Buying a 220D .410

[Mike Armstrong]

I'm in the process of acquiring a fairly nice 220D in .410 sans forend for a decent price.  Happens I have a spare forend which is probably for a 219B but LOOKS like it might fit the 220D.  We'll see.  The 220 has the usual birch stock, so the walnut forend will be an obvious mismatch, but since I want the .410 for my cabin, it won't really matter (no gun collectors around there to be offended, or even puzzled).  If the forend won't work, I may just keep the 220 barrel and sell the whole "back end" to somebody who has a 220B, C, D, or L front end.  In any case, I'll send in a data sheet when I have the gun in my greasy mitts (about a month, given UPS and our CA "papeleo" ("paper chase")!

Mike Armstrong

[Garnett]

Mike, good luck with matching up the forearm.  I would think, but I have never had it done, that only minor fitting may be required.  I am particularly interested in the type grooves on top of the barrel over the chamber.  On the "D models I have examined, the groves are shorter in length and not as wide coverage as on earlier guns.  Also, I recently purchased a like new 220B, with matching assembly numbers, and NO barrel grooves at all!  Unusual.

[Mike Armstrong]

Won't see this gun for a couple of weeks yet, but will let you know.

Regards,

Mike Armstrong

[Mike Armstrong]

The 220D .410 mentioned above just arrived at the receiving dealer so I got to look it over after doing the paperwork.

I was struck by a couple of things:  1) it is in nearly new condition except for the missing forend and  a chip off the toe of the plastic buttplate (I have the chip).  2) It has no serial number, which seems odd for a gun so late in the 220 production--my 219B made in Chicopee Falls has a serial number and is clearly a much earlier gun.  3)  Finish is even rougher than I expected--a very coarse polish on all metal parts, although the barrel is smoother than the action.

The good news--a forend-with-iron that I recently bought for a VERY reasonable price and was supposed to be from a 220B fit perfectly, like it was made with the gun.  So did the rifle forend from my 219B.  So it seems that the forend wood and metal for these later guns B-D is very interchangeable, a good thing.

And the stock, while birch, isn't bad--very sound and no cracks or deep scratches or gouges.  I plan to refinish it with a light coat of walnut stain, and then refinish the walnut 220B forend as close as I can to a match the stock.  I may just hide this one with a supply of buckshot, birdshot, and slugs in my NorCal mountain cabin (my dear wife refers to it as "The Unibomber shack"...) with the Ruger .22 pistol I keep there.    A better gun for my failing eyesight.

Once I get out of our infamous "gun jail," I'll shoot Garnett a data sheet on it.

Mike Armstrong

[Garnett]

Mike, It sounds like you have a nice gun!  As to serial numbers, all these guns were made before serial numbers were required by Federal Law.  I briefly discussed (via USPS mail) serial numbers with Mr. Callahan, retired Savage Historian, and employee, who said there was no particular rule for serial numbers, and the dating system was short lived.  As a "sorta" guide, I have 36 of the 219/220's and only 4 have serial numbers.  Also, I am keeping a record of SN's I find listed on the internet and of all the many 219/220's listed for sale, I have only found 28 with serial numbers in the last 8+ years.  I look forward to a data sheet and please post some pictures.  Garnett

[Garnett]

Mike,  Please also let me know if there are serrations on top of the barrel over the chamber and if so, are they less wide and long than those on the earlier guns?

[Mike Armstrong]

Garnett, I forgot to mention the top-of-barrel serrations: they just like the ones on the 220D in your first edition--sort of  a "vestige" of the earlier ones.

Can you explain the function of these serrations in the first place?  They don't seem to me to comprise a sighting plane like a matted rib could, nor are they deep enough to make a crude "rear sight notch"* like some other single shot shotguns had in the top of their receiver.  Just cosmetic?

*As a kid I found out that for close shooting, that notch CAN function as a fixed rear sight--once I figured out the "Kentucky windage" by trail and error on a piece of plywood scrap with a painted bullseye, I could do "minute of blacktail" at about 25 yards w/.410 slugs.  Good enough to collect my first "meat buck" from out of our hayloft with an Iver Johnson-made .410 single sold under some hardware story brand name that a neighbor lent me.  On the strength (or dumb luck) of that,  my grandfather gave me a Winchester 1892 .25-20 rifle and I used that for several more bucks.  Then I actually READ the CA hunting regs and discovered that using either gun was illegal in CA....  My brother lent me his .300 Savage after that (he was busy with an M2 carbine and then an M-16 in Vietnam).

