordered a couple of the Savage 24 end pieces that held the barrels together, and started trying to "IMPROVE" the accuracy. I opened them up and tried various plastics and brass shims. The gun would drive tacks until the weather changed, and then it would shift the bullet impact point. I finally put the original end cap back on the gun after deciding my gun smithing was not any improvement.

Then I started looking for only those Savage 24's that had the soldered barrels thinking I ought to get a couple of them because they shot more consistently and didn't change with the temperature or weather. About the time I had enough brains to do that, I discovered that Savage had quit making the gun and the prices had gone up and the availability had gone down and they were hard to find. That is what happens when you are working all the time and not paying attention.

But I have a favorite one with the welded barrels chambered for 3 inch 20 gage/.22WMR that I use for squirrels and on occasion, turkeys. It is deadly and consistently accurate and always has been, just like every one with soldered barrels I ever had a chance to shoot. I prowl the pawn shops on occasion looking for them, but the word has been out a long time and finding one is rare. When I have asked the shop owners about them, they smile and say "if those guns are in good condition when they come in here, they go in MY gun safe, not yours."

It has been a lesson to me how a cheap, boys rifle that we once could buy at any Sears & Roebuck, Western Auto, Auto-Lec, or Montgomery Ward store and many local hardware stores for under a hundred dollars has become an object to collect. Those guns were and are cheap, but as soon as Savage quit making them, the collectors all got dollar signs in their eyes and bought them up. They are not going to use them and they are preventing those of us who would use them from doing that.

There are better combo guns out there. Let me restate that. There are guns made and finished much nicer than a Savage 24 available from various makers and I have one or two of them, but there isn't a BETTER combination gun out there. It is a shame they are not more available so that more boys can have the opportunity to enjoy learning how to become a good hunter while using one. I know there are substitutes available, but to me, NOTHINGis as useful, or gives a hunter more options than a combination gun. Until I started using one, I was always torn as to whether I should take my 22 rifle or my .410 shotgun. The Savage 24 made that an easy decision and it irritates me that boys don't have that opportunity today.

I tell you fellas, things have gone down hill since Elvis died.

Elvis isn't dead. He had a sex change and is living a quiet life on the streets of Memphis as a bag lady.

No I ain't.

Just a stunt-double...

This is no stunt. It is my favorite Savage 24 with soldered barrels .22WMR/20 gage 3 inch. Found it in a barrel in a pawn shop with no trigger guard and so covered and pitted with rust that there was no way it could ever be polished out without ruining it. The stock was cracked and scratched up pretty bad. It wasn't very expensive, so I bought it because I can't stand to see a combination gun go to waste.

I took it home and much to my complete surprise, when I ran cleaning patches through both barrels, they came out bright with no rust. So then I used steel wool to remove as much of the rust on the exterior as I could. Once I had it reasonably clean, I only cleaned up the stock enough to feather out the scratches. Then I ordered a replacement trigger guard from Numrich and installed it.

Then I got some Dura Last camo paint and painted it. I had a Nikon scope laying around and since I can't see iron sights anymore, mounted it. I will eventually put a 1 X 4 Lupould on it, but since this gun uses the 3/8 inch grooves to mount scopes, I wasn't sure how that was going to work, or if the scope would stay on it when I fired the shotgun barrel. And sure enough when I shot the shotgun barrel, the scope came off.

So I switched the aluminum rings for some steel Weavers and used a Swiss mini file to file little "teeth" into the bases of the steel Weaver rings and bases. Then I used red Loctite under the bases and tightened then down. Then I used a metal punch to put a little "dimple" in the groove next to where the base was locked into it so that it could not slide in the groove. That solved the scope moving issue.

Then I put it on sand bags and zeroed the scope for 50 yards. The shotgun printed patterns right in the middle of the cross hair. The .22WMR barrel shot dime sized groups at 50 yards. Then I mounted a camo sling and took it turkey hunting and we have lived happily ever after. Have you ever noticed how good a hunter looks carrying a Savage combo gun? Check it out:

My favorite 24 was a 357 mag/20 gauge. Snowshoe hares and ptarmigans hated us. Would like to have another. My only combo now is a 30-30/20 gauge, but not a Savage.

That looks like a "Staggs Built" I rechambereed one of those for my old hunting partner to 30-30 Ackley Imp. One of my favorite calibers. Also extended the 2 3/4" chamber out to 3". Th was a pretty good gun. And the double triggers made it even better.

