Post by dale on Sept 21, 2013 7:43:04 GMT -5
I've got a little insomnia this morning, and I've spent quite a bit of time poking around this here website recently, so I thought I'd say hello and thank you all for sharing your enjoyment of 24s.
So I don't hunt, and I'm not really a gun guy either. However, my grandfather was both, but mostly a life-long hunter; in Northumberland County, PA, that meant squirrels, deer, turkey, ducks. I was aware of his rifles and shotties only as much as a kid not raised to hunt sees them, slightly mysterious and oiled and heavy. They lived, suspended in the rafters, in the 'cold room' of his hand-poured basement, along with the vegetables from the truck patch, a couple of big old upright freezers, and cases of soda bottles and cigarettes that restocked the vending machines throughout the local amusement park. In fact, I have very strong recollections of smells from my childhood in that basement, where the aromas of gun oil mixed with unfiltered Camels and laundry soap from the open tub washer and coal in the bin in the corner.
Anyway, my time with his firearms was limited to sneaking away occasionally to pull them down and admire the heft and shine when my grandmother wasn't looking, as well as some .22 plinking at cans with my dad and the very-rare chance to sit in the gable-end window of the garage and shoot bunnies that were getting into the truck patch. My grandfather collected hair from a local barber to tie around the garden edges, which kept the deer out but seemed to have no deterrent effect on the smaller nibblers. So after dinner, he'd retire to the second floor of the garage, prop the window open, smoke a bit and wait for prowlers to come with the dusk. An occasion to 'help' him in this chore was a treat indeed. Plus it got us out from under my grandmother's feet, I'm sure.
When he died, my grandfather's guns were distributed among friends and family. Without thinking too much about it, I chose his Winchester Model 12 20ga; it seemed an apt reflection of him - honest, uncomplicated, unassuming, utilitarian - and perfect for dispatching the random skunk or rabid raccoon that might bother the dogs in their yard here in Maine. I saw no reason for one of his rifles or side-by-sides, no matter how pretty, to end up on a shelf in my house when they could get some use with someone else. And although I had enjoyed blowing up stuff during my brief time in the infantry (as you do), that interest hadn't carried over much back in real life.
Fast forward a couple decades, however, and I start having vague memories of another part of that original collection, one I got to handle but never saw used. I recall asking someone, maybe my uncle, about the odd configuration and being told it came in handy when you're in the woods for small game and your environment varied between open fields and close cover. I'm sure now that that was my first exposure to a Stevens/Savage o/u. Well, a couple months ago I'm wandering through L.L. Bean's gun lobby after picking up some new line and tippet material for my neglected fly rod, and what catches my eye but that same odd configuration sitting among all the other shotties, to my eyes seemingly a swan among geese. It's like 0630 and the security cables are still threaded through the racks, but the gun guy comes over and unlocks the string and we check it out together. A 24V, B series, in .222/20ga. Instant attraction. Remember I'm not a gun guy? I went home, thought about it and how this was the first time seeing one in 20+ years (although admittedly I wasn't really trying, but still...). Was back at Bean's 0600 the following day, very much expecting it to be gone and pleased as punch to find it still waiting. Came home with it this time and have had a great time fenestrating paper and tin. Love the action, the weight, the balance. Love the rifle caliber (being a sucker for underdogs, my other rifle's a takedown BLR in 7mm-08).
By now fascinated, I found myself thinking about a trifecta with a .22/.410 (which I suspect is what was in my grandfather's basement and what I missed by not knowing) at the light end and maybe a .30-30/20 or 12 as a heavy in case the opportunity for deer or moose presented itself. It is Maine, after all. Short time later, I'm making arrangements to have our local Cabela's act as FFL for a .30-30/12ga from Louisiana. Time comes to do the paperwork and pick it up, so I drive down after work, check in and give them my info and then to kill time, I wander around the gun racks (as you do). And what on earth is there? Not one but two .22lr/.410s. No kidding. Kismet, I tell you, kismet. Now, one is pretty rough, front sight busted off, stock and fore-end beat up, but the other is just as nice as the .222. The gun library guy, already pleased to see the .30-30/12ga for its scarcity, says that he's seen a half-dozen guys check out the nicer .22/.410. This sounds a bit like sales pressure to me, but I'm willing to believe it given the object of affection ... er, attention. I went home with two rifles that day, and have thoroughly enjoyed shooting the sweep of calibers now at hand.
Now if you're still reading, I expect you either: a) are avoiding some chore on your wife's to-do list, b) are bored or have insomnia, too, or c) find this story somehow familiar to your own path to a quirkly little niche firearm.
Thanks for reading, and again for posting such good info on this site. Props to cas (?) for keeping such a repository available. Who knew there were so many of these o/u combos out there!
Couple questions, if you're still with me.
1. The 12ga appears to have a thin-walled screw-in choke. I'm assuming I've got to pull it to find out what type? The only markings on the barrel end look like tool notches to me (this is all new to me).
2. Based on pdf's of owner manual for more recent models, it appears that no crosshatch marks on the .410 and 20ga barrels means 'full' factory chokes on these? Is that likely? Just trying to figure out what kind of pattern I should expect and how to pick shot loads for best effect. Ultimately I'll just shoot a variety and figure it out, but it'd be nice to have a start.
3. The .30-30/12 is a synthetic stock and has a cross-bolt safety, the result of being produced toward the end of the 24s run, I expect. Anyone know if the .30-30 in either 20 or 12 was produced with a wood stock and no safety at any time? Cabela's library guy did not think so, but I'm guessing this site has much more collective experience. I'd consider swapping if one matching the character of my other two were available, as I'm not planning on dragging mine on a foul-wx hunt at any time, but this is just being picky.
