Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 1920/26 project

Jeff have you ever come across any 20/26's that had no checkering?

I've owned a 1920 with butt stock checkered but no forearm checkering and another (13002) that had no checkering at all.

The stripper clip guide is one of the cooler features of these guns!

Since the inletting fit between the barreled action and the stock was not nearly as critical/precise as the Model 1899/99s, it is much less common to find a 1920 or 20/26 with matching numbers. I would guess that less than 50% of the 1920s and 20/26s that I've owned had serial number of the buttplate, stock, and action that matched.

If you want a factory built rifle that is close to what a modern 1920 would be like, look for one of the 1986/87 Winchester/USRA 70 Lightweight Carbines in 250-3000 and install the barreled action in a 70 Featherweight stock. For some reason, Winchester/USRA made those barrels with a 1-14" ROT even though the post-1960 standard has been 1-10" ROT.

260 thanks for the heads up. I picked up one of those Carbines once in 270 Win, cause it had the prettiest piece a walnut I've seen in a long while. It shot 150's at 2750 really nice. Muzzle blast was incredible which is why it went down the road for more than I paid for it. But ,yeah it handled sweet. My desire for a 250-3000 sort of died. Found out I could do the same thing with My M77 UL in 257 Robt's and mild loads. Thanks for the serial number info, I just figured the orig owner had broken it and got another. MB

Joe, My model 20 s/n 6721 in 300 has no checkering, all the others have checkering. it also has a marbles model 20 sight. I also noticed model 20's can have a tang crack ! Don

Don, does your non checkered stock look factory to you cause I remember the one I had without it looked like it was factory for sure, nice tight fit.

Joe, Yes it looks factory,including the grip cap. I had a 4000 s/n range rifle in my lap with it for several minutes comparing fit,thickness, and everything i could look at and it looked correct.

Very informative thread, thanks. I have #93xx and 119xx. The latter is not cut for a stripper clip, the former is. Both are .300's. the later gun was bubba'd somehow with a different barrel. The former had been D&T for a side scope mount. The good news was the latter rifle had a Lyman 54 on board; checking the bolt dimensions revealed only .002" difference in the bolt face to locking lug dimension, so they do interchange.

93xx will attend the Campfire Hog Hunt, and hopefully put some pork in the freezer.

On the " DIMENSIONS OF LYMAN FRONT SIGHTS " Sheet Gene , Is the bottom of the page cut off ?

I'm intersted in the No4 and all it's various measurements........ What Catalog is this sheet in ? Let me know if you have time. Thanx , Malcolm.

Thanks Gene

More than that is gone, I just pieced together the Savage information, the page is a fold out & would not completely fit on my scanner, here's the whole thing, fist side took three scans pieced together and second took two.

Lyman Catalog 31, 1945


I find the dovetail dimensions interesting, they show the widths as 'approximate' and list the two for early Stevens as 15/32' (.468) and 19/64' (.296) instead of 7/16' (.438) and 5/16 (.312)' as they are often referred to.

Here's the last part, the fold out is glued into the catalog and this part could not be scanned without creasing it -


Found this old picture in photobucket to add that has both the early and late versions shown with specifications -

Wow! I just picked up my first 1920 and was looking for some info and stumbled on to this thread. What are the chances? I should buy a lottery ticket.
I don't want to derail Gene's excellent thread but I am clueless about the 1920 and have found more info here than I have been able to uncover in the last two days.
My 1920 is in 250-3000 and has serial number 1691, I assume pretty early production (date?). It is in very nice condition and appears to be entirely functional although I have not been able to shoot it yet. It appears to be as the others yall have described except that it has a hood on the front sight and is in a target style stock with a beavertail fore end and a cheek piece. I have not been able to find a picture or drawing of one like this so far. I am wondering if this was a factory option or a custom job done aftermarket.
I would appreciate any insight you can provide.
Thanks

The serial numbers started at 1,000 and about 60% of the 1920s were made in 1920.

The 1920s run from SN 1,000 Thru around 10,500.

The Improved Model 20, commonly referred to as the 20/26, run from around 10,500 thru 13,010.

It will help if you post clear detailed pictures, but the stock and front sight that you have described aren't cataloged configurations or options.

In general, what defined the difference between the 1920 and the "20/26"? As far as I can tell its the presence of the Lyman 48, no rear barrel dovetail and sight, a slightly more robust stock and a swept back bolt handle. Are there more? Also, did Savage call much attention to the change in their advertising when they introduced the 20/26?

As cataloged 1920 characteristics:

Featherweight contour barrels; 22" in 250-3000 and 24" in 300 Savage
Lightweight stock, bolt handle at 90-degrees from the bolt body, open rear sight, smaller/shorter front sight blade.

As cataloged 20/26 characteristics:

24" medium weight/contour barrels in both 250-3000 and 300 Savage.
More robust stock, bolt handle swept to the rear from the bolt body, Lyman #54 peep sight mounted on the tail block, no open rear sight, larger/longer front sight blade in most 20/26s. At the very end of production, the front sight was change to a dovetailed style, rather than a pinned blade. 20/26s also came from the factory with sling eyes installed.

Savage called the 20/26 the "Improved Model 20". Some of the gun writers of the day found the recoil of the 1920s in 300 Savage to be excessive, prompting Savage to change the stocks to the heavier and, to my eyes, less attractive style.

The 1920 seems like a nearly perfect platform for the 250-3000, while the 20/26 is a better platform for the harder recoiling 300 Savage.

Exercising 20/20 hindsight, I wonder how well a long action 1920 chambered in 30-06 would have done. The Winchester 54 looks like what a long action 1920 might have been and if Winchester could chamber the Model 54 in 22 Hornet, 220 Swift, 257 Roberts, 270, 7x57, 7.65x53, and 30-06, Savage surely could have done likewise. Savage might have had a head-start in the bolt action sporting rifle market niche if they had launched a long and short action 1920 concurrently. 20/20 hindsight is so much fun.

Jeff, I'm curious to 50% of 1920's were made in 1920. I've been absolutely unable to find any reference to the 300 Savage cartridge chambered in 99's or 1920's until June, 1921. In fact there's good evidence to believe that Savage Arms stopped all production for months in late 1920 - they were selling all on hand inventory at cost to raise cash by Jan 1921, and went through at least 2 rounds of layoffs in 1920.

So it seems to me that any 1920's chambered in 300 Savage probably weren't shipped until mid 1921, when they introduced it. They might have made a ton of receivers in 1920.. That' seems fairly likely, they were way overstaffed still from WWI and mfr'ing like crazy for first half of the year. Or did the first 1920's chambered in 300 Savage not show up in the 50% of 1920's made?

Somebody on here, I don't remember who, posted that number and it was my impression that that number was all 250-3000. The lowest SN 1920 in 300 Savage that I've owned is 39xx, which would have been within the first half of the 1920 production of 9,500+/-. As with 99s, sometimes serial numbers will be out of sync with the rifle's configuration.

Thanks for the replies. Since my last post I have taken the action out of the stock. After close examination I believe that the stock is probably after market. Also the front sight is a ramp style that is not like any of the pictures or diagrams that I have seen. The rear sight is a Lyman 54 and the barrel has a dovetail for a rear sight but only has a blank in it. I will post some photos as soon as I can get that figured out.

It seems hardly enough . Thanx Gene. Lyman Catalog # 31 , 1945.

Thanks, Jeff. That’ puts over 30% of the first production as 250-3000’s. 39xx might mark the beginning of 1921 mfr’ing - or of 1921 mfr’ing of 300 Savage barrels fitted to 1920 receivers.