Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage Model 24

I am looking for info on the savage model 24.
looking for something for coyote hunting without carring shotgun and rifle both, Maybe a 223 over 12 ga
just wondering how they shoot
thanks in advance for any info

I've got 2 of them. A .22/.410 that was my first gun, Dad bought it used in '66 and I shot the heck out of it and still do. It shoots exceptionally well and both barrels are regulated to POA.

The other is a .22mag/20 I bought a couple years ago and it's OK but not as good as my old one. The shotgun barrel is off a little from the rifle barrel but I've learned to adjust to it.

Never got to try one with a center fire barrel...yet.

I used a 357 mag over 20 gauge when I lived in Alaska for hunting hares and ptarmigan. Blows stuff up, but was fun. Don't remember the loads I made for the rifle barrel, but accuracy was ok, not awesome. But that was my handloads, not a condemnation of the firearm.

I'm jealous Fireball! I've always coveted the .357/20 set up but I've never seen one in my neck of the woods.

Yea, it was a keeper, but I wasn't, so I let it go. It was surprising how much hotter the rifle barrel made a 357 magnum. I remember shooting at a rock at 185 yards and hitting it once, just to see if it could. I also carried a Ruger Security Six and between the two guns and some crazy ars friends we did slay the bunnies. We ate them too!

my 357maximum as real hog knocker
check out savage24.com for more info on this model gun

Thanks to all. I will check out savage24.com
Thanks bigk

Had a .30-30/20 that was a darling. Very accurate.

The .223/12 was stupid heavy, but damned accurate (subMOA @ 100 and 200), but just a club.

The old, pre-24 .22/.410 is perfect, IMHO, for small game, and the 24H .22Mag/.410 is right on it's heels. If an old-version (small frame) .22Hornet/.410 ever came into being, I'd have to have at least one.

My old side-safety .22WRM/410 is one of my favorite firearms, made in 1960. Very accurate with .22 mag ammo (and .22 WRF) it likes and the .410 slugs are surprisingly accurate as well. I have a 2 3/4X scope on its "tip-off" grooves.

Personally I never understood the reason for the M24 in any of its forms. They are a compromise, balance and stock-wise. If the stock is right for shotgunning, the balance for same is atrocious. Likewise if the stock is right for a rifle, it's way off for shotgunning. And then there are the rifle sights (and god forbid, a scope) that interfere with the effective use of it for wing shooting. Money is better spent buying a purpose-built shotgun and a purpose-built rifle, IMO. Perhaps as a camp gun for collecting the occasional ground-sluiced grouse or cotton tail for the pot it has its place. Plus, again strictly my opinion, the aesthetics of the gun are woefully lacking.

Some few European rifle/shotgun combos pull it off, and their prices reflect the thought and effort that went into them to achieve a semblance of grace. Savage had a fairly good idea with the 24, but stopped way short in realizing its potential. American sportsmen historically (hysterically?) subscribed to "form follows function", but in this case function would be better served if more attention were paid to form.

You may fire when ready!

Scoped 24's are a hideous abomination. But I found the 24 in 357/20 gauge (unscoped) to be semi-useful when hunting blacktail deer in Oregon. I was able to pop grouse when spotted, but that ruined my deer hunting, so I gave up on the whole double duty gun concept. I want more than one shot for busting blacktail bucks from cover, if needed. Then there's the time I shot the nice 4x4 with 6 shot, but that was with a Voere 222Mag under 20 gauge with a side selector that was amazingly easy to bump to the wrong barrel! And it misfired on the rifle barrel once on a coyote. So there's some food for thought. Oh, I did end up getting that buck 45 minutes later playing cat and mouse...

Some don't like 'em, Some do. I never attempted to use either of mine for wing shooting but for me they (especially the .22/410) were perfect in the role of squirrel and rabbit guns.

For a squirrel or rabbit sitting still, the .22 LR barrel worked great. If they were running the .410 with #6 shot worked perfectly, for me anyway.

I always thought the concept of the model 24 or any gun for that matter was pretty simple. If you like it and it works for you,use it. If you don't like it,don't use it.

