Savage made prototype military rifles in 7x57, 30-06, and 303 British on a long action that morphed into the short action 1920. I believe that Peter Dowd, who is associated with the VIllage Gun Shop in Northboro, MA, bought many of the firearms that were in the Savage R&D collection when they were sold at auction back in the late 1980's. Many of those firearms ended up at the Kittery Trading Post in Kittery, ME, and at J.R. LaRue's gun shop in Newington/Portsmouth, NH. I was living in Hanover, NH, at the time and bought a couple of the R&D 1920s from LaRue.
Savage made at least one prototype long action sporting rifle in 256 Newton that Mark Benenson and Bruce Jennings both owned at one time. I've never seen a prototype of the short action design that was eventually sold originally as the Model 1920 and later, when it was redesigned in 1925/26. as the Model 20.
Savage only cataloged the Models 1920 and 20 in 250-3000 and 300 Savage between 1920 and 1928.
I have an early Lyman brochure for the No 54 peep sight that lists it for the "Savage 1920 Model bolt action .280/3000 caliber"... definitely a misprint..... (or.... never say never????)
Hmmm. A short 7mm cartridge generating 3000 fps, in 1920? Would have been interesting! I don't know if one could accomplish that today, at least with a bullet possessing enough weight to be meaningful.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
And, and, you could then call it "7mm Creedmoor" and make your fortune.
That brought a smile to my face
Thanks for that
It's widely accepted in our circle, that the the "new" creedmor case is simply a remarketed 300 Savage offspring. The early developers claim the 30TC as the creedmor's parent case (...which is Thompson's blatant usurping of the 300 Savage), and ""Quite possibly the most technologically advanced cartridge ever developed".
Don't get sucked into the marketing, it will only get you into buying more guns!
...., but let's talk about a 7mm-300 Savage wildcat in the 99 (hint: you could use creedmor collet dies to re-size your brass. Wouldn't that be the perfect caliber for a post-war/pre-mil EG!
"...One Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All"
Thanks 'damnesia' for posting about the Savage 1920's. Hadn't thought about them for quite some time. Another example of firearms 'art' from yesteryear. Saw one of them years ago at a gunshow, can't recall what caliber it was, but it was in fine shape. Can't recall the price either, but probably one of those "if I knew then what I know now" type of things I would have bought it. At the time centerfire rifles weren't on my buying list, esp anything large enough caliber for big game since Iowa law prohibited hunting deer with a rifle. The 250/3000 is a good coyote caliber (use one myself now), Iowa law now allows straight wall revolver calibers in rifles for deer, but for years it shotgun slugs only. Since that day I collect and shoot 'big calibers' just for the enjoyment of it-a 1920 300 Savage would get some use, as would one in 250/3000.
