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.

Your correct about the 24s without the side ribs being not as accurate. I have a 24 series P .22 LR over a 3"20 ga. It only has the barrel band on the end of the barrels and the bottom barrel shoots low and the top barrel shoots high. I put a maple shim between the barrels and it's almost perfect now. But it annoys me a bit.

Interesting post.

I have had a long relationship with the Savage 24, as there was a 24DL in 22 Mag over 20 Gauge hanging on a peg by the back door of the house I grew up in. It hard to believe that 20 years ago there was little interest in them, except for the low volume 24Vs in 22 Hornet, 357 Mag, and 357 Max. In the center-fire 24s, I think that the brushed nickel 24VS is the least common configuration.

Where I live, kids don't hunt or fish very much, they play video games. Even 40 to 50 years ago, when I was a kid, there were only two kids in my grade school who were growing up in "gunny" homes; Doug, who is now a County Sheriff, and me.

I have 3 Savage 24s that I shoot a little; 24Fs in 22H/20 and 223/20 and a Westpoint 242 in 22Mag/410. I have some others that I should probably sell, 'cause I'm unlikely to use them. The only other one that I might keep is a 24V in 223/20 that has an RD pre-fix SN.

That is the big difference between rural and urban people. When I was growing up, I didn't know ANYONE who didn't have a gun or guns. I didn't know any male who didn't also hunt and fish and play base ball, basket ball and fight and work like hell building fences, cattle gaps, moving cattle and horses, bailing hay, building barns and other out buildings or fixing the tractor, changing flat tires on trailers and the hundreds of other things that always needed attention and we were expected to attend to them and by god, we did.

But in those days, there were NO soccer fields. Heck, no one even knew what that was. The only place there was a baseball field was at the local high school or where we played in the cow pasture across the road from my house. We did have one basketball goal in the back yard as most kids had. There were no such things as video games. Heck, TV had just got started.

I will NEVER FORGET when I was a senior in high school, my first class was Biology lab. The teacher was Doctor Rainwater and he was an old southerner like me. My next door neighbor and I would get up and go squirrel hunting before school and we would hunt through the woods and cross the creek and come out behind the school in the mornings. We went to biology lab and stood our guns in the back of the lab against the wall with our game bags. Can you imagine what would happen if that were to happen today? Dr. Rainwater would come by our lab table and ask what we got hunting that morning and if we wanted to skin and clean it after class we could do that and put it in the biology lab refrigerator until we left school.

NOBODY in the class even so much as blinked or went near our rifles because EVERYONE, even the girls in those days were familiar with guns and they knew better than to mess with them. Well that, and kids had manners in those days and they didn't touch things that were not theirs. Well that, and if they did, they got a bloody nose for doing it and nobody got thrown out of school or arrested when that happened.

Heck, many times, we didn't even get a licking for fighting. The teacher would stop the bleeding and we went on with whatever we were doing before the dust up. And if it didn't end there, coach, a WII Marine and tuff as nails, would take the boys down to the gym, put boxing gloves on them and put them in the center ring and tell them to get things sorted out between themselves because if he saw any more of it, he was gonna beat their asses and he dang sure would. Just ask me how I know. I didn't want any more of that let me tell you because he would hurt you. It was just all part of growing up and it was expected. Hell, back then most people had common sense.

Back then, people didn't have money to go on vacation. At least we didn't down south. So we loaded up and went to the swamp and camped out and put out trout lines and jug fished while we squirrel and rabbit hunted because there were no deer and turkey like there is now. That was our vacation which was only the weekends because no one could afford to miss any work.

But something very bad happened to the kids who were raised in urban areas. The males didn't join the military and learn to be men and the government stopped the draft so they didn't have to learn. They didn't learn how to take the lawn mower engine apart and put it back together because they didn't have grass to cut or someone cut it for them. They didn't have an old tractor to work on, or their dad's pick up truck to learn about fuel, fire and air to make it run. They didn't learn about transmission gear boxes, clutches and ring and pinion gears. They don't know to loosen the distributor and turn it either advance or retard to time it if they didn't have a timing light. Hell, they don't know what a timing light is.

