SAVAGE 340D .222

[HOGBUSTER1]

WHO has one and what  do you think about them? I have one with the checkerd walnut stock at about 95% & blueing I guess. I refinished the stock from its previous faded sickly condition. Seems to be a nice shooter with 50 gr NOSLER BT bullets. I ordered a NEW scope base and rings from B-SQUARE which mounts the scope over the top ov the receiver instead of slightly off center to the left side. Just wondering how you like em and what is the going price nowadays?

[LHitchcox]

I had one 30 years ago. Liked it a lot: it was my walking varminter to go with my heavy barreled Ruger #1. I got tired of it and sold it for a H&R .22 Hornet because I am left handed. I got tired of the wrong-handed bolt.

It was however a dependable gun. I didn't like the one piece side mount, it limited the ability to position the scope properly with some of the long tubed scopes of the 70s. After a trigger job, it shot groups in the 1.5-2" range. That was plenty good for the range of the .222. They were really cheap in the 70s, but they have become somewhat pricey today.


Leon

[Snowshoe]

My wife had a Stevens 325 in .30-30 with the same scope mount, and although it shot well we hated the scope mount. It puts the scope too high and just makes it awkward to use. She just sold it this year.

[Redford Bohica]

I have a Springfield 840 (a Savage 340 derivative) in .222 Rem.; and a WesternField 712 (a Savage 340 that was made for and marketed by Montgomery Wards) in 30-30 Win. The Springfield 840 will shoot 3-shot groups that are 1.5" or under @ 100 yards. As to the WesternField 712, this an exerpt of a post I made on leverguns.com a few months back.......

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To make a long story short on the accuracy of the 30-30 Winchester cartridge, on 7-10-04, I tried a little experiment. I had four boxes of 30-30 factory ammunition at the time. Over roughly a 3-year period, I bought one box each from 4 different sources. One source was at a Gander Mountain outlet, one from Wal-Mart, and two sources were Mom & Pop sporting goods stores that were roughly 50 miles apart. Three boxes were Winchester Super-X 170 gr. loads with three different lot numbers, the other box was Remington factory loads in the 170 gr. Core_Lokt.

I set up a target at 100 yards, and from the bench, I fired one round from each box. Those four shots landed in a cluster that measures just under 1 inch!!!!!! The rifle in use was a WesternField 712, which is a Savage 340 that was made for and sold by Montgomery-Wards. This rifle is the carbine version with the 18.5" barrel.  At the time I shot this group, this rifle was equipped with a WesternField 4X scope.

This not only sez loads about the capabilities of this rifle, but also speaks volumes for the quality control Winchester and Remington uses to produce ammo for the 30-30 Winchester.

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The only complaint that I have is that the ejection on both these rifles is quite weak. Other than that, they are good rifles and good shooters.

I've never owned or shot one of the 340's chambered in 22 Hornet; but those that have them speak quite highly of them and refuse to let them go.

[woodchukhntr]

I had one for a short time this year.  It shot very well, but wouldn't extract consistently.

I also have an older 340 in .30-30. It is from the early '50's since it is not tapped for a scope.  The extractor is different from the 340 D's and works every time on the rimmed .30-30.  I have a peep sight on it and it is also very accurate.

[bja105]

I have my father in law's 340d in 222.  I did nothing to the rifle but pick a random load, 40g V-max and H335.  The little bullets usually stay inside one inch at 100 yards.  I shot my smallest 50 yard groups with this combo, in the .1's!  I showed my father in law the target, his only comment was that I missed the bulls-eye.

This rifle has the two piece weaver side mount, which only seems to fit old weaver scopes.  I swapped the 4x he had on it for an old weaver 3-9.

The trigger pull is not so good, but I manage.

[woodchukhntr]

Awesome job, bja105.  Most of us can't shoot that good with much more costly guns.  What are you trying to do, put Kimber and others out of business?  Pretty soon everybody will want a 340!

[Foggy]

I Love 340s I have one in 223. I had one in 225win but like a dope  I sold it. It was a funny gun  cold bored 1" left at 100 and would put the rest in an inch the rest of the day.