tim59
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Posts: 7
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Post by tim59 on Jul 8, 2022 21:27:39 GMT -5
Hey everyone!
First post but I've been lurking here for quite a while.
I have 3 Savage 24s.
24v .30-.30/20ga , .22Mag/20Ga, and a 24f .223/12ga.
I absolutely love the idea of the combination gun and ever since I got my first one ~12 years ago (.22mag/20ga), I've been trying to work my way "up" to the perfect combination for still and stalk hunting deer in my area and I've finally settled on my 24f. I managed to take several deer with it last year using the .223 and this upcoming deer season I'm hoping to take one with the shotgun/buckshot. I've done a little crow hunting with it and it was with me while I was listening to a gobbler ignore my calls for 3 mornings in a row (I'm mainly a deer hunter. Haven't managed to figure out turkeys yet..). My 24F has exceptional regulation between the barrels. Both are nearly identical at 35-40 yards. I have a 2 MOA red dot sight on it and when I am expecting longer ranged shots or late evening shots i have a removable 1.5-5x magnifier. I've found this setup is VERY useful and essentially acts as a temporary scope, for times when I expect to primarily use the rifle.
My other two 24s are not quite as well regulated. I've read several posts here and ALL over the web about various ways to wedge things between the barrels to sort of force my own regulation. I'm not opposed to tinkering and fixing the regulation on these guns and I'm fairly confidant that I could bring them both to a much closer, if not perfect (to my standards) regulation. I love my .22mag/20ga, it's perfect for meat hunting or keeping crows/rabbits out of my garden but without having the shotgun portion in-line with my rifle.. I feel like I just have a .22mag and I'm not using my combination gun the way it was meant to be used or the way that I WANT to use it.
I've poked around on gunbroker and like the idea of some of the 20ga combinations but there is no real guarantee that what I buy will end up being any better in the regulation department, than what I currently have. Does anyone know of a good outlet for trading? I would very much love to trade either my 24v .30-30/20ga or my .22mag/20ga for a similar combo, that is well regulated. I'd love to have a small caliber rifle over 20ga, as my farm gun that i also feel confidant shooting at things on the wing. As much as I appreciate my little collection of 24s.. I also love using them. And currently I only feel confidant walking the woods or my property with one that I consider my "deer gun".
Love the forum and I have enjoyed reading everyone's comments/experiences with their 24s. As soon as I get off my butt, I'll have to post some pictures of my "collection"!
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Post by jrguerra on Jul 11, 2022 4:19:55 GMT -5
First of all, welcome to the Savage 24 forum. Glad to read your post - its a good start !
I appreciate your post, most of us who are fans are hunters too. You are lucky in having at least one well regulated pair of barrels. It is pretty much luck of the draw how well this occurs. Especially lucky your 'large game' combination is the well regulated one, as small game are usually taken are far closer range.
How far off are the shotgun barrels ? Are they to the side or vertical differences. For me, having the shotgun patterns shoot below the sights is the worst situation, as your intended target is hidden from view and it is more difficult to estimate your hold point. I have a pair of Campers, one is relatively close but the other is not. I certainly get the frustration but it appears to be 'baked into the cake' with this design.
I hope you find an answer or at least a good suggestion how to improve your situation.