They never learned how to build anything. They don't know about wood grain or skill saws, or hammers and nails. They never had to help put on roofs or fix plumbing or electrical issues. They never had to rebuild the pump that supplied the water for each family back then. Like I said, they never learned to be men. They were and are a bunch of whimps and they have raised successive generations of WHIMPS.

And this nation is now paying the price for that. Heck, you talk to most urban raised men now and the only thing that makes them men is that biologically they do not classify as women and Bruce Jenner may have changed even that.

And it'sa dam shame.

Yes, I agree that there is a big difference between rural and urban people, but with more access to technology and drugs, particularly meth, some of the more negative aspects of the gap are closing rapidly.

I was raised in a small town of about 50 sq miles that had 2 gas stations, a convenience store and a general store, but didn't have any stop lights. About one-half of the population of 2,000 lived in the 2 small villages, with the other half scattered in small farms and homes built on small lots in the country. My boyhood home was a small farm that consisted of a 40 acre heritage apple orchard, my Mother's hobby, about 100 acres of hay pasture, and another 180 acres of wood lot; mostly ash, beech, maple, with a scattering of butternut, cherry, and white pine.

A few of the boys who I went to school with hunted and/or fished, but few were passionate about either. Still, probably 20% of the boys in each class took the opening day of deer season off to hunt with their families and many of them received rifles as birthday and Christmas gifts. I received a Nylon 66 one Christmas and a couple of years later received my initial issue of deer hunting rifles, a Remington 660 in 6mm and a Ruger 44 International.

When I was a boy, we spent a fair amount of our free time fishing and hunting and there were always kids fishing for trout in the nearby brook. In contrast, when I was settling my Mother's estate in 2004, I only ran into 2 boy along that little trout brook, but they were smoking pot, not fishing.

Regarding Bruce Jenner, it wouldn't surprise me if his entire gender switch turns out to be a scheme to keep cash flowing into the Jenner/Kardashian clan's bank accounts.

Brother, you got that right. Up here in these mountains, meth is everywhere and you can spot the meth heads a hundred yards away. It has completely ruined many of these mountain people and made them poor, dumb knuckle heads where hard working, multi talented, independent people once lived.

And it'sa dam shame.

Despite our geographic differences, I think that we would get along fine.

260remguy

After living almost 74 years and having been around the world with good ole Uncle Sugar working and serving with various foreign nationals, and working with all kinds of people in the medical field as a civilian, I learned that people who are or have been close to the earth are easy to get along with because they have common sense. You have to have it when you live and work close to the land or you don't last very long. Mother nature and the real world have no patience with fools and they will kill you quick if you screw up.

Many hunters have an affinity for the land and a healthy respect for mother nature. In my dealings with hunters over the years, there have been very few that I couldn't get along with easily and the ones that were problems, were fine as long as they were sober. They only turned into knuckle heads after having too many and then got stupid.

Those of us who hunt have shared common experiences so we have a common frame of reference to talk about and to relate to. That makes it a lot easier for us to get past all the BS and get right to what is important. That also helps to, as my grand mother used to say about manners, "they are the grease that helps civilized folks get along together."

I agree, like Sheriff Ed Tom Bell said in "No Country For Old Men";

“It starts when you begin to overlook good manners. Any time you quit hearing Sir and Mam the end is pretty much in sight...” .

Reading this thread, takes me back to my youth, where the absence rate was high on opening week of dove season. We had to leave the guns in the parking lot though.

Also agree on the state of many people today. That said, as a 4H leader and shooting instructor, I have hope. I see those rural kids with values based on work, responsibility and family as being the future leaders of the country.

I have a Savage 24 in .22LR/20 gauge. My dad built a deck for our pastor when I was a kid in exchange for the gun. He wanted it because his FIL had a Model 24 in the same caliber/gauge and he loved it. Only difference is mine has the release on the tang and my grandfathers has it on the side.

Seems nearly impossible to find another one with a release on the side of the action in a .22LR/20 gauge around here. The phrase "scarce as hen's teeth" has been used a few times. Most guys I talk to don't even know that they were made with a release on the side instead of tang.

SS

Any ideas on this one? Called a "Lux" 410 over 22 mag. German proofs.


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My father and I carried a 24 in 22LR/20 as our trapline gun for years back in the '60s. I gave one in 22/410 to a family with several young boys that live out in the bush in western AK a few years ago.. they are working hard at wearing it out!

