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

This is the 1926 version so some of it might be a little different than earlier versions (we found that out with part 20-58 - stock escutcheon in a different thread) . I have never worked on another other than making a couple of trigger guard screws and the stock inserts, that did not require looking at the rest of the gun, this is the first I have had to deal more than that, and it came in parts, with some missing and one major one broken, I did not have another gun to reference so it has been a long time getting it finished.

Since I got the gun in parts and never had another one apart before, or an example to go by, the start of the project was to gather information -

Late parts list


early parts list, same picture, different part numbers

following are from catalog #61


Patent drawings, these are from the same pattent but show two different designs for the safety and some other things that differ from production guns -

This is page two and shows a different safety design -


Parts inventory, this is as received with all the small parts in a plastic bag.
The stock had been broken through the wrist and was repaired when I got it.
When the stock broke it also broke part # 20-2049 which became the major issue for reassembly.


parts that were missing -
- 99-11, Barrel Stud, (same part as used on 99's) made a usable replacement from a rear sight dovetail that had a screw on blade, not the same as original but works.
- 99-421, For-End Screw, (same part as used on 99's) used a screw from a kit & reduced the head diameter, fully thread, original was not.
- 20-2047, Safety Bar Catch, made one from the shaft of an old .125" drill bit.
- 20-2048, Safety Bar Catch Spring, cut down a spring from something else.
- 20-2052, Safety Screw Washer, turned one from bar stock.
- not listed - Trigger Spring, found a spring that fit.
- not listed - Bolt Stop Plunger Screw, had it but the threads were stripped, cut down a screw from a kit and reduced the head diameter to fit.
broken part - 20-2049, Safety Bar Post, used part of the old piece and made a piece to repair it.
The front sight and butt plate were also missing, I could not find correct replacements so I fabricated these to use until original's can be found.
I'm still looking for sling eye's, the front hole has the escutcheon in it

...picture limit reached...cont... for 4 more posts

The gun belongs to another member who acquired it all in parts.

This is what that all looks like as of this posting, still a couple details I might address, the front sight is to low and the butt plate could use more rounding and a finer polish done lengthwise this time, I also think I have found some sling eye's for the hook type sling that will work. -





I rushed putting out the pictures because there are a couple others working on 1920's & I think some of this might help them. The following is an attempt to document the complete repair & assembly - this is not something I would have done if it weren't already in parts, so I thought this was the only opportunity to do so.



part 20-58 - late version, the early type screwed in -


Stock attachment


detail of broken part - this part works like a rivet and once the parts are together and the end flared out it is supposed to be a permanent attachment, it apparently broke when the stock did.There also is a plug that is supposed to be inserted in it that has a hole for the safety plunger & spring, all that was was missing.

There was an attempt made to braze these parts together before I got them, this left some residue and surface damage on the parts and not all of that could be removed or the parts would end up undersized, this caused some problems with my attempt to braze it, as did my use of the wrong flux on the first try - it doesn't look good but it is very solid and much stronger than the original riveting.






The bolt stop plunger keeps the bolt from falling out by it's own weight it the trigger is pulled with the bolt open-

bolt parts & assembly


extractor just snaps on without tools... if you've got strong thumbs....


the firing pin spring has to be wound slightly and set in one of the four slots to keep the firing pin from unscrewing,
I set it so if the firing pin is turned out, the spring will turn it back in.


bolt assembly - final, the firing pin assembly just screws in, the cocking piece has to be pulled out on the final few turns to clear.
Turn it in until it bottoms out & then back off to the cocked position notch.

The bolt could be completely disassembly & put back together without tools... if you have strong fingers...


Links to more not so interesting pictures of butt plate being made -
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/90858.jpg
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/90859.jpg
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/90860.jpg

Lyman #54 bolt peep - this is a new, undamaged one for reference -


This is the one that was with the gun -






Marble's S-20... since I finally had a version of a 1920 to show them with....

Well done Gene....

Whew! Thanks, Gene!

GREAT!

Needs to be a STICKIE for reference. Thanks for posting.

I nominate Gene for "National Treasure" status!, ...we just won't be able to pay him until after the shut down,
(..sorry, that just slipped out). Absolutely stellar service to the community Gene, Thank You!!

