Some Savage 340 trivia

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tiriaq

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The Savage 325/340 series were rifles designed for economical production, made in .22Hornet, .222, .223, .225 and .30-30. Over the years there were a number of variations. Simple cylindrical cocking pieces, mushroom headed ones, Dockendorf rear sights, walnut and birch stocks, different trigger guard contours, butterknife and round knob bolt handles. Odd bedding system. Scopes must be side mounted. They have a reputation for shooting better than one would expect. Designed by Brewer, who was responsible for the first version of the 110. Over the years I've torn down a few.
Anyway, I am currently rebuilding a .30-30. Sort of assembling one from parts. The barrel was trash, but I had a NOS factory replacement on hand. I was surprised when I removed the original barrel to find that the recoil lug was fitted with an indexing pin which engaged a notch in the front face of the receiver. First time I have ever seen this. This particular 340 is a fairly old one. No serial number, plain round cocking piece, peep sight holes, but none for a scope mount. I have never seen this indexing setup on a later one.
I have enough .222 parts (including a NOS barrel) to set up a barreled action. No stock, no magazines. It will have to wait. Also have a .225 bolt. Might be fun to use it to make up a 340 in .45ACP...
 
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I have a 325B-butterknife bolt handle 30-30 hardwood stock & a 340-round knob bolt handle Hornet & 222Rem w/ walnut stocks.

The 3 rifles were hand me down's from my father-in-law,who received change back from his $20 purchase per rifle when NIB's.

Triggers are rough & need some caressing.

The formed spring steel extractors aren't the strongest...but work,when maintained.

Accuracy is better than any levergun & pointed projectiles feed well.
 
I ran into one with the pin a few yrs back, it was also 30-30.
I am not sure about the scope mount, think it was drilled for it.
 
I don't know when they started D&T for scope mounting. I have a .22Hornet which was drilled and tapped. Have an old Weaver K8 on it.

The .30-30 is missing its extractor. Hope that isn't going to be a real problem.
 
Mine was drilled and tapped for scope mounts and I didn't at all like the multi piece Weaver mount so after a lot of trouble and wait a guy in Ottawa got me a B-Square mount which is all one piece except for the top of the rings. Also doesn't require the bolt being bent. Well it arrives and doesn't fit and I inquired on returning it but found it was mine for keeps. Turns out the holes for a scope mount were different for rifles with serial numbers then mine with out. So I paid for it to be mounted anyways and was well worth the 280 bucks buying and getting holes drilled as the rifle is maybe one of my more accurate firearms.
 
I am currently putting together an 840 in 30-30. If anyone has a line on a barrel band nut let me know. I have looked everywhere. It's the only piece I am missing. They are fun little rifles. PRCook's scope mounts are amazing FYI.
 
I have used a Weaver 60A one piece mount a few times. Drill the barrel and pay attention to the ocular size on the scope so it doesn't interrupt bolt use.
 
I fit an old Boone scope on a 340 once, perfect fit, but wouldn't trust those old scopes to actually go hunt something with.

Sold the gun still have the scopes.

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Its hard to say. Everything has been going up. I've seen decent ones with an ask of $300 or more. I suppose in well used but functional shape one might bring $225.
Magazines tend to be pricey.
These rifles are pretty basic and a bit clunky, but do have a reputation for shooting very well. One feature of the .30-30s is that you can safely load pointed bullets.
 
tiriaq said:
Its hard to say. Everything has been going up. I've seen decent ones with an ask of $300 or more. I suppose in well used but functional shape one might bring $225.
Magazines tend to be pricey.
These rifles are pretty basic and a bit clunky, but do have a reputation for shooting very well. One feature of the .30-30s is that you can safely load pointed bullets.
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This would be off topic but it just crossed my mind…. Is it possible to re-barrel a modern sporting rifle to 30-30? Do you think savage axis receiver would fit with 30-30 barrel if such could be found?
 
I have a 342 in 22 Hornet. Got a cheap scope on it and it shoots pretty decent. When I got it the trigger was brutal. I read up on it and determined there is not much that can be done to improve them. I just lubricated the trigger mechanism good and it made a huge difference.

I even have a spare scope mount for a 340/342 if someone needs one. I would let it go cheap to get someone up and running.
 
kaskad said:
This would be off topic but it just crossed my mind…. Is it possible to re-barrel a modern sporting rifle to 30-30? Do you think savage axis receiver would fit with 30-30 barrel if such could be found?
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Installing a barrel in .30-30 would be possible. The 340 barrel shank is unique to the 340. The rifle's bolt face and extractor would have to accept the .30-30 case head. Then there would be the issue of a magazine that would handle the cartridge. Possible but probably not practical.
 
tiriaq said:
Installing a barrel in .30-30 would be possible. The 340 barrel shank is unique to the 340. The rifle's bolt face and extractor would have to accept the .30-30 case head. Then there would be the issue of a magazine that would handle the cartridge. Possible but probably not practical.
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Are parts interchangeable between Savage 340 and Stevens 325?
 
Basically. There are some variations. Go to gunpartscorp.com and have a look at the schematics of the different models.
 
I bought one a few years back in quite nice condition. A Stevens 325A in .30-30. Looked like it had barely been hunted with. It was a lot of fun for getting my skills up with iron sights. Eventually I was able to fairly consistently hit clays at 100 yards with the irons and cheap Non-Typical 150gr flat nose ammo, it seemed to feed well and function well but I had no real need for it and it was too pretty to use as a beater gun so I let it go.
 
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