I have a project Hornet/20 that I need to restock... any idea how uncommon the Hornet was? Separated barrels.

I've had a couple in my pursuit of looniness!

Don't quite know why I have been attracted to them as they are a little crude compared to other things I like. It probably goes back to the old saying "Less is more!" which seems to have more meaning as I get a few more gray hairs (and hopefully wisdom too)!!! IMHO, 24's "reek" of simplicity and functionality, the "fun factor" that, for example, endeared me so much to my Benjamin pump pellet gun and made it such an efficient, lethal weapon in the hands of a 1960's wanna be boy hunter!

I first had a blued 24 DL 22mag/20ga with the attached barrels. I enjoyed it but later sold it to a buddy when I had the chance to buy an early version of the 24C "Camper" in 22LR/20ga. I have to admit, the takedown Camper model is my favorite thus far! It's pretty darn accurate too!

Interestingly enough, I bought both at our local Cabelas for what I thought were pretty good prices. The 24DL was advertised as having a bad firing pin (the firing pin screw had just backed out too far!) so I got that one for $125 IIRC. I later bought the Camper for $175 (I don't think the knew what they had)... go figure! I keep watching for a nice 222R or 22H/20ga 24V to show up for around $200 but it hasn't happened yet!!!

Never give up hope... fun stuff!!!

Just from my observations, I would rank the 24Vs this way in terms of "Common":

222, 30-30, 223, 22H, 357 Mag, and 357 Max.

Again, just from my observations, I would rank the 24/24Fs, the synthetic stocked style that replaced the 24V in 1984/85, this way in terms of "Common":

223, 22H, and 30-30

Out of these nine different configurations with 20 gauge lower barrels, I have owned at least one of each except the 357 Max in the 24V and the 30-30 in the 24/24F. I have only owned two 24/24Fs with 12 gauge lower barrels, in 22H and 223, but they were significantly heavier than the 20 gauge units and that factor made them less user friendly for me.

I have long thought that a 24/24F in 223 over 12 gauge would make a useful survival tool for the U.S. military, but I guess that nobody in the U.S. military forages for food any longer. The only place that I've seen foraging depicted by the U.S. military was in the movie "Blackhawk Down" and I assume that was done for stage effect, rather than as a reflection of reality.

The side-release 24s were a less expensive style than the top release and since they were all pretty inexpensive, more people opted to pay a little more for the top-release styles that often had pressed checkering too. Late in the production run that was also a 24 with a barrel latch release in the front of the trigger guard.

Good info 260Remguy. Thanks. I suppose I would just like to find one for nostalgia. I have seen ones with the release in front of the trigger guard at a couple shows.

SS

Not surprised no one recognised this little combo gun. I'd never seen one either. But it looked like fun to put behind the seat while driving around my hunt lease. So I bought it. They must not have made many. This one is ser# 88.

First time I ever fired a shotgun, also the first time I killed anything with a shotgun, was when I was 11 years old. I used to love to go visit this buddy of mine who lived on a farm with his grandparents. They'd let 11 year olds drive around unsupervised in an old '47 Willy's Overland and carry an old 24 .410/.22 over under. I shot a sparrow with the .410 barrel. Today those folks would probably be thrown in jail.

Damned collectors, anyway!

Wal 24, THAT is a dam nice collection and I am jealous as hell.

Thank you, Sir. My cousin had a .22/20ga when I was a kid in the 70's that I got to shoot some and I thought it was the coolest long gun I'd ever seen. I purchased my first 24 in .22/410 in the mid 90's and fell in love with them all over again. (It is the one on the far left in the photo above - still one of my favorites to take squirrel hunting.) The first time I handled a 24F I thought it was ugly, heavy, and expensive. I was buying nice, older rimfire model 24's at auction for $300-350 when the new 24F was $525 at Wal-mart. I saw the writing on the wall and was chasing after the older ones before Savage discontinued the the 24F in 2007. They are a fun gun to collect because of all the different calibers and configurations. For example - the one on the far right in the photo is a 24S-A made in 1965 (same as me!). It has a side lever release, a hammer mounted barrel selector, and a case colored receiver that looks very much like a New England Firearms or Harrington and Richardson single shot rifle receiver. This receiver variation was only shown in the 65, 66, & 67 catalogs. Unfortunately my example has had the butt stock cut down for a kid (they did a very nice job), so I'm still looking for an original length butt stock.

