Sierra Sherpa,
Congratulations on acquiring the Savage 24 'bug'! Your interest, and reasoning, are well founded. I own 2 of these beauties, and have been a part of the little Savage 24 "community" (and it is one!) for quite some time.
But there are a few things you need to know which will help you along the way. There are some unfair criticisms, and some fair ones, when it comes to 24's...so you need to know what you're buying.
First a little history...
The Stevens .22/.410 combo gun ran from 1939-1949. Stevens was owned buy Savage going back to the 1920's, but operated as it's own company, building guns under it's own name. In 1950, Savage decided to re-brand the model under the Savage name, and started calling it the Savage Model 24 from then onward.
The original guns are quite pretty, featuring case-hardened receivers and fully seemed barrels, which shot very well. The ONLY drawback to these guns was the receiver-side button barrel selector, which was a design flaw from the beginning, about which many, many people will complain to this day.
The side button remained in production through the 1963 model year, after which it was moved to the center top of the hammer, where it remained for the rest of it's production years. The hammer top selector was a huge improvement, and has always worked perfectly fine.
In 1971, Savage made the dubious decision to separate the barrels, undoubtedly because of cost of production.
** A side note on separated barrels. Given all rifle barrels have "whip," no matter what the caliber, separated barrels require special regulation to make them shoot straight. This is just fine in higher end guns like the 2400, Valmet, and even Baikal's of certain lineage, as these are higher grade guns of better manufacture. But Savage ALWAYS presented the 24 as a working gun, and as such wanted to change a working man's price. Unfortunately, this means that people typically found difficulty in getting the barrels to group together...a common complaint you will hear from people who own these post-'71 guns. Unfortunately, most of those who will loudly say this, are either unaware of the earlier guns, or presume that the older models perform the same...WHICH THEY DON'T.
My first gun was a Model 24-C, called the "Camper's Companion." It is the only Model 24 ever to NOT be made with 24 inch barrels, but instead had 20 inch barrels. The 24-C was offered in the 1970's, and as such had the separated barrels...and while
I loved the gun because it was handy, and MINE...the damn little thing didn't shoot too straight.OK, so fast forward to what I DO own...and what I think you ought to know. The 1964-1971 guns were a period that featured the BEST of both of the primary features of these guns -- fully connected barrels, AND hammer top barrel selectors. As such in these years you get exactly what you're wanting in terms of great shooting and problem-free operation.
Mine are both .22lr / 20 gauge (I kind of frown on .410's as being too weak for anything other than a boy's first "toy" gun...and one which would have frustrated him!). They are both
Model 24 J-DL, denoting their "deluxe" stock and trim: raised MonteCarlo cheek piece, nicer grade of wood, and nicer receiver finish.
I would strongly suggest that IF you want a 24, you consider holding out (they aren't THAT hard to find) for any of the 24 DL (E-DL through J-DL) or 24 S models from this era. The "S" model featured the same seemed barrels and selector, just were more plain looking, and had a push down break action on the right side of the receiver, instead of the DL's tang top paddle lever.
So, 1964-1970 for the "DL" variations, and 1964-1971 for the "S" variations.
Get very familiar with how they work, buy a Radocy take-down guide and schematic, and buy yourself plenty of spare plungers, springs, and pins of each type from Numrich in Kingston, NY. Because you WILL want to shoot it alot, and they aren't making any more 45+ year old spare parts!
One more thing. This standard elevator rear sight which came on these guns was never good. So be on the lookout for any of the 4 after-market (
and ONLY these 4) sights you could install. With them, these are totally different guns.
Redfield RE-24 is the absolute BEST, but very hard to find, and expensive when you do. It included a front sight riser in the box, and the sight itself mounted to the dovetail groove on the receiver, so NO D&T work.
Williams WGRS 24 is the other no D&T option.
The there are the Lyman 53D, and the Williams 5D-24 (which is NOT the standard 5D, which doesn't fit). Both of these require drilling and tapping.
You CAN mount a scope, despite what it says right on the barrel...but you need a GOOD mount. Scope mounts have come a long way in these decades since, and the
BKL Technologies 260 MB has served me well on one of my guns (the other wears a Redfield RE-24). The BKL mount has NOT loosened or lost a zero after firing tons of 3inch shotshell and slugs...the .22lr is still spot on @ 50 yards.
Oh one more thing. You mentioned the 30-30 /20ga specifically. This gun was called the
24 V (offered also with .222 Rem. /20ga), and was ONLY offered in years when the barrels were separated. Some guys love em, and they were built a little more robust than the rimfire models...so maybe they regulate better. I wouldn't know, having never owned one. They certainly go for a pretty penny, I can tell you that!
Peruse savage24.com for lots of good information, as well as how to date pre-1968 models with no serial numbers.
Good luck!
