Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Sporter 23A magazine missing

I know it's not a 99 but it is a Savage and the front of stock has that savage look that my 99s has. I was at an auction and this little Sporter with a cracked and chipped stock and no magazine was only at $30 so I bid the $35 and won! I thought oh cool a little bolt action 22lr for $38.50 (cost plus 10% buyer fee) I can buy a magazine for it no problem. HA! Ebay has some for $50 to $100. A couple after market suppliers on the internet have some for $45 plus $10 or so for shipping. I'm going to pay more for a magazine then the dam rifle. Oh well it will be like hunting and when I do bag that bargain and get a mag for $20 or so it will be like Christmas.

Common to find the lesser 23's missing the mag and sights. $50-100 is the going price but you never know what you might turn up. Good luck.

Yeah, its hard finding those mags in boxes of stuff on tables at gun shows these days. On the other hand your initial investment was low, thus setting a very low bar for a price on a replacement mag, so stepping up to the plate with some careful shopping may not make your full investment too uncomfortable.

I have been researching on all the blogs and boards and the internet and it looks like the rear peep site is missing too. at least the screws are still there for the site. I may try and figure out a way to attach a rail where the peep sight goes so I can mount a scope. probably be cheaper than buying a replacement peep sight.

The standard 23A rear sight would have been located in the dovetail in front of the ejector port. The #5 sight that used the rear top receiver holes would have been an option or add on. Both holes are a non-standard screw so take good care of them. They might be the most valuable part of your rifle. The Savage Axes scope base has the same rear hole spacing but because the 23 barrel is tapered the front of the base does not touch metal. Could probably Shoe Goo it at the front and not have a problem.

Like Jeff said, spend the money for a magazine and a sight and you'll still have a bargain rifle, given that if the rest of the gun is decent. How's the bore?

The bore and barrel are nice and shiny and the bolt is in great shape. But it does have a lot of Bettina and some nicks on the outside of the barrel and the stock is cracked. It will just be a long project that will never get finished but gives me more things to bargain hunt for, hahahaha.

I may have a stock if you are interested?

maybe if it is super cheap. I don't want to get into a situation where I replace everything and the gun ends up costing me the same or more if I just would have bought a nice complete rifle.

There IS a message in your words.

ya do your homework before you buy that GOOD DEAL aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Make sure you can't epoxy the split first. Your stock is probably repairable.

There's an old story about the museum where George Washington's boyhood axe is preserved. It seems that back in 1935 the handle rotted away and they had to replace it. But it was still GW's axe. About 30-years later the axe head finally rusted away to nothing so they had to replace that too, but it was still the ax GW used to chop down the cherry tree. The point is that everything can end up being replaced if you don't watch out. And that usually comes with a cost. Maybe you should just shoot the crap out of it as a 38-dollar and 50-cent single shot and not look back.

What will happen is another will pop up with 3 mags, and you will have 2rifles with an extra mag.

I'm with JoeMartin on that one!!!

I went to a small local auction a few years ago because the "Farm and Dairy" add said there was an 1803 Harper's Ferry rifle there. It turned out that the only 1803 part was the lock. The rest of the gun was cobbled together junk. I passed.

Two weeks later at a James D. Julia auction, they sold an 1803 that was all correct. Except for the lock...

Doug

trying to find the peep sight to fit this is going to be tough.

Finding a magazine is about impossible! I have had one on backorder from Triple K for 5 months and I am skeptical I'll ever get one delivered.
My 23A was found in parts on the floor of a condemned building that I was cleaning out, so I got it for nothing. It was truly a wreck! I had to totally re-do all the metal and patch the heel and the comb of the stock which were broken off and splintered, but only after I absorbed what seemed to be about a pint of oil out of the wood. I also had to fabricate new screws to attach the barrel to the stock. The rifle now shoots well, but I would love it to be a repeater. The schnabel tip on the forestock is truly elegant on these old rifles, even morseso than on my EGs, in my opinion, and it won my fancy immediately.

went to a pawn sjop on way home and the have a Savage Sporter on sale for $45 but no mag or front sight post, stock has small crack. I couldn't find the serial number so I think it is one of first 23 model. almost tempted to get it. That way if I ever do find a magazine I have 2 rifles to shoot, hahahahahaha

I just picked up some Triple-K magazines for these for less than list, they seem to be fairly recent manufacture. I found that none of them would even fit in a gun without modification, the nose is flared out and that has to be fixed to get them to fit in a gun. None will hold 8 rounds as advertised, they come close but stop just short of fitting, trimming the bottom of the lifter slightly would change that... but it really doesn't matter, by the time you get 4 rounds loaded there is no longer enough upward force on the front of the cartridges to tip them up far enough to chamber reliably - they can catch on the bottom of the chamber and if they do load, the bottom of the bullet can gets marred by sliding over the chamber edge.

The main problem is that rimmed cartridges stack in an arc and that is somewhat incompatible with as straight magazine. Savage magazine are made to allow the lifter to tilt as the magazine is filled, the Triple-K's allow very little tilt.

I have a few magazinesfrom time to time on ebay. I also have a lot of other parts for them including stocks etc.

any front sight post for a 1922 Sorter (model before 23A)? and a magazine for it? I can pick up one of these rifles for $45 but missing those 2 things

I would love to hear from you if you ever get a 23A magazine or rear peep sight for the 23A