Holy cow!!! You were made in 1965 and in 1965 I was in the navy at Little Creek, Virginia at Assault Boat Coxswain's school getting ready for an assignment in the beautiful exotic land of the People's Republic of South Viet Nam.

I have a Savage 24 model 24E-DL made in 1965 with .22 WMR on top and 3 inch 20 gauge on bottom. It has a long story to it.

I was 14 years old in 1956 and lived on a dead end gravel road that ran parallel to Bayou Bernard in south Mississippi. The bayou was across our 40 acre cow pasture and my brothers and our friend who lived at the very end of the road hunted up and down the bayou all the time for squirrels, rabbits, and other small game like quail, doves, and other targets of opportunity. I had and still have a single barrel model 37 Winchester .410. There were a lot of fox squirrels in the pine timber once you got out of the hardwoods along the bayou and the little .410 would not always shoot far enough to knock a squirrel out of the top of one of those tall pines, so I needed to take along a 22 rifle to get them in the pine tops. Carrying two guns was a PAIN.

One day I was down at the end of the road with my brother at our friends house and we were getting ready to go hunting and we were discussing who was going to take what so that we would have a gun for whatever we saw and his mother over heard the conversation and told me to take her gun which was an old model Stevens 22/.410 with the tennite stock. I had never seen one before, but I gladly took it because even to a dumb kid, it's advantages to a hunter were obvious.

Then life happened and three years ago I got a phone call out of the blue from my old friend who happened to be living only about 30 miles from me and both of us are now living in another state. I had not heard from him in over 50 years. He came up for a visit with his wife and we had a good time talking about "old times." He no longer hunts and has not for a long time. During our talking, he asked me if I wanted what he called "an old gun that you used to use" that he found in his mothers closet after she died. He said it is that "funny one with the rifle barrel on the shotgun barrel." I of course said, well hell yeah I would love to have it.

A week later he came up again and brought it to me, but it was not the old Stevens 22/410. It was a Savage 24E-DL made in 1965 which was long after we once roamed the banks of Bayou Bernard in search of lions and tigers and possums. It was in sad shape. The trigger guard was missing and it was covered in thick rust. I mean, it was completely covered in rust. The stock was cracked and scraped. He said the gun had been used by all of her grand children, including his two boys, and they had "sorta beat it up."

When I cleaned the barrels, they were not as bad inside as I thought they would be and the rifle actually shot a nickel sized group at 50 yards from a sand bag rest. I took it to a gunsmith who said trying to polish out the deep pits would ruin the lines and it would "look funny" once it was blued. So I had him clean it up as best he could and Cerakote it in a camouflage pattern because I am going to hunt with it and because that hides about as much of the pits as can be hid. I left the chromed receiver just as it was however because although beat up, it was not rusty.

Even though it is not the same gun that I once hunted with, it is close and comes from the same source and I am tickled to death to have it. I used it on a squirrel hunt last fall and killed 21 squirrels with it over a two day hunt in North Mississippi. I am going to use it this spring to turkey hunt.

It's strange how some things work out in life, but I have lived long enough and seen enough to not question fate. Some things are just meant to be and others are not. If you are going to be happy, you learn to accept that. I was meant to have this Savage 24 and I am going to use it to kill a gobbler in about another week or so even if it isn't as nice as any of those you have. I am going to enjoy using it more than you can ever imagine because I should actually be dead now and this old gun should have never found its way to me.

My grandma used to say: "If you can't have what you want, you'd best learn to want what you have."

Indeed, it is funny how life works out sometimes. I went to a wedding yesterday in a historic, touristy little town. There has been a professional theatre there in the summers for over 50 years. I took a girl there to see a few plays back in high school. I was crazy about that girl...but it was not meant to be. We lost track of each other after high school - she attended junior college in another town where she met her future husband and I moved out of state for a few years. I never married. I thought of her often, but I knew she was married and that was that. About fifteen years ago I was in my hometown and ran into her folks at a restaurant and we had a nice visit. A few weeks later I opened my mail box and found a letter - let me just say that when I looked at the name in the return address on that envelope - well, I know what being a lottery winner feels like! She wrote that her mother had mentioned seeing me and told her I was living in KC..., Now, don't get the wrong idea here; she is still married to that same great guy and they had five children together.

