I'm Mike Armstrong, a new member but not new to Savage single shots.
I'm retired and live in Southern California, which is a wonderful place in many ways but tough on shooters and hunters--the political climate and geography make shooting even more difficult than in other "gun unfriendly" states. I lived and worked in upstate NYS for 20 years, and while the gun laws are at least as restrictive/unfair as California's, once you get a gun, you can practically hunt in your back yard. And there are lots of gun clubs in the country for range work. In SoCal there are many indoor ranges for handguns and .22s, which is great. But if you want to shoot anything else, you are in for a long drive across "The Slurb" to a proper public range. The places I shoot rifles and shotguns are 50+ freeway miles away from my house in Seal Beach. The drought has made hunting an even longer drive....
Always liked and been interested in the little Savage hammerless single shots--my greatest firearms interest has always been in single shot rifles ever since I found a copy of James Grant's old book in the Santa Rosa CA Public Library when I was about 8. And I've always liked Savage guns for their innovative designs and prices for the average guy.
Currently I only have a couple of Savage single shots--a very old original model 219 .25-20 with a .410 barrel I was able to add to it, and a later model 220 20 guage.
I got the 219 .25-20 cheap at a yard sale in Maine in 1987 because although it was otherwise in truly excellent condition, it had a badly "ringed" bore. I had a gunsmith in Oregon named Mark Beinke reline it to .25-20 for me, and it has been one of my favorite rifles since then.
The 220 I got when I lived in Vermont in the mid-'80s. Anybody remember the recession of the early 1980s? All of my guns except two went into house payments then, along with my wife's estate jewellery, a bookcase full of first editions, a stack of rare jazz records, our second car, and all the (little) silver and gold we possessed. At the end of it, when we both got re-employed, I had only my first gun, a Winchester Model 37 single shot .410, and my grandfather's Colt New Service DA .44-40.
When we had just started to get back on our feet, I found the 220 at another garage sale. It was in good shape and I needed a shotgun with a little more authority than my .410, so I bought it. It has a Savage adjustable choke, which I think may be factory installed (?) and is a very handy little shotgun that has killed a lot of game for me. It always reminds me that hard times DO end!
I'll end this long ramble with one question: Would it be economically feasible for Savage or another manufacturer to make the 219 today, using modern manufacturing methods? Would it find a market now?
GLAD to find this forum!
Mike Armstrong
