re: Savage model 24C

i once thought this might be the best option too. two tools in one!

after i found one and saw it might work for my needs, i added a custom rear adjustable peep sight, enlarged the storage hole in the buttstock to take additional ammo, added slings, had the trigger action polished and when all that was done, i then put enough ammo through it to really learn it. even killed some game with it.

unfortunately it wasn't what i hoped it would be.

even after the trigger was smoothed a bit, it still had a lot to be desired. it appears the quality of those materials coupled with less-than-perfect alignment/tolerances meant i couldn't get it any better.

worse yet, a trigger part soon failed on me in the field, which had to be replaced.

i also found it was a bit slow to bring into action because it needs the hammer cocked right before firing. plus you have to decide which barrel to use by flipping a lever on the hammer (allowing the firing pin to hit either the 22lr or 20ga). and that little lever should be check before every shot because it can be change simply by accident. it wasn't quite as easy to remember to do as choosing which barrel on some SXS or O/U shotguns, so sure enough, more than once i fired the wrong barrel at game.

on the other hand, if the quality had been better (i even tried a second one a couple years later, thinking maybe my problem was just my unhappy memory of the first one), and if i spent more time with them, it might have worked out. i'm sure it has for others.

i'm not saying it isn't a good concept, and a fun hiking companion, just that it didn't work out for me as a serious SHTF survival tool.