Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors More on the 4-barrel Take down Savage in a case

This 1951 Savage has a Boss code of C.
The widow told me the whole story upon return a 2nd time to Spokane to continue to sort out Norm's stuff. (Norm was a family friend and Godfather to me) He was a real pack rat so we cleaned up the garage and did some yard work for her.

The widow told me they spotted it 3 years ago in a gun show in Idaho, just across the border from Spokane. Mrs M really wanted it but Norm talked her out of it saying the seller was asking too much.
That was Saturday. On Sunday, Mrs M made Norm drive back to the gunshow and buy it, she really thought it was unique and not often seen. I think she made a wise investment choice!

She still has the reciept in the gun case, $2995.00.
I'm on the "first to buy" list if she ever decides to sell it, which I don't think she will but ya never know.

You guys ever seen this set up before? That Savage logo on the case is made out of metal presumably brass or painted tin. The lettering above and below the logo is missing.

It has 4 barrels. 22HP, .250, 300 and 410 gauge. The 22HP looked as though someone had fiberglassed over the rear dovetail. Weird!

Beautiful rifle. The serial # puts it at about 1920-21ish. Nicely refinished receiver and but-stock. The grain in that wood is awesome !

Lee

The C on the boss, doesn't that put it in 1951?

Nice, Might be a Dumb Question, but has anyone mounted the barrels to see if they index right to the reciver? I bought a 3 barrel set, not near this nice , but a good shooter type and 22HP barrel was off, the 303 was right and the 410 barrel was right!

Actually I did not. I did clean all the barrels and everything was shiny, gave it a good wipe down and put her back to bed in the safe.

Do you think she paid too much? ($2995)

The LBC is an oval with 1 or 2 numbers and a letter inside of it. Prior to 1949 just a number or a letter with no circle. I assume it was just an inspection stamp.
LBC started with serial #s in the 500,000s

Lee

Not 1951. It's a G as stated, per the serial number. The letter on the lever boss would be an inspector's mark, no more no less. Besides, there were no takedowns made in 1951- that stopped long before then.

Very nice custom job, with the exception of the lever being blued instead of re-color case hardened. The stock is definitely aftermarket- look how the cheek is rounded and not pointed. But a right handsome piece of walnut nonetheless. The case is craftsman built/adapted. Factory cases of the period have much better fitment/layout of their dividers than this one has. Judging from the philip's head screws (not in use in 1920), the plastic carrying handle, and general feel I get, I would guess 40's to early 60's. The uneven finish on the barrels is another giveaway that they didn't leave the factory as a set, not to mention the clumsy filling of the sight slots. The leather tooling on the outside of the case is not professional quality- better to have screwed on the brass logo and left it at that.

Paid too much? Perhaps, depending on when purchased. To start out today to build that set: figure $800 for the spare .22, .250, and .410 barrels (given they're pristine inside), $600 for a solid but grey rat .300 99G, $1000 minimum for the lumber and someone to fit/finish it= $2400 give or take, and the receiver and barrels hasn't been rust blued yet. Then to find a nice leather case on ebay and adapt it to hold the stuff, another few Benjamins. So I would say that right now it could be worth $3K to the right guy. Add to that the time it would take to get three foreign barrels to index/headspace on the donor action and you have another few Benjamins into the pocket of a pro. All that is to say it wouldn't have cost that much to assemble the set 10 or 20 years ago when they bought it, so yeah, they paid too much.

How about the rotor, cut off, and cartridge guide? Which one does it have in it? Depending on that, it may probably only hold one or two down + one up the spout for two of the three calibers (which is certainly ok for a hunting rifle IMO).

You guys are BRILLIANT! Thank you for the information!

Great summary Gary. Sent this info to the widow.

Serial too early for a G. Try 2nd version 250-3000, if the lever is original to the receiver. Barrels look from about the same time period so all work with the same forearm.

The Indian logo on the case if from a 1975 Savage plague.

Doesn't the .22HP barrel look to be interrupted threads?

Right you are.

Somebody put a lot of effort into building a set for themselves. Very cool. Value, as with many custom items, is up to the buyer. It would cost a chunk of change to get a stock made with that quality of walnut.

Here is what the Indian head came off of.

A long and honored tinkerbell tradition is starting to unveil itself here! Nice set, I'd be happy to get that for the price stated, As Gary clarified, you'd be hard pressed to recreate it for that money.

I think I'd be more concerned with 22HP and 300 Sav both actually cycling through the same rotor.

Jeff, I think I got 3 22HP into my 300 mag and it started to get tight. But, they did cycle fine. At least it picked them up and spit them out, and I didn't blow a hole in the wall, Joe.

Thanks Calhoun! Nice display, yours I assume?

My pic, but not my display. From one of the Savage Fests. This one is mine.

Nice!