Gene what are your dimensions for #20-2047? I need to make one of those for my project rifle.

Thanks!

I don't know! It has to be put in from the bottom of part 20-2049 and the hole in that was about 0.125", so I took an old .125 drill bit & chucked it up backwards in a drill & ground it to the shape pictured, just guessing at the length. the picture shows it as originally made, I found that to be a little to long so I just ground it a little shorter, again just guessing - make it look like the picture, but a little shorter. It has to be able to almost go all the way into the hole when compressed. I used an old drill bit so it would be hard steel, it probably could be softer without a problem. (I suppose I could disassemble everything again and measure it......... NOT!)

Wow. This one needs a link in the Misc Good Info thread!

Great job, Gene!

Very cool. With the exception of the pistol grip and caliber, its a dead ringer for my 20/26.

Gene, I'm wondering if a 99G buttplate would be a better and easier fit, we've often wondered if they used the G barrels on the 20's so I'm also wondering if a G buttplate might work with the stock.

Nice #54, you don't usually see the type with the small screw windage, usually it's the knob type.

I have a dismounted 1920 barrel in 300. Is there anything I can check or measure to confirm this? To my eye, with the exception of the breech, it's identical to a 99 barrel. It makes sense to me that Savage would have used a 99 barrel on the 1920 series guns.

Don't have a 99 G, but from the pictures it looks like the butt plate has a slight forwards curve at the bottom and much more of a forward curve at the top - this stock has just the slightest forward curve at the top and none at the bottom, it's the same continuous curve all the way to the toe. I tried several butt plates including some from 99's, the ones from the 99's were about the right size but had way to much reverse curve at the top & bottom, all the others I had were to small - way short in the toe..... anyway, I wanted to see if I could make one, same with the front sight...

I do not see any indication that the butt of the stock has been modified, it's still exactly the way I got it. The butt plates I tried are from much later than the gun.

Another splendid lesson. I wish I had your skills. Keep them coming Gene.

I found some more information on the Lyman 54 & the front sight specifications for the 1920's from a Lyman catalog, according to it I was really close on the front sight dimensions that I came up with by putting a straight edge on the top of the receiver. I see there is an break point of serial 9000 for front sights, the specs show the only difference to be the length of the sight - this is 37/64 and the earlier was 21/64.

WOW, thanks Gene, thorough doesn't touch this. Thank you.

I had an early E in 250-3000 and a early 1920 chambered the same. Barrel roll marks were identical and contour looked the same to me.

Steve, this is further confirmation that some left over 1920 barrels were used up on 99's. The patent dates are for the 1920 not the 99. The different barrel markings are shown in my book.

That wouldn't surprise at all David. The 1920 was SN 1982 and 239835 on the E. I've attached a pic of the E roll mark. Do not have the 1920 in my files.

I’m glad to see the pistol grip cap in the factory drawings. My 20/26 has a pistol grip cap that looks very much like a factory installed item. That is it looks just like the stock work Savage did on the 99s for pistol grip caps. I’ve had some feedback in the past on this forum questioning the originality of this feature on my rifle and now I’m fairly convinced it came that way from the factory. Thanks much for the time and effort you put into this thread.

As cataloged, 20/26s didn't have pistol grip caps.

In total, I've owned around 100 1920s and 20/26s and have yet to see a 20/26 stock with a factory installed pistol grip cap. Close to the end of production, it appears to me that Savage may have put together some 20/26 rifles with a mix of 1920 and 20/26 parts that resulted in non-catalog configurations. I have a late 20/26, #125xx, that is in a non-cataloged configuration. It has a a 24" 20/26 style barrel with an open rear sight mounted to the barrel via a dovetail and the tail block isn't d&t with the hole necessary to install a Lyman #54 peep sight. I "think" that this rifle was made that way in Utica, but Mr. Clark couldn't find anything in the records that would confirm that it was or wasn't.

I have only had a few 20/26s without the stripper clip slot in the receiver bridge, all were higher than SN !2,500, among the last 500 or so produced.

That front sight height difference vexed me with every 1920 I ever owned, all of which I installed 54's on (or made facsimiles thereof).

