If it's a 24B-DL, it was made in the very early 60's. The 24B, should have the barrel selector on the left side of the receiver, the barrel selector was incorporated into the hammer of the gun in 1964, so that can tip you off a little. Also, that should be a turkey engraved on the right side of the receiver, and a fox engraved on the left side, By 1967, that model was called the 24J-DL, I believe they were only labeled as 24B, 24C, and 24J in the DL model, but I could be wrong. The easiest way to find the exact age of the gun, is look on the receiver, or the barrel, near the receiver(usually the shotgun barrel), for a very small stamped circle or oval(bring a magnifying glass). Inside that circle, or oval, will be one or two numbers, and a letter. The letter is the key, it corresponds to a manufacture date according to the Savage/Stevens date code, which is as follows:
Stevens / Savage 24 date codes.
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A 1949 B 1950 C 1951
D 1952 E 1953 F 1954
G 1955 H 1956 I 1957
J 1958 K 1959 L 1960
M 1961 N 1962 P 1963
R 1964 S 1965 T 1966
U 1967 V 1968 W 1969
X1970
"Collectors will find a date code stamped on every double-barrel shotgun in the Stevens brands produced between March 1949 and December 1968. Usually, it is behind the hinge pin or ahead of the trigger guard on the bottom of the frame. It will appear as a small circle containing a number and a letter. The letters correspond to the years shown in the following table. Significance of the numbers is not known."*
*From page 1101 of Ned Schwing's 2004 Standard Catalog of Firearms, 14th Edition, published by Krause Publications of Iola, WI.
I would like to add that I have found this circle, or oval, containing one or two numbers plus a single letter, just about anywhere and everywhere on the frame, but only on the outside of the frame, never inside. I have also found the circle or oval with letters and numbers on the barrel clusters, on the shot barrel or on the barrel assembly lug block. While the letter within the circle always match on factory matching barrel and frame, the numbers never match, or at least that has always been my experience. These Date Codes are also present on the Model 94 frames and barrels, andI am sure on many others.
The marks on the inside of the frame, where the lower barrel seats when closed, are what I would call assembly stampings, and match frame to barrel, found on underside of shot barrel near forend lug, and also sometimes found on the butt stock under the butt plate.
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Hope this helps you out.
