Savage over/under in .22WMR

[Jack Gilbert]

How many of you guys have one of these? I got one for my 15th. birthday, with a 3" 410 underneath. This is the 24B model with the barrels brazed together and the little round bullseye button barrel selector on the right side of the receiver. It has very fine Patridge type sights.

Well, that has been many years ago, and my understanding is that this was the first rifle chambered for the WMR. Anyway, probably made in 1962 or thereabouts.

I read somewhere in an article by one of the major gun mag writers that this was the most accurate WMR he had ever shot. I can attest to that statement as this is a dandy, and still in pristine shape after many years of dispatching squirrels, magpies, rock chucks and jack rabbits.

So any other Savage owners out there? What's your input? Trigger is real stiff but doesn't seem to affect my shooting ability with this rifle.

Jack

[John Traveler]

That's a FINE combination gun you have, Jack!

For some odd reason, I've never gotten around to owning one.  

A good friend let me shoot his .222/20 guage extensively, and it became my first choice for casual walks through the brush country.  A shooter is well equipped for varmit, birds, bunnies or other small game with one!

Savage/Stevens used to make a "Camper Special" .22 LR/410 takedown combo gun with a soft carry case.  I've looked high and low for one at local gun shows for the last couple years.

Have you ever tried to shoot accuracy groups with your .22 WRM barrel?  I've heard some owners claim that the gun won't group when hot, but have been unable to verify.

John

[Robert]

It is a lot of fun.  Has a blue barrel and stainless receiver, with dove tails for scope.  I had a shotgun scope on it for a while, and anything you could hit with the 22 mag, you could come pretty close witha 20 gauge slug.  I took it Turkey hunting one year and got a nice bird, it is pretty cool to have a rifle also, in case you see other game.  Mine has the barrel selector on the hammer.

[Jack Gilbert]

Those 20 ga. models have a barrel spacer at the front of the muzzles, don't they? Seems the 410/.22s were the first. Have always thought they were a great outfit.

[John Traveler]

It IS a Great Outfit, Jack!

I saw one at last week's gun show, and was sorta SHOCKED to see that the owner wanted $325 for it!  Okay, it was in very good condition, with perfect bores.

John

[Jack Gilbert]

I think 325 might be a little high. Depends on the area though. It would be interesting just to find out how many they made in WMR--maybe not too many as the cartridge was new then.

[Lawdog]

Got a old Savage M24DL, .22 WMR over 20 ga. with Weaver K2.5 on top.  Bought it off a high school friend in 1964 that needed money for the senior prom.  I gave him $70.00 for it at the time.  I added the scope after I bought it.  Perfect combo for around the place.  Lawdog

[Graybeard]

Had one. Let it go way too many years ago. Like Lawdog's mine was the DL model with 20ga/22WMR. Was quite accurate from the rifle barrel.

But no I don't think it was the first rifle so chambered. The round came out in 1959. Pretty sure both Mossberg and Marlin had rifles out before the Savage.


GB

[Joel]

One of the first rifles I owned as a kid was a Savage 24 22/.410 with a bakalite stock.  In 1962, Dad bought bought one in the new fangled 22Mag/.410; shot mostly 22 WRF's in it for squirrel.  It was extremely accurate with either the WRF's or WRFM's.  Should have kept that one.  Currently own a 24DL in 22Mag/20(3/4" groups at 100 yds) and  a 24V in 22hornet/20; also extremely accurate.  Finest all around utility/farm rifle ever made in this country, far as I'm concerned.

[TravisM.]

When I was younger my uncle would occasionally leave a gun or two here for my brother and I to shoot. He had a pretty broad collection and the two most memorable were an old Stevens Favorite with a weaver 4x he used to coon hunt with, and a scoped (3x-9x) Model 24C (I think), 22 magnum over 20g 3". I remember it kind of surprised me that it shot to pretty much the same place with both barrels. It shot really good, and I used it to squirrel hunt one season.
A friend of mine has a Tikka .222 over 12 gauge, and it doesn't ashoot nearly as well as the savages Ive seen.

[wink_man]

And made right here in the USA!!!! At last count, I think I have 17 of these Savage 24's(I try not to count). What Lawdog and everyone else says here is true of this gun, and probably the best survival gun ever made if you were lost or had to survive in the woods. They were packed in Air Force survival packs I am told. With a pocket full of 22 or 22 mag shells, and another pocket full of bridshot and rifled slugs, say in 20 gauge, you could pretty much kill anything that walks, runs, flies or stands still, up to and including deer & black bear. You'd have to be a pretty lousy hunter for your family to go hungry with this gun in your hands. I don't like the newer models much, far to heavy and bulky compared to the older models. You might not have known that this gun was also chambered for the 357 Remington Maximum pistol cartridge over 20 gauge. Yes, VERY rare, but they did produce some, and I have one. Hard to get information about this great gun, because Savage almost went bankrupt in 1989, and stopped producing all models except the bolt action centerfire rifles. Then, when they got out of trouble, and went private in 1995, they would only be responsible for guns produced after 1995, so one can't even get information or parts for these older guns from Savage.
     Because of this, I have requested a new Forum of Graybeard, a forum for Savage 24 combination guns. Since there is so little information available a forum would help all Savage 24 owners compare guns, share knowledge about them, places to find parts, etc.
     If anyone agrees with this idea, I would suggest you go to the 'Request for New Forums' and cast a positive vote for it.

[brownhipower]

A neat accessory for these rifles are the inserts from mca. You can shoot a variety of pistol cartridges from the shotgun barrel and my favorite the 30-30. It makes a fun gun even better.

Steve