My 5 model 20's all have a pistol grip caps,my 2 model 20-26 have no grip caps. My late 20-26 ,s/n 13,200 has no stripper clip cutout. Don

Serial number 13,200 must be among the very final 20/26s made.

My 20/26 no longer has the original cap but the inletting and shaping of the pistol grip looks very factory to me. My serial number is in the 11XXX range.

Are the caps identical to the 99?

Very Interesting Gene
I've just got back from the South Island
Picked up my fathers IH TD 5 Series B to restore
& Shot 1 deer saw others but quicker than me and 14 pigs to quick too
The only problem I ran into with the 1920 & 1920/26 stocks was that the Forewood Screws Are different lengths
Any Idea what thread they are?
Cheers

if you notice the part number, that starts with "99", my guess would be they are the same

I went out and checked my 1899 250-3000's and early "G" rifles and the grip caps appear to be identical to the model 1920 caps. Don

Whoa whoa whoa, I've always thought the last 20/26 made was 13006? You sure about that serial number Don?

That was my hunch. So it seems some 1920s or 20/26s had full pistol grip stocks with caps and not semi pistol grips like perhaps most had.

Joe, I'll have to go and double check,i might have the number mixed up!! yup wrong gun,my s/n is 12,868 . Don

1920s were always cataloged with a pistol grip cap, while 20/26s were always cataloged without a pistol grip cap.

There is a picture in Frank DeHaas' book that shows a very late 20/26 barreled action in a 1920 stock. Your can tell that it is a very late 20/26 because in has a front sight with a dovetailed bead, rather than the pinned blade.

Some 20/26s may have come from the factory with capped pistol grips, but they were never cataloged that way and may have been a special order or a rifle assembled from leftover parts.

If I run across a Savage in a non-cataloged configuration that is claimed to be in original factory specs, I am a disbeliever unless the owner has a factory letter confirming that it is original factory and not a parts gun. My 20/26 with open sights and no provision for mounting a Lyman #54 is an example of that. It looks right and who would go to the extra effort of replacing the tail block, but it is what it is and as noted previously, Mr. Clark was unable to find any documentation that would account for it being a factory built non-standard configuration.

PS - No disrespect intended, I'm just a stickler for documentation on Savages in non-cataloged configurations. The is a lot of bad information floating around the internet that people assume is accurate because the person posting it has credibility. Layne Simpson once wrote a piece on the 1920 that showed it having a front sling eye attached via a barrel band like on some 340s, even though the 1920 was never cataloged in that configuration and a barrel band sling eye was not a factory option.

No disrespect taken. I can send you pictures of my rifle with some detail shots of the pistol grip. Like I said, I don't have the cap but the shaping of the grip and the surrounding stock look very factory to me. Of course that could have been done by anyone with good stock making skills too. Maybe I should write Savage for a letter - how are they with that service these days?

The rifle pictured is around 12700, so less than 200 lower than yours and doesn't have the stripper clip cut as shown in one a couple pictures (not my gun so I don't want to give out to much of the number).

They are #8-40's, I used one from a Brownell's screw kit, they are 1" long and threaded full length. I had to reduce the size of the head in diameter and thickness (so it wouldn't stick out of the escutcheon) but I did not have to shorten it, but I wasn't using the correct barrel mount, the factory one would use a shorter screw.

Gene, I went out checked my other 20-26 s/n 11,204 that one has the stripper clip guide! so somewhere in between they changed. Again great post on the model 20's and 20-26's. As a side note my brother broke a firing pin in his model 20 a few years back and i made one from a Remington model 700 firing pin.Don

I wonder how many 1920 owners realize that those stripper clip slots were designed for use with 1903 Springfield stripper clips. Back when I hunted with a 1920 I carried it with five rounds in the gun and a stripper clip with five spares in my pocket. Late issue NATO stripper clips (intended for 7.62mm NATO use) don't work, it has to be the old brass (or WWII issue steel) '03 clips. (Side note: the later NATO clips do work for Remington "pogo stick" 8/81 autoloaders. Don't even bother trying to make a Mauser clip work with anything but Mausers. The '03 clips work to re-charge Johnson magazines too. C'mon, one of you guys has to own one of them!)

