This little rifle has a looong story.
It was given to me about seven or eight years ago by a client of Kathy's whose brother in northern VT passed away. In fact, she gave me about five or six of his guns.
Anyway, when I looked at this one I simply relegated it to a corner it was so rusted and the bore was full of what I thought was rust. A junker to be sure.
The screws were beautifully nitre-blued to a beautiful peacock blue and the barrel and receiver had beautiful factory bluing. Problem was, the barrel and receiver were caked in rust, the thumbscrew was missing, there was no clip, and I don't know where the bolt got to. So, into the corner it went and stood there for a couple of years. Then I remembered Edgar Spencer was a .22 rifle collector so when we got together at Addieville a couple of years ago I gave it to him. I thought and Edgar confirmed that the bore was pretty well done in.
More than a year ago he told me his tale of woe that he hadn't been able to find a clip for it.
Well last fall when I was in grouse camp looking in a container for a nail or a construction screw to finish a project I came across a 10-shot clip. I thought it was for a pistol but I sent it to Edgar anyway to see if he could make it work.
Well he ragged on me something fierce for holding out on him..... it was the EXACT clip for this model Savage pump. I remember it being in that jar at grouse camp for at least a decade... what a stroke of luck that it was the exact clip for the rifle.
Then I found the bolt a few months later and you should have heard his utterances of exasperation!
Edgar got to talking with Dave Suponski, machinist extraordinaire, and talked him into making a new thumb screw so the two halves of the rifle would stay together.
Dave dropped the little Savage off at my house a couple of weeks ago when Kathy and I were away. My neice and her husband were staying at our house with their two little childred....
Imagine what crazy thoughts ran through their liberal little brains when this shaggy-looking desperado came walking up the steps with a rifle in his hands
I had given the Savage to Edgar but he seemed to be giving it back to me... and just in time too.
I have a chipmunk and squirrel problem both here at home where the chipmunks have bored tunnels beneath my brick walkway and in Maine the squirrels have got into my tool shed and are making a mess of the place with pine cone husks piled two feet high everywhere.
Tonight while rummaging through my "stuff" in my gun room I found, quite by accident, about 15 crimped .22 UMC shot cartridges so I gave it a whirl.
The bull is about 1/4" diameter on a sheet of 8 1/2" X 11" copy paper and I shot from about 15 feet (muzzle to target) but I pulled it off to the right just a bit but I'm delighted with the pattern. Well, all except for that flyer at the 5 o'clock position
I think this little Savage will take care of business just fine.
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Patterning Tonight
Threaded Mode