Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 420/430 Barrel Question

I'm finding researching the circa-late 30s to early 40s Savage 420/430 series of over/under shotguns to be a tough job, but one thing I think I've found to be true is that the receivers were all the same size regardless of the gauge. If this is the case, then could you fit a set of 20-gauge barrels to a 12-gauge frame to make a switch barrel scatter gun? Thanks much and I appreciate all input.

Numrich has 12, 16, and 20 gauge barrels for $66, in the white and unfitted. That's cheap enough to by a set and report back on your findings!

You could be the only guy on your block with a Savage 420 three gauge set.

I think I've asked this question before, wanted a switch barrel set for my 430 in 20 ga but never came to a conclusion.

Would be nice to know.

Thanks, I really like idea of being the first guy on the block! So is it safe to assume that the receivers are all the same size for all three gauges?

How do you like your 20-guage? It would be great hearing your opinion.

I love my 20 ga, great bird gun up here.

Do you have one in 12 ga? A few measurements of both our guns and we'll get alot closer to knowing the answer!

I don't have one, but a 20-gauge has been on my want list for some time now.

I liked my 420 20 gauge mainly because of its two triggers, something not found on many O/U's. I didn't like its balance and "clanky" feel when closing it. It was my Pop's, so I gave it to a nephew.

The Marlin 90 O/U also had the double triggers. Intriguing to me, but it also looks clunky.

So I decided to take Mr. gnoahhh up on his challenge. I found a decent 420 last weekend and put down four Franklins. That may have been a bit pricey but the metal is immaculate and I have been looking for one of these shotguns for a very long time. It’s a 420 in 16-guage, which makes me wish it was either a 20 or a 12. But you just don’t find these guns out here. The down side is that the previous owner did an okay job of checkering the fore stock and put on an aftermarket butt stock. The butt stock is a nicely shaped and fitted piece of figured walnut so it just might stay. The next thing I might be asking is how to metal prep and blue the barrels as Gun Parts sells them in the “white.”

PS - I’d try to put up some pictures but we have a 10-day waiting period out here.

Under the circumstances, I'd ask Numrich's your question about whether the barrels will fit your 16 frame. If they don't know, buy a set of 20s and a set of 12s and keep the receipts. I've always been able to send parts back to them OK as long as I did it by the book. That way you can see for yourself what fits and return what doesn't.

Somebody here may have actually fitted 420 barrels or have a method in mind. I don't know that action but if they are as easy as the hammerless single shots (220) you should have no problem.

Mike Armstrong aka Mesa

Mesa - many thanks again!

Well, after you get them fitted (and I applaud your efforts), to blue them you'll need to learn the arcane art of rust bluing. Easy as falling off a bar stool. I can walk you through the process when the time comes. (The bluing, not the falling!)

Thanks, I've been wanting to do a rust blue project for some time. The metal prep is something that will be a learning curve too. I'm assuming the barrels will need some amount of polishing and I consider buffing wheels to be the kiss of death. The barrels also look like they don't come with the front bead installed.

The polishing is the straightforward part, but labor intensive. You only need to take them down to 400-grit. Pretty easy to install a bead too.

I guess my questions would concern tools and technique. Are there any good sources for reading up on the subject you can recommend?

Tools: various grits sandpaper, 220, 320 and 400 should suffice. Hard but flexible backer for the paper, something that'll conform to the radius of the parts so as not to impart a wavy surface. (Take extra care around sharp edges so as not to soften them.) 0000 steel wool, oil-free. Not hardware store wool as it has oil in it to inhibit rust while setting on the shelf. (I use Liberon brand wool.) Nitrile examination gloves- use after achieving 400x surface every time you touch the barrels. Acetone- to wash the barrels (and the fresh gloves every time you put them on)- I can't stress enough the need to totally de-grease everything once the polishing is done, and keep it oil-free from there on out.

Bluing solution: close your eyes and pick one of the couple that Brownell's sells. There's enough in one of those bottles to do a few guns, but that's the way it is. Follow directions on the bottle. Use the 0000 steel wool to card the rust between cycles.

A "sweat box" is handy to promote even rusting. You can build one in ten minutes out of scrap plywood. PM me for details.

A means of inducing boiling water or a hellacious amount of steam to the rusted parts. For barreled actions, and a couple sets of SxS shotgun barrels I did, a piece of PVC pipe big enough to hold them is all you need- put the barrels in there and fill up with boiling water and let sit for 10 minutes. Remove from tube, card the velvety black rust off with the wool. Repeat the rusting/boiling/carding cycle as often as needed until nice uniform blue-black finish is achieved- anywhere from four to six times is typical. Don't worry about the bores- the boiling hot steel will evaporate the water out of them right quickly. Push a dry patch through them if you feel it necessary.

After the last carding, hit it thoroughly with WD-40 (the only legitimate use for the stuff IMO) to drive any moisture out of hidden crevices. Wipe down and slather on gun oil of your choice. (Preferably all this is done while the steel is still hot/warm.) Do the WD-40 outside as you do not want stray molecules of the stuff contaminating your work area.) let sit overnight, wipe off, put the barrels on the gun and go out and shoot stuff with it.

That's it in a nut shell. Feel free to PM with questions/clarifications.

gnoahhh - thank you very much. It is very generous of you taking the time to impart your knowledge. Back when I had the time (in my 20s) I sanded down one car (MGB) and one motorcycle (Triumph Trophy 500) and became aware of essential backers for sand paper with the hard rubber block (found at most every hardware and car parts store) being the most often used. Could you use one of these if cut down into smaller blocks? My father got into woodworking after he retired and made a number of useful sanding tools by cutting such blocks down to smaller sizes. Many thanks again for your help.

Sure, I do that all the time.

gnoahh, I have never heard anything bad about WD-40. I don't use it on my guns, but use it on my tools. Is this bad?

Mike