Is the 357 maximum essentially a magnum that is reamed to maximum dims? I have a couple of the 357 mag guns and always considered making one.

Its about 3/8" longer then the regular 357, and you want to only use this cartridge in firearms intended for it !!!!Ruger made some years ago in their single action revolvers, they stopped making them because the gas that escaped between the cylinder and the barrel was cutting the top strap !!!!!! i have had on for years in a Dan Wesson, model 40 Supermag, one hellova revolver ,took one Bear with it ,one shot, they have more energy then a 30-30. Don

I used to have a friend who "solved" the need to have a rifle AND a shotgun on the same hunt by carrying a slung Model 70 .270 while toting a Model 12 pump for the birds. Tough kid, but I bet he doesn't do it now that he's in his late '50s....

A combination gun works OK if you are very used to using it and if you don't expect it to be a perfect rifle or a perfect shotgun. It won't be either. They usually make better rifles than they do shotguns, for many reasons. My Savage/Valmet 2400s are a decent, affordable (to me) compromise.

One CAN get used to using the low power (1X or 1.5X) setting of a variable scope for wingshooting. Is it as natural and effective as shooting without. No. Does it work for lightning-fast instinctual shots on birds like ruffed grouse. No. Is it better than going bird hunting and having to watch a 6-point buck stand out in the open and stare at you because he knows you don't have a scoped rifle to smoke him? YES. Because you do, and I have, several times. And shot coyotes. And pigs.

I double for sure bet you my savage 2400 isnt as heavy to carry as your shotgun and rifle at the same time!!!!

Yeah, Kelly that's why I got them. For quail hunting during the deer/pig season, I carry the 12 ga./.308. We have to use non-lead bullets in the .308 and I use Polywad "spreader" wads in handloads in the 12 because the improved modified choke in the shotgun barrel is pretty tight for quail. They work very well. I just can't bring myself to open the chokes on my 2400s--too pretty to cut on.... When I hunt pigs with the .308 barrel, I put a Brennecke slug in the shotgun barrel; have only had to use it once. But I sure feel safer with it in there!

The 12ga/.222 I use for calling coyotes, mainly. The rifle barrel works when "doggie won't come to daddy" and the shotgun barrel works when he does. The improved modified choke is perfect for that. It's great for turkeys, too, although I don't hunt them out here. Killed a couple when I lived in NYS.

I like the 2400s also because my main bird guns are Savage/Valmet O/Us and the controls are all in the same places on both. Balance is very different, of course.

I've used a 24 in .223/12 for several years, mainly for turkey hunting. And as a truck gun, it's taken several pigs and a few coyotes encountered while turkey hunting.

Frankly, the ugly rifle is quite accurate, and most any brand of ammo will shoot into 1" at 100 yds. On my gun anyway, the heavy 12 ga 3" turkey loads tend to pattern slightly high relative to the .223 POA, so I've learned to hold the crosshairs on my 3x9 Leupold right where the turkey's neck meets the breast. I will shyly admit that I've taken a few turkeys with the .223 when they hung up outside of shotgun range, so the Savage 24 has taken turkeys with both barrels.

Scope mounting can present a bit of a challenge. In order to mount the scope low enough to acheive a proper cheek weld to the stock, the ocular bell of the scope will just clear the hammer but will impinge on the thumb's ability to cock the hammer. So I bought one of those T-shaped hammer extenders that clamp on to the hammer spur via a little allen set screw. This greatly aids in cocking the hammer in a hurry.

No doubt, the gun is ugly as a mud fence, but like the SKS, it is imminently practical.

I love my little 22/20 gauge camper. It is perfect for leisurely grouse hunting. I admit, I mostly use the shotgun barrel, but the 22 barrel is pretty accurate. Yes they are a compromise between a rifle and a shotgun but they work well for filling the soup pot. I was hoping that it would shoot slugs well, and that the rifle sights would work once I got them dialed in, so I could use it in a shotgun only deer area, but the two barrels are far from regulated and the slugs seem to have minds of their own. I still say these are great camp/truck guns. I would love a 30-30 over shot gun. sight the rifle in for deer, shoot a grouse or pheasant if the opportunity arises. I also like the way they look. Just my 2 cents. Daniel