Old dogs still hunt!

This one taken  last week by a friend using original Stevens with side button selector and plastic tenite stocks chambered 22 LR over .410.  He shot gobbler in the head with the 410 barrel at about 25 yards.  Using the new Federal TSS shells, he almost shot that gobblers head clean off.

This one taken by me two weeks ago with 22WMR over 3 inch 20 gage with original full choke barrel using Federal TSS #7 super shot at 30 yards. You don't need a 12 gage to kill turkeys anymore with these new TSS shotgun shells.  I have hunted with this same gun since I was 15 years old and I am now 79.  I think I paid about $60 dollars for it at Sears & Roebuck Co. from money earned bush hogging with tractor and bailing and loading hay with the old small bales. It is still going strong but I had to scope it with 1 power scope because of failing eyesight.  Gun does not have original trigger guard because a nephew broke the original one when he dropped it.  These are tuff little guns and it's a dam shame to see what is happening to the prices on them.  I could never afford one today as a youngster.

You know Mike, as I look at some of the guns pictured on this forum, it is evident they are not being used and many seem to never have been used.  By used I mean REALLY used and not just taken to the shooting range once a year and shoot a few rounds.  I mean used as they were intended to be used and that was to be a VERSITLE combination gun capable of almost anything a small game HUNTER is likely to encounter.  Actually, they were made to be an all around gun for farm or rural use for foxes in the hen house to snakes in the garden, or for a young hunter's first gun. They were available and at a reasonable price almost everywhere and one stood loaded behind my father's kitchen door for his entire lifetime. I bought my own because of the one he had.  Unfortunately, as soon as people discovered Savage was not making them anymore, they were bought by so called COLLECTORS who do not hunt or shoot because they COLLECT.  This causes a shortage in the market which drives up the price for anyone who wants one to USE FOR HUNTING.  

The same thing is happening to the prices on Browning Hi Powers and for the same reason and the prices on them are going up every day.  Old fat guys with a gun safe or closet full of guns he is "COLLECTING" are making it impossible for anyone who wants to use them to get one, or at least, making it dam expensive.  And even then, these so called 'COLLECTIONS" are not real collections that have the whole series of the guns in all the different calibers and gages  they were made in and in order to be a real collection, that condition is required. 

I was at a gun show recently and there were a three 24's on one table.  They were in what I call a GOOD condition, but not excellent. The least expensive one was priced at $599.00.  There were several older guys standing around talking about which model was made and when and how many were made and how valuable it was and yada, yada, yada.  I asked the group how many hunted or used their 24's.  There was a GASP in the group and one said, " they are too valuable to use!"  I just don't get it.  That makes absolutely NO SENSE to me at all. 

What I know is I used to give every nephew a model 24 until the price on them went into the unreasonable range.  Now I give them a new in the box Ruger 10-22 for less than I could give them a used  model 24.  These "COLLECTORS" will get none of my money and when they die, their widow, who has no idea what those "old guns in the closet are,"  is going to sell their guns for whatever the local gun/pawn shop will give them.    I have a friend who owns a pawn/gun shop and he says he just loves to give widow women a hand full of cash for their husband's old guns because they leave smiling and happy.  But not as happy as he is because he just bought those guns for about 10 to 15 cents on the dollar. It happens waaaay too many times.  

To each his own, but about all these so called collectors are accomplishing is making it impossible for people who would really use it to get one.  There were waaaay too many of them made to ever be "COLLECTABLE" and you don't see any in a museum for sure.  When you see that, THEN you will know it is collectable.  Until then, it is simply hoarding.  I hear guys talking about Hi Powers being collectable.  There were literally MILLIONS of them made for WWII and for all the militaries and police units around the world.  Canada, India, and Australia STILL use Hi Powers as their issued side arm.  They will never be collectable in this lifetime because to be collectable (valuable) it must be in limited supply.  Millions of certain models of guns made do not meet the definition of limited supply and that goes for model 24's as well.

Yep. I just gave my last Savage model 24 222 Remington over 3 inch 20 gage to a great nephew who had his 10th birthday. He has been coming to deer camp for the past two years and his dad just gave me the green light to give it to him. I'll have to give his little brother a Ruger 10-22 and I will. Both will get used and BE USEFUL. They won't sit in a safe or closet as part of a collection. They will be used to MAKE MEMORIES to last for a lifetime.

Hello all,
Thanks for the reply’s and pics, good to see there are more than mine still in the field! I know with the new TSS shells it don’t take a 12g to kill turkeys anymore dead than what I’ve killed em in the past. I was looking for the chokeable 24 without modification because I wanted to shoot slugs through it too and have a rifled choke. The Federal 3rd degree shells have a triple payload of 20% #6 flight stopper lead up front, 40% #5 copper plated lead in the middle, and 40% #7 Tss in the rear with the Federal Flight Control Wad. I went to this shell several years back after missing birds up close with the chicken choker tight choke tubes and #5 copper plated lead loads. It’s way more forgiving at 5-10 yards and effective at 50. I run the 3.5” 12g outta the 870 super mag with factory extended extra full choke .683 and loved the results. I originally tried a Carlson’s .680 extended choke in the savage but it was not effective at 40 yard so I tightened it up to .675 and it was perfect when combined with the 3” version of Federal 3rd Degree shells. My son does shoot TSS out of his .410 single shot break action Rossi with a screw in full choke and a red dot and is good out to 30 yards and not so forgiving at 5 yards but he’s good with the red dot and we put it on a tripod when he shoots. I just haven’t made the switch myself as I like my super mag and 24 12ga’s with 3rd Degree and they ain’t nearly as expensive. Plus the price of .30-30/20ga was too much for my budget and I wanted the .30-30. It’s worked out perfect with some modifications to the side mount scope base, not to the gun. I had to bed the scope out on the barrel with some stiff rubber because it floated off the top of the .30-30 barrel too much and the recoil caused the mount to kiss the barrel and eventually loosen the nuts even with Loctite 242 (blue) on em. After I smashed the rubber strip between and 242’d new screws in the mount, it’s held to .30-30 fire, 12ga 3” turkeys, and 3” brenneke slugs with no loosening up. I did put witness marks on the screw heads to monitor but so far so good. So far I’m extremely happy with the gun as I saw the exact same model on GB go for $1950 awhile ago, nuts. More than double, almost triple the money I got in this one, even with the sight and modification!

Keep em hunting boys!
Mike

Please tell me about optics for the 24.  I'm 80+ years old, and the sights and my eyesight combine to make it almost impossible for me to use the 22LR at anything other than point blank range!