Oh, that wedding I went to yesterday? The groom is one of those five kids. I've known him since he was five years old and my lady and I were invited to sit at the family table. Funny how things work out sometimes.

Back to the Savage 24's
I've got a 24B-DL .22LR/20ga that was made in 1962. It has the large button type barrel selector on the left side of the receiver, which is a bit unusual as most of the button type selectors were on the right side of the receiver. Mine has a little wear and tear, but it's still pretty nice. I bid on one at an estate auction back in October that was absolutely pristine. I got a little carried away and bid more than I should have...and it sold for $575....to someone else!

I've also got a 24H-DL .22mag/20ga made in 1964 with hammer mounted barrel selector that is darn near perfect

Thank you!

How do you stand hunting in such a ugly place?

You mean with such an ugly dog? That stupid dog has never been any use getting me on grouse. She flushes them 100 yards out. I'd have to birdhunt with a 243 to have any chance of scoring with that dog along. All she does is chase squirrels and eat cookies. The one squirrel she caught chewed her up good too.

She's not good for nothin.

I was just joking about the place, that place is beautiful. If I lived close to that I'd lose my job cause I would lay out all the time. It's as pretty a east Tennessee but without the trailer parks. Laff'n

I'm down to three, an original Tenite Stevens, a solid barrel 24DL 22-20, and a 24V 222-20. Three on the wish list, a 24DL in 22WMR-20, a V 357-20 and a V 30-30/20. At 71+ I might not be around long enough to find them as scarce as they're getting.

I like it! Now why can't we have something like this on the market? Between castings, forgings and CNC, I'm sure a good quality product could be made to sell for what the M6 is bringing. Might have to hang some picitanny rails and lasers on it to get the attention of the masses but I'd settle for a plain jane entry level one with rust blue and walnut.

Papa, Re: the 22/20, seems I've heard the satin-chrome DL "grail" is the 22Mag/410. That should be on your bucket list too. Here's a 222/20mag and 30-30/20mag I have that may be of interest.

Are you saying that the .22WRM/.410 combo is hard to come by? Real question.



Bought this 24DL recently to keep behind the kitchen door so that I would have something to shoot the fox that the neighbors say is stalking my hens.

That is probably my favorite "woods loafing" firearm! Mine has a Bushnell Banner 4x20 mounted via modified B-Square Weaver adapters and SUV rings.

Several years ago, I bought a Westpoint 242 in 22LR/410 and reamed the 22LR to 22Mag. It has proven to be a good shooter and my friend, Andy, has used it to eliminate coons and foxes that were stalking his hen house.

This 24DL combo has impressed me. Action snaps open and close as crisply and solidly as some bespoke British doubles I've messed with at the local Cabela's Gun Library. Eyes are not good enough to shoot with the receiver sights but with the inexpensive Bushnell Sportview, the .22WRM barrel has made some 50 yd groups that equal those made with a CZ 452 and high mag/dollar scope.

I Sure Wish I'd bought one of those .357 Max/20 ga. Camper Specials back in the day...

I don't know that I've ever seen a 24VS in the flesh or even an original 24V in 357 Max.

I would happily settle for a .357 Mag over 20 gauge.

I re-chambered a 357 mag one to 357 max some years back. The guy used 180 gr 35 remington bullets in it and shot deer & hogs very effectively with it. Great FL swamp gun.

Carried a 24V in 357 mag/20 gauge in Alaska. Great gun for snowshoes and ptarmigan but I felt undergunned when walking grizzly trails!

I wouldn't walk a grizzly trail unless I was toting an RPG!!!!

You fellas who live out west will get a laugh out of this, but I'm going to tell it anyway. I was so poor that I only had one one rifle and it was a model 70 Winchester chambered for the .243 Winchester cartridge. I had killed a truck load of white tail deer with it and a bunch of hogs hunting down south where I live.

My first chance to hunt out west came when a friend who was stationed out there in the military called me and said, meet me in Grand Junction, Colorado and we'll hunt mule deer on the Uncompadre Plateau. So I loaded up my truck and met him in Grand Junction and we went up on the plateau and pitched our tent and went hunting.

