Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Model 1920 Questions

My primary interest is Model 99s, and what I know about Model 1920s and 20/26s is what I have learned on this forum.

I was looking at a 20/26 in .250-3000 the other day that is in about 98% condition. Serial No. is 8xxx. The barrel is exactly like a Model 99 barrel with the raised ramp front sight except that it has no rear sight dovetail. (I forgot to take a good look at the barrel address style.) The rifle has the Lyman 54 bolt peep. My first question is, is this barrel correct for this vintage rifle? I know the earlier 1920s had smaller front sights similar to 99s of that era.

My second question is, what would be a fair price for the rifle described?

Thanks.

I could be wrong, but I think the entire run had the split post front sight. 99 barrels will work with fitting and I suspect that goes for Super Sporter barrels too.

An 8000 serial rifle should still be in the first style of 1920's. Around a 1924 production unless not assembled till late, which I have not seen. You need to check all the features. The later version started around 10500.

The 20-26 didn't have a rear sight,only the lyman 54 on the bolt,i imagine that rifle is correct. one of my late 20-26's has a barrel like that. Don

In 98% condition, and if the barrel is correct/original, out here that rifle would be dragged around to many gun shows with an asking price of 1K, give or take. I wouldn't pay that much but sellers seem to think I should. They are nice rifles and I certainly do like my 20/26, but they don't have a huge following in comparison to other makes and models. In a sense the 1920, 20/26 is kind of the rifleman's rifle for the Savage brand and I'd wager its biggest following is found right here on this forum, which makes this an excellent place to ask questions. Some pictures might help stimulate more response.

Thanks for the replies. Very helpful info.

There are a few 99's with barrel addresses that have the 1920 patent dates. We think that they were leftover barrels when the switch was made to the medium weight barrels. It would seem that putting the 1920 barrels on the 99 wouldn't have been too tough or the factory wouldn't have done it. It had to be cost effective. I know next to nothing about the bolt guns so it could have been something like using up leftover barrels when a model was discontinued. David

Yours is the early 1920 action with a last run brl with raised ramp front sight?

Not my rifle, just one I was looking at. Probably should have looked closer and written some things down. But definitely 8xxx sn, Lyman 54 sight, no rear sight dovetail, and raised ramp front sight like the post-1928 Model 99s with the same style white metal bead front sight.

So, Rick, I think the answer to your question is,”yes”.

Rick, The rifle with the raised ramp is s/n 12,868 one of the late ones,s/n 11,204 has the old style long sight blade.

The late barrel could be a replacement brl as in changing calibers or an early receiver that didn't get used till cleanup time. I wouldn't want to pay top price till I had a good feeling as to why it is as it is.

Your two explanations are the same ones I came up with. Thanks.

I have an extra 1920 or 20/26 barrel that with the exception of milling for the bolt is indistinguishable from a 99 barrel. They both have the same split post front sight. My hunch is that Savage used the same basic barrel for the 1920/20/26, 40/45, and 99 series of rifles. The only real difference between barrels on the three rifles were the millings that were needed to fit them up to their respective receivers and bolts. In addition, the 40/45 barrel doesn't have the dovetail cut for the bottom lug. Other than that, and with the changes Savage made with the front sites, they all appear to be the same thing.

Without pictures, diagnosis is more difficult, but here goes:

Based on your description, I think that this rifle is unlikely to be original, as the barrel configuration that you've described and the receiver's serial number are out of sync. This sounds like a post SN 10500 barrel mated to a pre SN 10500 receiver. Two thing that I would look for in that particular rifle would be the configuration of the bolt handle and the stock. The rifles below SN 10500+/- have a bolt handle that is perpendicular to the bolt body, while the rifles above SN 10500+/- have the bolt handle swept back, putting the bolt knob closer to the shooter's right hand. The stocks installed on rifles below SN 10500 are very slender and have a pistol grip cap, while the stocks on rifles above SN 10500 don't have a pistol grip cap and the schnabled forearm tip is less defined.

The front sights installed on the 1920s and 20/26s were in sync with the 99 barrels that had the same approximate contour and were produced during the same time frames. Because the 1920 and 20/26 were less popular than the comparable 99, they probably trailed behind the 99s when there was a barrel contour and/or sight configuration change.

This rifle might have been returned to Savage to be rebarreled at some point in time, but without the confirmation that a factory letter would provide, I'd call it a parts gun or a shooter and would pay accordingly.

Thanks. Excellent info - just what I was looking for.

Would be nice to know the rate of twist, if it were a replacement barrel and was 12 vs 14. I remember one on gunbroker that was discribed as having a 12:1, someone had abviosly modified it but would have been a good shooter and perhaps worth a little more then your average worn out shooter.

So it sounds like the barrel on your rifle is not original to its manufacture. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if it was a factory rebuild. To me,sorting this sort of thing out represents a good reason for getting a factory letter.

All Savage barrels in 250-3000 were cataloged as having a 1-14" ROT prior to 1960 and a 1-10" ROT after 1959, they were never cataloged as having a 1-12" ROT.