Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage model 340 30-30 scope mounting HELP

So I thought this was the right place to ask for help. A good friend of mine has his childhood deer rifle, a pretty clean model 340 30-30. He wants to pass it on to his grandson and would like to put a scope on it for him. He doesn't want to alter the gun in any permanent way, doesn't want to drill the reciever. That is where you experts come in...is there a mounting system out there for this rifle? Does anyone have one? Any info is greatly appreciated.

the later model 340's already are drilled and tapped for a side mount (a simple stamped mount that gun part corp usually has that fits conventional scopes - 4x32 etc.) gpc also has magazines and parts for it. good luck with it, glad to hear the next generation is taking the gun over! Mel

Might be a good time to show a youngster that the world doesn't come to an end if iron sights/aperture sights are used instead of a scope...

Might be....they still work just fine.

I've owned 340's over the years in 30-30, .222, and .22 Hornet. If it's not already tapped for a scope, I'm pretty sure that's your only option to get a scope on it. Just have a good gunsmith do it. If it requires a side mount, a little bit of the inside channel of the stock may have to be trimmed out.

DJ- everything about that photo looks "right!"

This is how it looks with a Weaver side mount. I don't know when the factory started drilling the holes for it.

I have a first year 342 in 22 Hornet and I'm sure it's factory d&t. The scope base holes are to the side and not on top.

Though.. maybe not. This 1950 ad says "Hornet receiver tapped for scope mount", but doesn't say that for the 30-30.

Learn something new every day..

Weaver makes the side mount still, if it is d&t. If it's not d&t, then I can't think of a way to mount a scope.

Yeah, I was wondering if maybe they d/t'ed the Hornets before they started doing the .30-30s. Looks like maybe they did.

If he does decide to drill and tap it, I have a scope mount identical to the one in the top picture in Lightfoot's post above that I would ship to you or him for the price of postage.

I killed my first deer in the early 60's with the Savage 340 in 30-30 and wouldn't even consider messing up this rifle with a side mounted scope. Shoot it the way it was intended with iron sights. No kid should start his hunting career with a scope. Learn how to hunt close with open sights first and let the scope come later.

That might depend on where you hunt. I'd recommend against ANY new hunter in Nebraska using iron sights, the shots can just be too far.

I do agree that new shooters should learn first on open sights, then later on scopes.

There must not be any bowhunters in Nebraska since shots are so long?

Part of bow hunting is knowing you have to be really close because the weapon is only fatal close up. Traditional muzzleloaders are similar. Modern guns can kill farther.. and a scope is just a tool to allow you to use the rifle better and ensure a clean kill. Can't see how it would be a good thing for a new hunter to have to spend hours chasing down a gut shot deer because they shot farther than they are able to with iron sights, or how it would be better to have a new hunter miss out on taking a deer because it was 200 yards away.

Jmho that making sure somebody knows how to shoot iron sights is wholly different than making them hunt with it. Personally I think everybody should be trained on shooting handguns, rifles with iron sights, rifles with peep sights, and scopes.

You've got to remember Rory, there are riflemen and then there are shooters. They're not even close to equal.

As to mounting a scope on a 340, I've got a drilled and tapped 30-30 that you can't mount a scope on without modifying the stock as the stock covers the the screw holes. Only Savage knows why.

I started out bow hunting which I think has helped me be better at setting up my spots to hunt. I tend to set up shots for 50 yards or less. Haven't shot at a deer over 75 yards in 5 or 6 years. It has more to do with where you can hunt.

Most of where I hunt it is going to be under a hundred yards. There are a lot of places where you can shoot well over that. Guess it comes down to where you hunt. Train on both open sights/peeps and scopes is how taught my boys. In other words, probably no fight or wrong way on this.

My father started deer hunting with one of these in the 60s it was a tack driver, I was going to use it my 1st deer season and had shot it, but it was stole the year before I was old enough to hunt.

Rory, I think both you and DJ are right. Sorry I was a smartass. But, I laugh when I hear a rifle needs a scope to be effective. I don't think so, no matter the terrain. I don't know who first said it, but the bowhunt starts where the rifle hunt ends.
I knew a man that hunted open country in Northern Oregon for monster mule deer. We're literally talking ankle high scrub brush. His cover was terrain and camoflage. You would think he'd need a scoped rifle to even consider it, but nope, he bowhunted. And he was good at it.

What I'm trying to say is, the art of being a hunter can be better learned with short range weapons in any terrain, and the knowledge gained in that pursuit will likely be more enjoyable and beneficial to a hunters career than his ability to shoot long range. The problem with setting a youngster up with a scope is that they feel they have to have one to be effective hunters.

Like you guys, I think knowing how to shoot with irons is beneficial, but even more beneficial to my way of thinking, is knowing how to successfully hunt, with whatever weapon is in your hands, wherever you hunt, whatever the terrain.

I'd love to see kids learn to hunt with a 30/30, by practicing before season, stalking game (or even a housecat!) in the off season, reading game's body language, positioning for a shot by reading the situation. Anybody can throw down across the backpack and shoot 600 yards with a little practice and the right scoped rifle. If that's all they know, I think they're poorer for it. The sport of hunting is diminished by folks that don't know when to hold their shot, because they might gut shoot one out of range.

Any rifle that is semi-accurate is more than enough weapon, scoped, unscoped, hell, even as a club if you set up right!

The man wants help putting a scope on his rifle.

Just sayin

While I agree completely that it's important to teach shooting starting with open sights, IMHO that's best accomplished with a .22 on targets or smaller game at closer ranges. B-square makes a mount for the 340 that sets just high enough to allow use of open sites as well if anyone felt that was necessary. It's also detachable. Weaver also makes a side mount and the original mounts were a thinner stamped metal. However back to the OP, I think it's pretty clear that a side mount would be required and it will probably require at least some minor trimming on the left side of the stock depending on the year the gun was made. It's easy enough to do by hand with a utility knife or with a Dremel tool if the barrel is already tapped. Look at, or just below, the stock line on the left side to see if it is. In my mind, adding the scope does not detract from the look or function of the gun if done carefully. I think the 340's are one of the most beautiful "ugly" guns ever made and I'll always have one in the gun case.