A young friend of mine owns the semiauto shotgun shown in the attached photos. It is a Savage Model 720. It was apparently passed down from his wife’s grandfather.

I know nothing about this type of gun, and a cursory search couldn’t come up with much online except that the model was produced between 1930 and 1949, and it does not seem to be worth a lot.

The photos show the serial and all markings.

Is anyone here more familiar with this, and can share experiences good, bad, or ugly? Thanks!

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A Savage clone of JMB’s Autoloading shotgun.

The best autoloading shotgun design, ever.

Browning A-5s, Remington M-11s, and many others were built.

The Savage 720 is only decent shotgun they ever made. They did update it a little but mostly cosmetics in same operating system. The only thing that usually needs attention is recoil spring and friction bushing. The main thing I came across with them as well as Brn A5 and Rem 11s is the recoil buffer spring in the butt stock. On these old guns years of oil and crud end up draining into the buffer and will eventually shorten the recoil stroke enough to retard cycling. This is overlooked by many even if they keep up with stripping and cleaning bolt and trigger group. All these are built to last and are the best autos ever made. That's why the design lasted over 100yrs and many are still in the field.

I beg to to differ about the only decent Savage shotgun ever built, I am fond of my Model 1928 Savage.

Auto5s, Rem 11s and 720s have some machining and dimensional differences, but they are basically the same.

Replace all the springs, fraction piece, and check the little bumper pad in the back of the receiver.

Also here's a diagram for adjusting the spring and friction piece for the appropriate load;



Edit, if it's not properly set up, it won't function properly and may cause damage with heavy loads.

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Thread Killer.

Savage made an alloy aluminum receiver version, i believe it was called the 745, if I ever find one at a bargin I will be tempted to add it to the pile.

745 is the alloy frame gun. The 726 was called the Upland Sporter it had a 2 shot magazine capacity, 3 shot overall.
The 740C was the factory Cutts Comp installed gun.
720 the standard or Field gun.

Good shotguns, they just don't get much attention.
As already stated, check the normal A5 problem points. One in good mechanical condition generally gives little trouble.
Many times the A5 type guns troubles are from the friction rings being in the wrong positions.

A bit later on Savage came out with another series of A5 clones,,the 750 series. These were in the 50's and 60's.
One was the 750SC (Super Choke). The coke bottle on the end of the bbl was a Savage factory installed proprietary choke,,kind of a combination Cutts and Polychoke.
I think one of the 750 series was an alloy frame also,,maybe the plain '750' itself was.

Lots of the Savage 720's seemed to have been made with an acid etch type floral 'engraving' pattern on them.
This one looks like it's in nice condition from a quick look at the pics.

Forends crack just like the FN A5 are common , but that's why God & JMB created glue.

No magazine cut off as on the FN. Left off for cheaper mfg'r.
Remington did the same except for a run of their M11's sometimes called FN Remingtons. Something to do with the import taxes were too high on the FN product at one point so they made the FN style gun at Remington.

Lots of the Savage 720's are found with US markings as they were bought and used for gunner training and also used for guard and other duties I'd imagine.

You did not mention a gauge. I have an old Browning of that era, and it is 2 1/2 or 2 9/16" shells not 2 3/4". Also, I would shoot the lowest power shells I could find. No express or magnum stuff.. Be safe!

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

Picture #4. It says 2 3/4

Guess I did not look close enough. Should have magnified the pic

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

I did have a Savage Double that I wish I had back.
I get it - not decent, low end, not up to the standards of some of you guys.
But it worked for me and I really can’t tell you why I sold it!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

No one has mentioned the flaming bomb and US stamping on receiver. At least that part of the gun was "in the service". Just my observation. Mike

2152hq mentioned the US markings toward the end of his post. It may be an important clue that could help narrow down this gun’s provenance.

In the meantime I’ve found a RIA auction for a Model 720 with these ordnance markings in the same spot, the P proof, “flaming bomb” and US. In the accompanying text it noted that the War Department bought 14,500 of these in 1943 and 1944. Other sources say those were between 69,000 and 90,000, so that fits.

Thank you to everybody for your input!

The Government purchased a bunch during WWII to help train aerial gunners to lead targets. Used to have a US marked one myself, they’re great old shotguns.

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Some Might Say.

Correction about the detail re: fiber cushion. The remingtons had the fiber cushion. Savages and Brownings did not. The reason the cushion was there had to do with the firing pin and breech bolt slamming into the back of the receiver. This caused some cracked bolts in the remington guns. Browning and savage addressed this problem by machining a slot in the back end of the receiver, thus allowing clearance for the bolt.

I have the savage and the remington both. They were licensed copies of the browning, save for the magazine cutoff and later two-piece lifter assembly. Those were exclusive to brownings.

Recommend changing the recoil spring (big one on the mag tube) and the action spring (long one in the buttstock). These take a set over time and can cause the gun to batter itself to death if not reasonably fresh. No worries, though, you can just order Browning springs. They are easily found and work fine. As said, forearm cracks are common. The forearms are structural elements and do require some attention.

The flaming bomb means this was part of a military procurement program. If it has a long barrel, most likely it was used to train aerial gunners in the war, or possibly used in recreational games on a military base. If a short barrel, likely used in guard duty or security services (not combat). For disassembly, adjustment, and cleaning you should track down an online copy of Army Technical Manual TM-9-285, Shotguns, All Types (1942). It’s free and in pdf format, and is my go-to for this model and for a few others.

JMB himself thought this shotgun was his most successful design. It’s a great one! Have him avoid steel if the choke is mod or tighter. Have fun-Great gun!

I have had a 720 for a number of years shoots just fine. I've never had any functioning issues with it. I also have a 12 ga double made by them locks up tight and shoots good. These were workin man guns no frills, but did what they were meant to do.

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Randy

I picked up a beat up 726 very cheap and made a whippet clone. I need to find a 720 magazine tube and forend some day.

Great suggestion, thanks! Got one, easy to find.

I have 2 Savages. One is military marked (Plain) and one commercial (Engraved with checkering). Love them both.

I did have to clean solidified grease out of both and replaced some small parts on both. Numrich is my friend. I made an 18" barrel for the commercial out of a junk barrel.

The A5 has a magazine cutoff The Savages don't. I've never missed it.

The Savage grip has slightly more curve than the A5, so the stocks won't interchange. For me, the Savage grip is more comfortable than the A5.

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I'm with her