One day I was easing along through those trails in the junipher when I came to a little creek and there was a still steaming pile of bear poop. There was a BIG bear track in the creek mud and there I stood with my trusty .243. It had never occurred to me that there would be bears in the deer woods because we didn't have any bears in the woods where I had been hunting way down south.

The next year I went back out there hunting and took along a .375 H&H Magnum and everybody laughed and asked me why I had such a big rifle to kill mule deer. I told them I didn't have it to kill mule deer. I had it to kill ole GIRZZ if he came at me thinking I was gonna be his lunch. The moral of this story is to follow Ruark's advice and USE ENOUGH GUN!!

And you need to use enough gun not only to kill what you are hunting, but also to kill what may be hunting you.

Yeah, I know. Some of us are slow learners. But I dam sure got the message when I saw that pile of steaming bear poop.

I know that 243 big fresh bear track feeling.
30 some years ago hunting back country of Idaho with a 243, I came on a very fresh bear track about the size of a paper plate that had these huge claws.
I was the only human that I knew of for about mile, and that 243 sure felt smaller all of a sudden.

This is an original 24V in .357 MAX over 20. I also have a .357 MAG over 20. I have never seen a 24VS in .357 MAX in the flesh either.

Yup, another damn collector, own a few 24's myself.

So that's where they all are!!! WOW! That is some collection.

To revive an old thread, I may be about to take the plunge on a 24V.

Saw an ad in the little paper that comes out Thursday and called today to see if was still available. Gentleman says yes, a few callers but nobody really seemed terribly interested. A few didn't even really know what he was selling.

His is in 222/20. I wish I has such a critter a few months back while rabbit hunting as I took a break to sit on a stump and Mr Wiley showed up. Just traipsing down a slight rise straight toward me. All I had was my 870 express in 20g with #6 small game loads. I made the mistake of trying to quietly get my phone out to take a pic if he happened to come close enough for one of those without getting in range of the #6's. He heard me at what I later paced off to 69 paces, stopped and looked at me for a bit, didn't like what he saw and took off at a lope. Worse part might have been that he was in prime winter coat and was a big dog too. I have a feeling the .222 would have dropped him at 69 yards.

So folks, is $475 a decent price for a 24V with a 4xLeupold on it? He says it's in good shape, not excellent, just "good". First I'm available to go look at it is on Tues. DO I call him back with a firm yes? He's even willing to drive an hour or so to split the distance.

Thanks for all the great info on this thread too.

Geno

Sounds like a OK deal to me unless the gun is trashed.

tt

Bob,

I took leave of the "Campfire" a couple of years ago. Only reason I came back was because I heard about the passing of a friend of mine. But after reading this entire thread, I may have to come back more often.

I quite agree with your sentiment on the ways of the present that we now live in. I grew up on a farm and then moved to Tn when I was a teenager for a few years.

It would be too long a story to put into words why I didn't start hunting 'til the age of 17. And the 1st 2 or 3 years I depended on borrowed guns. But eventually I managed to amass a goodly collection of guns... Including I think 5 Savage M-24s. I originally had 3 24-V's in .30-30/20 ga. I sold one and then gave another away. Still have the one that was D&T'd and has a peep sight. Traded the .223/20 to the guy I sold the 1st .30-30. Now I only have the one .30-30/20 and a .222/20. If I could use a rifle to hunt Turkeys, I'd take that sport up. But here in MI, we can only use shotguns.

Now that I'm retired, I'm thinking of moving back to Tennessee. So, my hunting may change.

All in all, I must say that I truly enjoyed this thread... GH

A few years back I ran into a few Savage 222/20 that had been rechambered to 223. Probably saw 4 or 5 of them over a 4 month period.

My grandfather had a Savage 24 that a widow had given him to pay him for some work he did for her (only plumber in a small town, and this wasn't unusual). Anyway, it was a .22lr/20ga with the top lever, connected barrels, no checkering or monte carlo stock. Any idea what exact model that was?

When my grandfather passed, my grandmother gave it to a sleaze bag uncle (married into the family). I have no doubt he sold it for beer or pot.

I'd love to find one exactly like it. I'll never have his, but at least having one like would be cool.