Jeez, that's enough for now, I'd say. Looking forward to any replies, and will continue to at least lurk regularly.
Dale
So I don't hunt, and I'm not really a gun guy either. However, my grandfather was both, but mostly a life-long hunter; in Northumberland County, PA, that meant squirrels, deer, turkey, ducks. I was aware of his rifles and shotties only as much as a kid not raised to hunt sees them, slightly mysterious and oiled and heavy. They lived, suspended in the rafters, in the 'cold room' of his hand-poured basement, along with the vegetables from the truck patch, a couple of big old upright freezers, and cases of soda bottles and cigarettes that restocked the vending machines throughout the local amusement park. In fact, I have very strong recollections of smells from my childhood in that basement, where the aromas of gun oil mixed with unfiltered Camels and laundry soap from the open tub washer and coal in the bin in the corner.
Anyway, my time with his firearms was limited to sneaking away occasionally to pull them down and admire the heft and shine when my grandmother wasn't looking, as well as some .22 plinking at cans with my dad and the very-rare chance to sit in the gable-end window of the garage and shoot bunnies that were getting into the truck patch. My grandfather collected hair from a local barber to tie around the garden edges, which kept the deer out but seemed to have no deterrent effect on the smaller nibblers. So after dinner, he'd retire to the second floor of the garage, prop the window open, smoke a bit and wait for prowlers to come with the dusk. An occasion to 'help' him in this chore was a treat indeed. Plus it got us out from under my grandmother's feet, I'm sure.
When he died, my grandfather's guns were distributed among friends and family. Without thinking too much about it, I chose his Winchester Model 12 20ga; it seemed an apt reflection of him - honest, uncomplicated, unassuming, utilitarian - and perfect for dispatching the random skunk or rabid raccoon that might bother the dogs in their yard here in Maine. I saw no reason for one of his rifles or side-by-sides, no matter how pretty, to end up on a shelf in my house when they could get some use with someone else. And although I had enjoyed blowing up stuff during my brief time in the infantry (as you do), that interest hadn't carried over much back in real life.
Fast forward a couple decades, however, and I start having vague memories of another part of that original collection, one I got to handle but never saw used. I recall asking someone, maybe my uncle, about the odd configuration and being told it came in handy when you're in the woods for small game and your environment varied between open fields and close cover. I'm sure now that that was my first exposure to a Stevens/Savage o/u. Well, a couple months ago I'm wandering through L.L. Bean's gun lobby after picking up some new line and tippet material for my neglected fly rod, and what catches my eye but that same odd configuration sitting among all the other shotties, to my eyes seemingly a swan among geese. It's like 0630 and the security cables are still threaded through the racks, but the gun guy comes over and unlocks the string and we check it out together. A 24V, B series, in .222/20ga. Instant attraction. Remember I'm not a gun guy? I went home, thought about it and how this was the first time seeing one in 20+ years (although admittedly I wasn't really trying, but still...). Was back at Bean's 0600 the following day, very much expecting it to be gone and pleased as punch to find it still waiting. Came home with it this time and have had a great time fenestrating paper and tin. Love the action, the weight, the balance. Love the rifle caliber (being a sucker for underdogs, my other rifle's a takedown BLR in 7mm-08).
By now fascinated, I found myself thinking about a trifecta with a .22/.410 (which I suspect is what was in my grandfather's basement and what I missed by not knowing) at the light end and maybe a .30-30/20 or 12 as a heavy in case the opportunity for deer or moose presented itself. It is Maine, after all. Short time later, I'm making arrangements to have our local Cabela's act as FFL for a .30-30/12ga from Louisiana. Time comes to do the paperwork and pick it up, so I drive down after work, check in and give them my info and then to kill time, I wander around the gun racks (as you do). And what on earth is there? Not one but two .22lr/.410s. No kidding. Kismet, I tell you, kismet. Now, one is pretty rough, front sight busted off, stock and fore-end beat up, but the other is just as nice as the .222. The gun library guy, already pleased to see the .30-30/12ga for its scarcity, says that he's seen a half-dozen guys check out the nicer .22/.410. This sounds a bit like sales pressure to me, but I'm willing to believe it given the object of affection ... er, attention. I went home with two rifles that day, and have thoroughly enjoyed shooting the sweep of calibers now at hand.
Now if you're still reading, I expect you either: a) are avoiding some chore on your wife's to-do list, b) are bored or have insomnia, too, or c) find this story somehow familiar to your own path to a quirkly little niche firearm.
Thanks for reading, and again for posting such good info on this site. Props to cas (?) for keeping such a repository available. Who knew there were so many of these o/u combos out there!
Couple questions, if you're still with me.
1. The 12ga appears to have a thin-walled screw-in choke. I'm assuming I've got to pull it to find out what type? The only markings on the barrel end look like tool notches to me (this is all new to me).
2. Based on pdf's of owner manual for more recent models, it appears that no crosshatch marks on the .410 and 20ga barrels means 'full' factory chokes on these? Is that likely? Just trying to figure out what kind of pattern I should expect and how to pick shot loads for best effect. Ultimately I'll just shoot a variety and figure it out, but it'd be nice to have a start.
3. The .30-30/12 is a synthetic stock and has a cross-bolt safety, the result of being produced toward the end of the 24s run, I expect. Anyone know if the .30-30 in either 20 or 12 was produced with a wood stock and no safety at any time? Cabela's library guy did not think so, but I'm guessing this site has much more collective experience. I'd consider swapping if one matching the character of my other two were available, as I'm not planning on dragging mine on a foul-wx hunt at any time, but this is just being picky.
Jeez, that's enough for now, I'd say. Looking forward to any replies, and will continue to at least lurk regularly.
Dale