Enjoyed the thread, I got into a 1920 model in 250-3000 pretty decent price wise. It had some issues, the safety spring didn't keep enough tension, the stock wasn't serial numbered the same as the gun, with full throttle 87 gr loads it shot 8" low at 50 yards. The barrel irons appeared to be all original and finding a Lyman peep like you posted looked like an expensive propostion. Didn't want to modify the irons to get it to zero. I resold it instead. Got into a M110 WLE in 300 Sav. right, no where near as classy as that 20 but a solid shooter for whitetails. You've done great work on yours, best of luck. MB

Gary, i probably got hundreds of 03 stripper clips,had 4 cases of 1944 ammo just never tried any in a model 20 ,20-26.Don

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.

From data collected earlier on this subject:

Sales records for 1920 shows 4426 (or serial 5426 if produced in numerical order. Don't know how many were actually shipped).

I have the following production dates from lettered rifles:
178x - 5/13/1920
188x - 3/24/1920
428x - 5/25/1920
5575, 5742 and 5747 were shipped to RC Andrews late 1920. Note that 5648 in .300 was not shipped till 1/19/1922. (wonder if it was sent back and rebarreled?)
690x - 7/16/1920
905x - 4/3/1924
1058x - 5/28/1925

Lowest serialed .300 394x seen (per 260Rimguy) Also the lowest serialed .300 I have in my data.

This is the sales info projected as a serial:
year sales serial
1000
1920 4426 5426
1921 462 5888
1922 1203 7091
1923 1182 8273
1924 941 9214
1925 687 9901
1926 ? ?
1927 ? ?
1928 ? ? not in the 1928 catalog
1929 ? 13016

The big question... was production in serial number order? (need more letters or a couple log sheets)
How many serialed receivers were produced in 1920? (I'm guessing around 6000 receivers or serial 7000).

1920 was a depression year, a very nasty one from January to July of 1920. In fact in many ways it's the worst depression year we've had (including any single year during the Great Depression). Depending on which unemployment rate you use, unemployment either increased 300% from 1920 to 1921, or increased 1000%. So I find it curious they managed to sell 4 times as many that year as by 1923 and later after the depression was over.

But the ship dates from the ledgers aren't going to be wrong.

So I guess either folks were buying despite layoffs across the country, or Savage made a bunch and shipped them out of order.

I'd get my 1276X lettered if I knew how long it takes. Haven't heard or seen anyone talk about letters since JC retired.

Savage has an employee doing it. Probably takes a couple months, cost is now.. $45?

Savage Arms employee numbers jumped from ~700 to 3800 in a short time early during WWI, more thereafter.
Post WWI employee numbers dropped, as did the rest of American manufacturing because war was over. Depression? Post WWI adjustment? I'd say adjustment. Post war, generally U.S. economies boomed, WWII they did. Anyway,... in ~1920 the "new" Model 99 line began, got traction and succeeded. The Model 1920 may have as well. JMO.

What was the "big east end plant"?

Not sure, someone (Rick?) took the price out of the post in Misc good stuff. I think Effie is doing it now so I'll get ahold of Jim B. and see if he'll gimme her cell number. I could have sworn I had it here somewhere but can't find it now. If I talk to her I'll pm Rick and get a for sure price and wait time on it for the thread.

I don't think Effie is doing it now. Someone (LBK?) was at the plant and met the new guy doing it. If we get all the details I will update the info.

It’s not Effie. Can’t find the link on their site right now, I sent a request for the current info.

99 models were in 1921 along with 300 Savage. 1920 recession is blamed by many on Fed Reserve jacking up interest rates too much.

To see how bad it was, Savage made 19,000 1899’s in 1919. 22,000 1899’s in 1920. But only 3,500 in 1921.

Here are the sales info for 1919, 1920 & 1921. Note that there are other products in the system. Plus they produced almost 3 million rounds of ammo.

I thought we established those sheets weren't really that accurate?

According to the serial number ranges versus the sales sheets, they'd have had 17,000 1899's in stock at the end of 1920.