[Mike Armstrong]

I've now got a 220D 12 ga. 28" full choke barrel coming from a parts dealer on ebay.  And the guy that sold me the forend for the .410 mentioned above has another complete forend in 16 guage, plus the wood for a 12.  So I'm getting some stuff for "mix and match" on the 220D; I may put the .410 barrel on my 219B with the .410 forend to make a (fake) combination tht Savage never made, and redo the 220D as a 12 (probably open the choke to IC).  Or I may make my 219B into a 12 guage combo, and keep the 220D as a .410.  Decisions, decisions!  At least they're CHEAP decisions and the results always work and never fail to please me....

Since all these guns are well-used and have mixed parts anyway, I don't have any scruples about moving parts around and doing some modest "customizing" that mainly makes them more like the factory products than they are now--mostly I re-do others' amateur efforts and try to make the guns closer to how they were or could have  been when new.

[Garnett]

These are versatile guns, sometimes Bubba's custom work can be restored to factory specifications.....and it is fun doing it.  Also, with the exception of the assembly numbers not matching, you cannot tell a modified "Utility" set from a factory original.  However, this is why I caution anyone thinking of a purchase of a "Utility" set to be sure the assembly numbers match before paying a premium price.  Mike, I know you will enjoy working on this project and it certainly beats watching TV!   

[Mike Armstrong]

You sure got the TV part right!  Never much of a TV watcher, probably because I never had one until I got married and shared my new wife's 13" black and white job back in 1966.  My idea of hell-on-earth is being forced to watch daytime TV.   If I'm sitting, I'm reading, tinkering with a gun, reloading ammo, or watching a game trail or a fishin' bobber....

If I ever get bedridden, I'm gonna take up my childhood hobby of tropical fish.  (They are kinda like watching a soap opera but no changing channels or obnoxious commercials about "bathroom matters"  or the many horrible side-effects of the newest drug.   No cable bills or outages.  Very soothing; even the marital spats are silent!).

[Mike Armstrong]

Got the 220D 12 guage 28" barrel--excellent condition, but rough outside compared to new barrels for earlier models.  Inside, it appears identical to a "B" barrel I have.

The "top-of-barrel-chamber grooves," whatever their purpose,  are nearly gone on this one--FOUR little lines about 1 1/4" long, and not as deep as on earlier models.  They're visible, but not prominent, for sure.  Did they fade away altogether on the last model "L"?

This barrel doesn't slip right onto the 220D .410 reciever, but could be fitted since it's a little oversized.  I haven't had a chance to try it on my 210B receiver yet.

[Garnett]

I have two M220D's that have very shallow, short, and not as wide as on preceding models and I have one "C" model, with matching assembly numbers, with NO serrations on top of the barrel.  Very strange.  Please keep us posted on the fitting.

[Mike Armstrong]

Tried the 12 guage 220D barrel on my 219B rifle and it slipped on and locked up like it was made for the receiver!  So those two are going to stay together since I have a 12 guage walnut forend that also fits.

Now I need a birch .410 forend for the 220D .410.  Think I'll try to find an inletted unfinished one from Boyds and finish it to match the birch stock.

I'm not a fan of 12 guage single shots because of the recoil in such a light gun.  But I figure light-loaded 7/8 oz."low recoil" sporting clays shells and a Limbsaver slip-on pad oughta tame down the recoil enough for some recreational shooting and I don't notice recoil much when hunting--I don't hunt doves and so don't fire many shots in one hunting day. 

The quail and chukars and cottontails I do hunt jump up so fast that there's no time to anticipate recoil, and the adrenaline seems to take care of the physical effects.   Pretty hard to have a bad day hunting, as long as you keep safe, even if you end up with a blue shoulder!  (I think my Ruger "Gold Label" SxS stamped "Ruger" permanently on my shoulder after a day of phez hunting in Kansas a couple of years ago....)

[Garnett]

Mike, last time I looked, I think Numrich had the birch forearms, but not sure if for a .410 or other gauges.  That perfect fit was very lucky.  As to recoil pads....you could add an "Old English" solid black pad without altering the stock, and you would have a longer length of pull.  The 14.25 inch normal length on these guns is a little short for me.