I love 'em. I bought a new .223 over 12 gauge about 2-3 years ago, just after Savage stopped making them (something they apparently do from time to time -- I sure hope it's not for good this time). At the time, you could use either rifle or shotgun for Fall turkey here, and we had been carrying one of each -- a real pain. Of course, no sooner do I buy the gun for that purpose than they change the regs so that both Spring and Fall are shotgun only. Nevertheless, I sometimes carry it during the turkey hunt just in case I get a chance at a coyote at longer range.

Anyway, much to my surprise, the thing has turned out to pretty much be my favorite long gun. I mounted a cheap B Square 2.5 x 20 shotgun scope on it, and the rifle will shoot sub .75 inch groups at 100 yards all day, even with cheap bulk ammo. You do have to make a little adjustment for the different line of sight for the shotgun, but "Kentucky windage" works pretty well. Model 24's are notorious for being a crapshoot when it comes to accuracy, so "your results may vary," as they say.

They have made some interesting caliber combos over the years. Mostly you'll see a lot of old .410/.22 or 20 gauge/.22 WMR, but every now and then something unusual comes up. I've never see a 20 gauge/ 30-30, but I have been looking for a good quality 12/30-30 at a good price. I passed on a well-used one on Gunbroker a few years ago marked "Mono County [CA] Animal Control" that I thought was interesting, but wasn't sure about the condition.

One thing to keep in mind. The later models, although not as interesting and more limited in caliber combo do have some advantages. First, from what I've read, the firing pin return springs on the earlier models are pretty much guaranteed to break. Also, the later models have a barrel band that is attached to the rifle with a ring that the shotgun barrel "floats" in. On the older models the barrels are both welded to a piece of metal sandwiched between them. The welds will sometimes break due to one barrel expanding contracting in relation to the other.