Savage 24 in .22mag over ".303 short"

kjohn

kjohn

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Bought an interesting conversion at the Calgary show. My grandson and I went half each. It has been full length sleeved to a shortened .303 British. I have only done the preliminary shortening of a.303 case, using a Lee 7.62x54r case length gauge and a .303 shell holder/nut. I shortened 3 and ran them in the full length die provided with the gun. The die is simply a .303 die that has been trimmed.

My buddy Deaner is working some magic on the butt stock, which had a small crack. After the glue dries, I plan to load the three cases with some Unique and a cast bullet, then take a good look at how the case has formed in the chamber, comparing it to another trimmed and sized case.

The rifle has no sights, but there is the dovetail for the rear sight and a screw hole for the front, plus the skinny little grooves meant for a small scope. If I keep the power down on the .303S, I would think the existing grooves will hold a small scope or red dot.

When I get it up and running I will post some pics of the rifle and the sleeve work, along with the Olympic class shooting results.

Update** I used the case length gauge from a 7.62x54R and the lock nut/shell holder for a .303 British, both from Lee trim kits, and shortened 5 .303 cases. Loaded 5.2 grains of 700X and topped them off with a 100 grain Cactus Plains .311 RN lead bullet. Looks like a stunted .303 round! I'll wait a couple more days for the glue to dry and give it a whirl.

What I desperately need is a scope mount/rings to fit the dinky grooves on the .22 barrel. I have a plea out in the Optics forum. :)
 
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I found a set of rings that only needed a wee bit of "machining" to tighten down on the grooves. Deaner worked his magic on the rings, and I came up with a nice old Weaver K4 to put on. Pic of the shortened round beside a regular one.

If the world is still turning tomorrow, I will try to get out and sight the rifle in with the .22 mag barrel and fire off the five rounds of .303S. :)

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I have to wonder why they did this in the first place rather than just using the 303Br in the sleeve?
But maybe there is some sort of limit on the sleeve at the shoulder that required the shorter round.

a friend has a 30-30 over 12guage and uses it for grouse/moose/deer. He's what most would call a FUDD.
Where he hunts, he gets more grouse than moose, so the combo shotgun/rifle makes sense, and it's his only hunting firearm.

What you have there turns a 'Fudd' gun, into something more interesting. Something you can play with as a gun nut and reloader.

How do the groups with the two barrels compare? Not just size wise, but the required hold over?
 
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The problem with most of the latter Savage 24's made was barrel regulation or lack there of.At least with the two 30-30/20ga combos I had weren't within a meter of one another at 25 yards.I have an early .410/.22 that is bang on.
 
Sounds like a solution looking for a problem. Lets take a readily available calibre and turn it into a real PITA requiring reloading for no ballistic advantage. If the gun couldn't handle the pressure of a .303 Brit it should just be .30-30. Sorry, just doesn't tickle my fancy.
 
Sounds like you bought someones fun project, no real advantage or benefit but lots of enjoyment playing with it. Great if you are the type that likes oddities/wildcats and reloading for them.

Looks cool but I agree a 30-30 chambering would be more practical.
 
Well, I can't answer for the original idea of sleeving the 20 gauge barrel, as I have no idea who did it, nor do I know why. My grandson and I each paid for half the cost of the little rifle, with the idea of having some fun with it. I am well aware of all the negatives involved, in fact we discussed that before we bought the rifle. Seeing as we supplied the money, I will plod on with loading up a few rounds and trying it out.

I have the feeling that JYC may have the right idea with regard to the shortened brass. Who knows? Who cares? I am posting the proceedings here for those who are interested. :)
 
I don't mean to throw shade on your purchase, and while not necessarily something I am normally into I do enjoy seeing the different things out there, thank you for posting.
 
Oddities are always cool. Some of us spend huge amounts of time creating obsolete ammo, this is no different. Some folks have the mad scientist gene, some don't. To each their own.

and hey, you can always pull the liner and go back to one of the best m24 caliber combos, and put the liner in an old 20ga for a stand alone 303Sh rifle...
 
jamesharrison: Thank you! That is very interesting. :):cool:

I shall have to measure the brass on mine and see just how close it is to the 303 Sporting.
 
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Mine is mighty close to the one jamesharrison posted. Also similar to this one. Many variations of the old .303 British cartridge have surfaced over the years, some to get around government restrictions, others as the result of tinkering to produce "wildcats".

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