Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Model F .308 Win with a ? bowtie ? looking symbol

Bout 12 yrs ago, while driving across Pasco County, Fl, I stopped in a pawn shop and found a Model f 308 Win--serial 9133XX. There was a 3 day waiting period there then and when I could pick it up, I was prepping for a hunting trip to Nebraska. I put her in the safe and left. While there, I was made an offer of employment in Alabama and upon my return, moved to south Alabama for 4 yrs before coming to NC. Finally got around to taking a good look at her last night and there is an emblem on the left side of the receiver ring that looks like a bow tie or the Chevy emblem. The lever boss code is indistinct, but I think it is " 11i ". Also this arm wears a heavy plastic black butt plate, not a corrugated steel one Any of you fine folks have an idea about these two oddities? She came to me with Weaver bases(14 n 19) attached and witness marks of a peep base over the factory drilled tang holes. Thanks--cb

The buttplate sounds like an aftermarket change, factory would have been the steel plate. I think the symbol you are referring to is just an inspectors stamp, left side of the ring towards the bottom.

You can see this gun has an oval on the left side. Different inspectors had different shaped stamps.

Sounds like you may have a JTC inspector mark on your gun. John T. Callahan worked as an inspector at Savage and also became the Savage historian. He is well known and respected here on the Savage forum for the many years he served all of us with information via Savage factory letters.

1956 might be too early for JTC? I'd think so.. he once said other inspectors used the same stamp before and after he did.

I've always operated by the principal of hanging out with folks more knowledgeable than I so I bow to your knowledge. The LBC code of "i", I thought was 1957. In leafing thru Mr. Royal's book, I see no reference to a hard plastic butt plate on the "new" F model. However, this one fits perfectly. This was someone's pet at some point as part of the script has been filled with those old gold leaves you could once purchase and shows little use, retaining probably 90+% of bluing, !00 % of stock finish, and having only 1 or 2 small compression lines in the stocks. Sling posts have been added with the front being a machine screw type into the barrel divot for forearm attachment. Bore is immaculate. Thanks for your input-cb

An "I" would indeed be 1957.. I was going by the serial number, which would fall into the 1956 timeframe. So either you have a gun with a badly struck H stamp, or your gun was assembled 6 months behind it's peers. Both are distinct possibilities and not uncommon.

Sounds like a very cool gun, if you ever get a chance post up a picture of the gun and especially the buttplate. It's never say never with Savage, but they didn't offer anything but steel buttplates in the 50's as far as I've ever heard.

Or.. could be an aftermarket stock, I suppose. Some of those come with buttplates like those, but not checkered like an F. Could also check the end of the buttstock and buttplate for assembly codes that match the forearm.

Mr. Calhoun, that's a pregnant idea to check assembly codes. Believe I shall. Checking appears to match forend and is very straight grained wood. No tang crack either. An "H" LBC missing the cross bar from the H could be what I have. Even with a hand glass, it's pretty fuzzy! will report back. I still use a flip phone and don't possess a digital camera. 'Course, I got a FatBoy filled with a whole tribe of Savages, LC Smiths, Marlins, Wins, and even a Sauer Luffwaffen drilling. Don't need no stinking cameras!!

Here's a normal 1950's F buttstock with assembly code stamp.

well, the forearm has a code of T H and a 3 over a 5. the butt stock has no #s at all but has the 3 weight reducing cuts and 2 sets of holes for butt plate attachment. The unused set are each about 3/16 in. above the used set, are smaller, and appear to have never had a wood screw or any screw ran into them. The thick hard plastic butt plate has the #20 molded into the interior. While rummaging around the safe to remove the 308 Win, I had to move Dad,s old Savage Fox SST from about the same mid 50's era. Butt plates are identical on the exterior. Looking thru Mr Royal's book, I confirmed the checking pattern on the 99 as the factory pattern. Additionally,there was fine wood powder-sawdust all around the interior of the but plate. This plate was held on with Phillips head screws, not slots. Believe I'll pull off the plates on that old double tonight and see if it has a #20 molded into it. won't tell me much but will satisfy my mind. This may have been a Scoobie-Do Ruc-Ro on the part of the assemblyman. Thanks for taking the time to show this pic.--cb