Savage/Valmet 2400 front sight.

[Dalgo]

Hello everyone. I just purchased a Savage 2400 Combo 12ga. / .308.  It is virtually mint, very tight and beautiful.  I shot it with .308, and shoots to sights with a tight group (tight for my old eyes).  The top shotgun barrel is shooting way low with slugs and shot pattern.  The front sight is tall, and mounted on a lengthwise dovetail.  My question is, do any of you know where I can get a replacement front sight for this gun?  What I am thinking is that with a new sight I can grind it down, and fit a bead, white or fiber optic (small), to get the top barrel to print dead on at about 50 yds.  Since the bottom barrel is adjustable, I can then move it to meet the sights or slightly high at 50 yds.  The gun has what appears to be Sako mounts.  I am thinking of ordering the quick detach Optiloc mount/bases for a Sako 75, and mount a Leupie 1.5-5X Vari-X III scope on it. Nuther' question: Will the Sako 75 Optiloc mounts fit the gun?  Hate to order them and find out they don't fit, being as Sako is very proud of their mounts, and charges $450 (suggested retail) for them.  Any help you can give me shall be greatly appreciated.

Pierre

[dougk]

Hey Pierre

the Valmet 412 has an adjustable rear flip up sight,  Is there a rear flip up sight on the 2400?

Doug

[Dalgo]

Doug, yes there is, just like the 412. If I align the top of the front sight with the top of the flip up sight, the top barrel (12ga.), with Brenneke slugs and with shot pattern shoots way low - almost 2ft. low. If I raise the front sight, so that the base is lined up with the top of the rear sight, then the POI is just slightly higher than dead on. That is why I was thinking that by installing another sight that fits the lengthwise dovetail, I could grind off the sight blade, drill the dovetail and install a smallish shotgun bead. By experimenting w/different bead heights I could then get the top barrel so it shoots dead-on at 50yds, and then line-up the bottom barrel to meet the POI.  Right now the bottom barrel is shooting to the sights perfectly. But, it's the adjustable one, not the top barrel. I just don't want to grind the blade off the one that is on the gun, and ruin the value.  Would like to leave it intact. Getting a replacement blade w/a lengthwise dovetail that fits seems to be the answer.

I am also thinking of of putting a scope on it.  Have a Leupy 1.5-5X for it. Found some suppliers for Sako Optilock quick-detach ring/mounts.  Cheapest so far is $325 for them.  Made for Sako 75/85 series, but look to be the same to fit the 2400's rail. What do you think?  Would they fit? The good thing is the supplier is only about an hour-and-a-half from my house, so I can go down and see first hand if they would work.  Like to be able to use the shotgun barrel as a shotgun, hence the quick-detach idea.  Then, again, I could line the scope up with the top barrel, and adust the bottom barrel to meet (sight-in .308 to hit about inch and a half high at 100yds).

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Pierre

[Dalgo]

Another comment on the front sight blade. Using it as it is, with the bottom of the base (almost) lined-up with the top of the flip-up back sight, doesn't make for the most accurate set-up for slugs, and as a shotgun for shooting birds, tends to block your seeing the bird in flight, while being a huge distraction (causes your eye to look at the blade, and not the bird). Using a small bead, you don't even see it for shotgunning, while would most likely line-up the POI almost perfectly for slug shooting.  Just a thought.

Pierre

[Dalgo]

Doug, just realized I really didn't answer your question.  Sorry.  The rear sight appears adjustable from what I can tell, but only for windage, if so.  Hard to tell, but it looks like it can be tapped.  However, it is dead-on windage-wise. It is accurate! Surprised me that it was. Will be interesting to see just how accurate it will be with the scope, if the mounts that I get fit the gun. I certainly hope the Sako mounts work.  The 2400 has so much potential.  Neat gun. And it's in beautiful pristine condition. I don't want to mess it up by putting screw holes in the top rails for a mount, nor ruining the original front sight. In the last case, I would have my gunsmith (an excellet machinist) make me a dovetailed front sight, and a Sako style base to fit quick-detach rings, so as not to hurt the gun in anyway.

Pierre

[Drilling Man]

  A taller front sight will make it shoot lower.  To get the slug higher, you need a taller REAR right.

  DM

[Dalgo]

Yup, Drilling Man, that's the other alternative. My reasoning for replacing the front sight was that even as a shotgun, without using the rear sight (folded flush) and sighting down the top rib, with the tall blade on the gun, the shot pattern shoots low, and the front blade is kind of in the way.  I thought that by installing a small bead on the front, instead of that tallish blade, it would bring the pattern up.  The bonus would be that by aligning a small bead level with the rear sight, it would bring the point of aim up for shooting slugs. A taller rear sight blade would work for shooting slugs, but would not help shot patterns shoot higher, because as a shotgun, the rear sight would be folded down.  Also, a taller rear blade would not allow the rear blade to fold all the way flush with the rib in the sight recess.  Shotgun front beads can be purchased in large to small diameters, and tall to low heights, and in a variety of colors from plain metal to high viz fiber optics.  Seemed to be the simplest solution, if I could just find a front lengthwise dovetail sight that would fit the slot on that gun. This way, I could have the blade ground off, and have it tapped for a bead sight, and thus not risk messing up the original sight that came with the gun.

Pierre