Saw one today that was 410 over 410. Never knew they made that one.

Thanks 700,

I've been "indisposed" due to a medical thing. He still had it as of yesterday and I think I can arrange a meet this week. He claims it's in "good" shape so I have my hopes up.

Geno

Scope should be worth at least a hundred bucks.

there is good reason for the scarcity. The side release levers kept breaking off, so it was redesigned. (My father has the side release .22lr/,420 savage.it is the gun all of us kids were trained to hunt with.)
It was discontinued, but has been reintroduced as the model 42 with synthetic stocks. Remington also makes one, but thier rifle barrel is below the shotgun barrel, and just looks wrong. (Lol)
I intend to pick up a model 42, sooner or later as a "trunk gun".

Savage 242.

Well, there is that part of the equation.

Thanks,

Geno

PS, just got off phone, we both have to go to town tomorrow so I'll get a chance to see it then.

Mine; .22 mag and 20 gauge:

Sakoluvr,

I like the shellholder. Did you make it? Looks mighty handy and I'll be in the market for one if my deal goes through.

Geno

There was (is?) a guy on the Savage 24 forum that makes them. It has held up great and would buy another. My 24 is a designated 4wheeler gun and that shell holder is worth every penny even though I don't remember how much I paid for it.

Thanks, I'll look for that forum and guy.

Geno

Thank you sir,

I found it and will be looking at it further,

just what I need, another forum to spend time on!

Yikes,

Geno

If you find him let me know, I Want one like that for 30-30/20 left handed.

I have bought from this guy a couple of times with great products received.
http://www.levergunleather.com/

Unfortunately the guy on 24 web site is no longer making them.However I have a guy (he lives in Arcadia FL)who will make one and boy can he make them.He made a butt stock carrier for my H&K 300 which holds 2 15 round mags--it acts like a cheek rest.He has several different colors of leather--I got a shoulder rig for my Dan Wesson super mag in "peanut brittle"
His name is Daniel Feijoo 863-443-3385
TownnCountryFLgmail,com
I've never been able to post pics to this site but my 24 collection has 24 F's in 17 remington,223,22H and 30-30.
My V series are 22-250,357max and 222
But the 2400 is my favorite --in 222,308 and 22 savage high power-- because I can use my 12/12 and 20/20 O/U barrels as well

You have a 24F in 17 Rem and a 24V in 22-250?

The 22-250 sound like potentially dangerous rechamber job in a Savage 24.

correct on both

That sounds like a very good deal to me. I paid more than that for mine and it has no scope.

OK all you expert Savage combo guys, did I do alright or did I get reamed?

Rifle 24V A(?), .222/20g, sling, scope, 1 box factory .222, 2 boxes of reloads (I'll pull the bullets and fill them again myself), appears to me to lock up nice and tight, $475 cash.

Scope says Leupold M8 4X.

[img:center][/img]

Showing general condition, I didn't see any rust, just a few tiny "dings".

[img:center][/img]

Small chip on forearm, and I'm guessing the Serial# is 21xxx
blueing appears somewhat worn where a person would carry this one.

[img:center][/img]


Sorry about the cell phone pics but I don't have a photo studio available.


I could probably find it with a search, but off the top of heads, anyone know the twist rate on this .222 bbl?

Thanks for all the help guys, now to decide if I REALLY NEED another pistol.

Geno

Nope a 24V-A with ammo and a scope very decent buy at $475-if its an actual Leopold then excellent good buy IMO
only bad thing about 24V-A series is only that barrel set fits that receiver--it won't accept any of the other 24V (B,C,D) series barrels in 22H,223 357 or 30-30

2400,

Appears to be a genuine Leupold.
Gold ring
M8-4X on objective ring
Patent # and Made in USA on ocular ring
Leupold on left side of scope

I kinda wondered about the bbl switching capability but didn't know what model it was until I purchased it. Won't be a big problem. Was thinking .223 would be nice as I have ammo etc for an AR, but such are the breaks.

Thanks for your input

Geno

If you want a 24v in 223/20, it wouldn't be too tough for a competent 'smith to cut a new chamber for you. It would still have a slow ROT, I think that they are cut 1-14", but should work fine with common 55 grain bullets.

I want to hear more about your 24V in 22-250.