Now, they DID admit to being massively overstocked, and that's why they were selling all inventory at cost. But 17,000 1899's? When did they sell them? Because 1922 production by serial number went back up to 7,000. Can't believe they'd build 7,000 if they still had 15,000 in the warehouse.

I think the Sales info is correct. I think we just don't know how to use it with the other data we have. The Sales number doesn't indicate inventory or production numbers. I have no log sheets for 1917 through 1922 so I can't tell if receivers were being used in serial order or how long they were setting on the shelf after completion.

The project is done (I hope!), delivered last weekend, really though I did have fun doing it and learned a lot. I did do a little more 'tweaking' and finished some small details since the last post, added here to the original thread to keep it all together. Might be some helpful information.

Here is the rifle as delivered -


After reworking the butt plate three times I was still not happy with it, so I added more contour and relieved the center underneath so now it just contacts about 1/4" around the perimeter, fits a little better - good enough to use and protect the wood until an original that fits can be found (a lot better than what it started as...)


The sling eyes were both missing, found one for the rear but finding a front proved to be a problem, ended up making one, also had to make the knurled insert it threads into.




Due to the Lyman 54 having a damaged screw it had to be improperly removed, that required taking off the retaining disk for the elevation screw which was missing, so I made one on a lathe. It's only about 0.036" thick but needed to screw on tight so it would not turn and allow the elevation nut to be turned off, or to work loose and fall off on it's own. Started the threads with a standard tap but did not turn it in far enough to fully cut the threads, I then took a bottom tape and cut the staring thread deeper, this still left the last threads only partially cut even though it's very thin - this did not seem tight enough so I sat a ball bearing on the hole and rapped it with a hammer to flatten the end of the last thread, this made it fit really firm.

I also thought the front sight might be to low, brazed material back on the bottom & raised it a little.

...you just can't always trust 'blue prints', had one with a bad dimension and had to make the part twice.... damn engineers & draftsmen, anyway...

Gene, Great job !!!! i know that took a bunch of patience and skill ! Don

Very nice work Gene.Great job

I also have a 20/26 with a dovetailed rear sight. I was so curious about it that I bought a 20/26 barrel in part to see if it had the same dimensions as the barrel on my 20/26 but also thought it might do for a rebarrel some day, or even for a 99 (an idea I've discarded). The two are identical in profile from breech to muzzle and have the exact same front sight base, similar to a Krag and about 1/2" long. My serial number is 128XX, so again a very late date, within the last 300 or so made. It has the typical 20/26 stock, without a grip cap, with checkering fore and aft, sling eyes and the cocking piece is drilled for the Lyman 54 but no sign that there was ever one on it. The rear sight is a typical dovetailed Marbles elevator like you see on every early Model 20 and many 99s from that era until the 1960s.

I'm curious to ask anyone with experience; I notice significant bolt movement when I pull the trigger. Isnt that a distraction at least or even deleterious to accuracy when using the Lyman 54? Col. TW's remarks suggest that he might have thought so too.

Ok looking for guidance. I saw one other person had to remake a 20-2047. I have some guys that'll make one at work in the shop. How's the easiest way to get to 20-2047? I'd also like to check 20-2048 while I'm in there.

Thanks for your help

Trying to upload pics. I've got the safety button pin out, and the pin that goes through the bar, and thought I could just slide it out. But the angles are tight

WIth this being an older thread you probably should have started a new one with your questions. It's been a long time since I did this project and I know I had to take the safety aparted at least a couple times, I reviewed the pictures but I don't remember having any problems or if there were special procedures I had to do, so unfortunately, I can't really help you any more than what the pictures show. I made part 20-2047 from a broken drill bit by chucking it in a hand drill & holding it to a grinder.

Here is a pic. I'm guessing I will need to remove the trigger to be able to slide the safety bar forward and the 20-2047 and 20-2048 will be able to be retrieved out of the bottom of 20-2049?

And 20-2049 is brazed with the piece above? And reassembly, the trigger will have to go in last?

1 more question, the top piece(that the 20-2047 and 20-2048 fit into) that fits into 20-2049 is only held in(down) by the pin?

Sorry to be a pain, but just want to take my time and not mess things up