Fireball2

I cannot identify that combo gun you have, but it looks darn interesting. All of you fellas on this forum are over my head and I feel out of place because I am not a collector. I am an old (will be 74 soon) hunter who recognizes the advantages of combo guns and drillings and I use them to hunt. In fact, I only have one other combo gun at the present time and it is an Ithaca/Tikka "Turkey Gun" that I bought brand new and have hunted with for the past 39 or 40 years. I bought it in 1976 or 77, but I can't remember which. It was when they first came out is all I can say. Back then I had four or five Savage 24 guns in various calibers/chambering's.

Anyway, this gun and I are well acquainted and have shared many adventures together. Here is a photo of us last year about mid April during the spring turkey season. We did good and killed a pretty nice long beard gobbler at about 30 yards as he stood in an old woods road looking for the hen he thought was calling to him. I wish I knew how many turkey's this gun has killed. Over 39 or 40 years a sho-nuff turkey hunter kills a lot of turkeys.

Great thread Ragnar, thanks for posting.

Ditto That!

Great posts.

The Savage 24 is an American Classic in all respects.

Also, a 30-30AI has always been attractive to me. I have an old H&R Topper with 410 and 30-30 barrels that I might have re-chambered, just for schidts & giggles.

Ackley always said that the biggest improvement in any of his cartridge designs was with the 30-30 AI. I have a friend who uses one deer and hog hunting and he swears by it.

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Yes drillings & combos make great turkey guns. My "turkey drilling" is a 1944 JP Sauer 12 ga over 8x57JR 23" barrels choked XF & XF. It was special ordered by an SS officer, at the height of the war. I bought it from his granddaughter. A great turkey gun, but choked a little tight. Of course, I wouldn't use the rifle barrel on a turkey except in an emergency. My brother, the best turkey hunter I know and former national champion caller, says anyone who'd shoot a turkey with a rifle would pull up baby corn ...

Yeah, you are correct. I admire you guys that hunt with the combo guns. To me they're more a curiosity. I did work up a dandy load for the Staggs 30-30 with 130 Barnes ttsx bullets that prints nicely. I have since gotten some 110 ttsx to try. Now the idea of improving the 30-30 had occurred to me, however, the Staggs is a pretty rare bird, I kinda hate to drill it. I have hunted blues with it.

Bray

I always found it interesting that the Gremans were still making fine drillings throughout the war, especially nearer the end.


I love the photo and Fireball's.

My first gun bought in 1963 was a M24 22 over 410....

That's a great photo. Beautiful.

It was a great first gun for young hunters. It made them realize the first shot counts, and it put a lot of food in the pot.

The first shot is the one that counts. All the others are just noise.

Shooting and hunting skills learned with those first guns stay with you a lifetime. You may never need them, but they are always there in case you do.

Yeah, you are correct. I admire you guys that hunt with the combo guns. To me they're more a curiosity. I did work up a dandy load for the Staggs 30-30 with 130 Barnes ttsx bullets that prints nicely. I have since gotten some 110 ttsx to try. Now the idea of improving the 30-30 had occurred to me, however, the Staggs is a pretty rare bird, I kinda hate to drill it. I have hunted blues with it.>>

Don't know that improving it would hurt the value any. The 30/30 AI is a fantastic caliber. One of my all time favorites.
I chambered a marlin 336 once that shot ackley's 110 grain load at 3200 fps and usually under an inch. I took that rifle to a prairie dog hunt in CO and the guys laughed at me.. for a short time . After the hunt, one of them kept bugging me and upping the price til I sold it. He later told me he'd won a few bets at his club with it.
I barreled a Ruger #1 with a tapered octagon in 30/30 AI that would shoot sub MOA all day.. Wish I had that one back .

The good thing about it is the breech pressure is lowered, even though chamber pressure is increased. P.O. always offered to shoot a win 94 chambered for it with the locking lugs removed. Never heard of anyone taking him up on it..

Bray, I am a newbie here and today is the first time that I became aware of your web site. I went there and looked at everything I could find and WOW!!! That is a fantastic place. The only problem I had with it was all the drool that was on my key board after seeing that.

I too once shot 2700 Bulls eye back when I could see the sights and hold a 10 ring wobble. I was pleased to see the High Standard pistols you listed. I learned to shoot hand guns with one, but used a Smith model 41 in 2700 shooting. One of my brothers still has that High Standard "Field King" pistol and it still shoots great. My nephew uses it now to hunt squirrels.

I sure wish I had known about you before now. You could have saved me some money and a lot of looking for the unique stuff you offer. It is the kind of stuff I have always liked and appreciated.

The saying goes "by the work, you will know the workman." You and I have not had the opportunity to meet, but after seeing your web site and the kinds of things you like, I KNOW YOU and you are my kind of man. All the best to you.