Stevens 22-410

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Just received this from my dad. I used to hunt rabbits and ptarmigan with it as a kid. He bought it in the late 40's for $15.00.:eek: Sorry for the not so great pic.

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Savage 24's have got to be one of the best Christmas gifts of all time. My brother got his in about 1964. We had just got the farm and this led him into a life of outdoor skills and shooting.

One of his biggest regrets still is trading it off for a Remington 243! When his son was 12 he looked for two years for a 22/410 and none were to be found. More have come out of the woodwork since then, but the 410's are hare to find still!

Ivan
 
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They are great guns, stories of the 24 series abound and they made a bazillion of them on many different configurations and yet you don't see that many for sale. I guess folks just hang onto them and hand them down.

My dad gave me my .22/.410 Savage 24J Deluxe for Christmas in 1973 when I was 11. I couldn't begin to count the number of rabbits, squirrels, snakes, doves, and other animals that gun has taken, never mind the thousands of rounds spent just plinking. One of these days I'll give it to my son and I imagine it will stay in the family forever.
 
It's funny that the combination gun in America has pretty much always been a young person's gun, while in Europe they were the highest form of gun-craft and the norm for working hunting guns. I can't count the number of times I would have loved to have had a drilling when deer hunting and jumping a dozen mallards or woodies. Or duck hunting and jumping a 12 point buck, hog, or coyote. Sure be handy when seasons over-lap. But I guess the expense and weight kept them from really catching on here other than the excellent Savage product.
 
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There was a 222/12 for sale 35 years ago at a LGS. I was very interested, but the shop owner refused to sell it to me. On that model the top barrel free floated, and there was a slight curve in the 222 barrel.

Since then I have picked up 4 used 24's and got rid of one. The worst was a very early model 24 with the side lever. It was 22Mag/20 with the typical 26" barrels. The 22Mag barrel was grooved for a 22 scope. Scoped with a 4x I couldn't get it under 5" at 50 yards with any of 4 types of ammo. It is the only one I ever got rid of. (Come to think of it, I bought off a BIL just before my SIL got rid of him!)

My absolute favorite is a 24C. The "Camper" is a 20" barreled 22/20 with ammo compartments in the butt trap. I made a case from a thin tool box to hold the gun and every thing a truck gun could need. (Scope, Cleaning kit, Sling, a 100 round box of CCI Mini-Mags, and two 20 round plastic boxes; each containing 5 Slugs, 5 #4 Buck (used to be legal for waterfowl), 5 #4 shot, and 5 #7.5 shot. This whole kit has been my constant companion since around 1986.

I have a 30-30/20 and a 357mag/20 Deluxe. They are both very nice guns and shoot well, but I seldom get them out.

I saw a 410/410 several years ago, and the model was something else, but it was a typical 24 with a thumb selector hammer. The guy that had it for sale must have thought it was a Browning O/U, because that's how he had it priced! (for $200 more I could have had a brand new Browning back then)

So far I have 4 grandsons and 1 granddaughter and 1 or 2 on the way. I can't find one let alone five 24's to give them, but I'm looking hard! Since I load 410, Grandpa will always be a source of ammo!

Ivan
 
My area has big demand for the older model 24s. The 1st Stevens
guns had selector on right, solid barrels and non grooved for
scope. Some had Tenite stocks. Savage moved selector to left,
grooved fo scope, added several models and combinations. Then
moved to spur selector on Hammer. When they went to open
barrel models the accuracy of rifle barrels went down hill. Right
now most desirable guns in this area are SideSelect, Solid Barrel
22lr/20g. The 20g only because of cost and availability of 410s.
I have a 24DL, 22/20g got new in 64. Rifle shoots extremely well
perfect small game gun. Any solid barrel gun will sell in a heart
beat in these parts, not so with open barrel models. The new
"Thing" they have on the market is absolute junk.
 

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Bought one back around 1973-74, needed a deer rifle and didn't have a lot of money at the time. Got the .30-.30 /20ga.,the price was right and it was a nice rifle.
Still have it yet today and my son used it for the first time he went out for deer!:)
Never regretted buying it!;)
 
The first gun I shot as a toddler(?) was a .410/.22 O/U Stevens 24. It was so heavy that my father propped the barrel in the fork of a tree and let me shoot .22 shorts at a board. Then the 'sick-o' put a .410 slug in it and I lit it off without knowing. I ended up on my butt and the only thing I remember was both of my folks laughing their ***'s off. Still have a Stevens 24; as painful as the experience was.
 
The concept has always interested me. I have only had one. It was a 357 x 20 gauge. I was very disappointed and sold it soon after buying it. I would like to have the machining talent to mill a receiver and all parts from steel. Chamber it in 22 magnum, by 20 gauge that has a rifled barrel. The sights would have several leafs. One for the 22 magnum set dead on at 50 yards. The second leaf set a 75 yards for the 20 gauge with slugs. The final leaf set for 150 yards with the 20 gauge using slugs. Then you would have an ideal all around gun. Small game for the 22 mag, shotshells for flying birds and slugs for big game.
 
These old combo guns are getting hard to find. I picked this one up a couple of years ago in a pawn shop gathering dust as it just came in and was not cleaned up yet. It did need to be cleaned so we dickered and I got it for $275 OTD. It's marked Stevens Model 22-410 and cleaned up quite well with the receiver still holding that nice case color. I believe it precedes the Model 24. Here's a few pics. Rich.
 

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I never had one, saw the merit of the concept. I had a Savage M-94 in 410 and a 22 rifle. I used either or as needed.

Must not have been a popular gun in Missouri where i grew up, did not see many. never saw a 30-3020 gauge nor a 357.

Saw an occasional drilling come into the pawn/gun shops outside the Army base, a few guys tried them. They were a heavy bird gun and usually had hard to find German ammo for the rifle.

I do not believe Missouri allowed one to carry bird shot while deer hunting. May have hurt it as a dual game gun there. slugs only in possession would have been Ok.
 
I had a 22/20 ga many years ago. It was my "pot hunting" gun. I used it when I was going out, but specifically looking for something, just something "for the pot."

Killed a bunch of squirrels with the rifle barrel. Most of the time I kept a 3" magnum load of Number 2 buckshot in the shotgun barrel, "just in case" a deer was to walk up.

Never happened, but it was nice to think it might.

Wish I still had that gun. It would just as good today as it was then for that job.
 
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