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tim59
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Posts: 7
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Post by tim59 on Jul 11, 2022 8:03:45 GMT -5
Hey! My 24f .223/12 is perfect, like i said. Shotgun can throw a very good pattern of buckshot at 30 yards, with full and turkey choke tubes while the .223 is spot on at 80 yards. Which I consider perfect for what i want. It was actually new-in-box, when I got it off of gunbroker. Somehow I found a diamond in the rough. My 24v 30-30/20 is serviceable. 30-30 is pretty well spot on at 80 yards. The 20ga throws a pattern about 8-10 inches to the left at 30 yards. I feel like i can adjust the barrel band and possibly fix this but its not SO far off that i wouldnt hit a squirrel or a deer, if I'm not aiming horribly bad in the first place. My .22mag/20 is the most off. The .22mag is SPOT on from 30-60 yards (about as far as i can aim with no magnification). The 20ga is a full foot and a half low at 15-20 yards. This is the main one of the three that I want to be my "truck" gun or my "farm" gun. Since as everyone knows, .22mag/20 can kill everything from a dove to a deer if you are loaded and aiming right. When im out walking my property or even during squirrel season.. this is my preferred walking buddy. But i just have zero confidence in it, as is. When i first picked that gun up from a gun show a dozen years or so, ago. I half-assed zeroed the iron sights at 30 yards with the .22mag and immediately took it in the woods. I planned on maybe taking a squirrel or two but i dummied across a smaller doe that somehow didnt notice me. About 15 yards away. When i sent buckshot at her, she dropped but was very much alive. I only managed to took her legs out. I quickly finished her off with the .22mag but from then on, I've had a mental block with that gun. If she was 25 yards away.. i'm hitting dirt. Sorry for the extremely long reply.  but thats a rundown on where they all shoot. |
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tim59
Rank Stranger
Posts: 7
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Post by tim59 on Jul 11, 2022 18:42:17 GMT -5
My little collection. For reference.
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Post by jrguerra on Aug 1, 2022 6:09:10 GMT -5
Great 'family photo' :^)
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Post by cas on Aug 12, 2022 19:15:34 GMT -5
Finding a regulated 24 is like finding a winning lottery ticket, not very likely. These were cheap utility guns, never meant to have the shotgun barrel "aimed", Point and shoot. Ignore the rear sight, look over it, use the front sight like a bead. I have no idea where my original 24's shotgun barrel shoots. But it's the gun I learned to shoot a shotgun on.
I used to shoot trap with it at the trap and skeet range, but couldn't tell you where it patterns in relation to the sights.
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windy
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Posts: 8 
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Post by windy on Aug 29, 2022 11:33:28 GMT -5
I've had the same trouble with regulation; my current 24S 20ga appears to hit low and left of the 22 barrel, and I have yet to figure out where to hold on a claybird to break it regularly; it's too far off for "point and shoot". Part of the problem, I suspect, is that I have to brace my setup to compensate for the trigger pull with the 22, and on a moving bird I can't do that, so I may be pulling it down. I've taken the gun to the local "gunsmith" (certified, supposedly) for trigger work but it's still like finger-wrestling to make it go "bang". One of my two 30-30's wasn't awful, but I traded it for a cargo canoe, 40 years ago, and the other had a bend in the barrel that defied all sight systems.
I wonder if anyone has tried the old fur trade method of changing the ball strike on a smoothbore barrel by filing a slant in the muzzle crown; I've shot an original 16ga French officer's fusil that had simple fixed sights on the barrel at breech and muzzle; it had the muzzle crown at least 1/16th" off square, maybe even 3/32"--clearly visible and purposely done--and it would put 3 balls in a tight cloverleaf dead on at 50 yards. It might not work for a shot charge, but I'd bet it would affect a slug.
I've had 4 of the little Chiappa Double Badgers; the 22/410 is regulated great, the 22/20ga was terrible, and the two 243/410's were in between, but far enough off to make for difficulties, even with birdshot. My 3-barrel Gun Co. 12x12/32-40 shoots great with both shotgun and rifle, and my Brno 7x57R/12ga is perfect, but those were both "quality" guns.
Did I mention, I've got a little problem with combo's?
windy
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tim59
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Posts: 7
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Post by tim59 on Aug 30, 2022 19:39:43 GMT -5
Did I mention, I've got a little problem with combo's? I'm sure we all do, here. haha I just recently picked up a Valmet 412 (12ga/.30-06) and I was stunned at how easy it was to make the minor adjustments that needed to be made to get my points of impact where i wanted them. So that puts me at 4 combo guns.. I think I've finally completed my collection.
I did find that with my 24p (.22mag/20ga), I could use the setting on my red dot sight that had 3 vertical reticles to sort of have a shotgun point of aim and a rifle point of aim. All in one. (top dot for the rifle and the bottom dot for the shotgun.) It actually worked out perfect for me since the points of impact were so far off. So I'm pretty excited to do some squirrel hunting in about a month.
After tinkering with my 24v (.30-30/20ga), I managed to twist the barrel band to get the buckshot to pattern about 6-10 inches left of the rifle at 35 paces or so. Which I'm calling a success, for now. The buckshot pattern is still a bit low and would likely be even lower if I wasn't using a box of "low recoil" .30-30 ammo to do my "sighting in". But it's satisfactory for now.
I will say that I learned a possible "quick fix" (that I wish I'd have thought of for my 24v) when I was playing with my new Valmet 412: If I fold down the rear leaf sight, the front sight can be treated like a bead on a traditional shotgun. You would naturally raise the barrel tip slightly and it would bring your pattern up quite a bit. Then you just unfold the rear leaf, to properly aim when you want to shoot the rifle. That way you can sight your rifle in normally and then flip the sight down to just level the barrel for your shotgun shot. If that makes sense. I wish that would have dawned on me weeks ago before I shot up a box of .30-30. This would obviously not work for folks who have fixed rear sights but I know the folding rear sights are pretty common. As is the POI for shotguns being much lower than the rifle, on many 24 owner's guns. That tip may help you out on your 24S.. If it has the folding sight. If not, it may be worth looking into. Or possibly a red dot sight with different reticles.. top dot can be for your rifle and the 2nd or 3rd dot can be for your shotgun.. That worked wonders for me on my 24p (see the picture for reference) |
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tim59
Rank Stranger
Posts: 7
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Post by tim59 on Aug 30, 2022 19:42:42 GMT -5
I'll add. A red dot sight like that plus loosening the barrel band and twisting the shotgun barrel ever so slightly to the right... could very well fix your regulation issues.
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windy
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Posts: 8
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Post by windy on Aug 31, 2022 0:36:23 GMT -5
There's no barrel band on the "S"; the hard connection is welded or soldered, so no relief here. The flip-up rear sight at its lowest adjustment makes a squeeky-fine hold with the front sight bead; I can just about get both on the paper if I use the top of the rear sight level with the bead--sort of a very full bead sight picture--but getting it close enough to engage even part of the shot pattern on a quick flier has been really hard so far. In fact, I've shot two full rounds of regular trap--50 shots--and got a total of 6 or 7 hits. That ain't gonna cut it fer grouse season! I'd hone out the barrel from full choke to mod or IC if I could get it done, but 20ga hones seem to be missing from these "experts"' tool kits. Wish the Brno or the Hollenbeck were lighter; they'd solve the problems, or the little Chiappas had better shotgun characteristics, or them dang hills were flatter, or I was 20 years younger. Maybe I'll try the multi-red dot sight if I can find one. Make and model number?
windy
sonny, whar i come frum, "magnum" is anuther wurd fer "lousy hunter!
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tim59
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Posts: 7
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Post by tim59 on Aug 31, 2022 13:23:27 GMT -5
I guess it took me about 10 years to realize that I could use the different dots as different points of aim. I really do hope something like this works out for you. I love these guns even if they are frustrating to work with sometimes haha.
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windy
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Posts: 8
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Post by windy on Sept 1, 2022 8:41:10 GMT -5
Thanks, Tim; I'll check with Optics Planet--they had just what I needed for the Brno, several years ago. Good luck this season! By the way, does that mount hold firm with the shotgun recoil?
windy
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tim59
Rank Stranger
Posts: 7
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Post by tim59 on Sept 2, 2022 18:47:33 GMT -5
Thanks! And yea the little mount holds solid. I've shot the shotgun plenty with it.
Good luck to you too!
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but thats a rundown on where they all shoot.
