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Shotgun/Rifle Combo for a Survival Gun


Guest TankerHC

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Eh, just get a M6, ugly as sin but gets the job done.

182317-M61.jpg

 

They are hard to find though!  I don't think they are made anymore.  Savage is making a Model 42 now, which is an updated Model 24 with plastic furniture.  It come in either .22LR/410 or .22WMR/410. http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/Model42

 

As for the inserts, I've read good and bad things about them.  It's probably not something I would buy.

Edited by Moped
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I'll echo Moped to a point; I've read both good and bad about the inserts.

 

Knowing myself the way I do, I'd stand a better than average chance of losing the darn thing just about the time I needed it most. My trusty ol' Savage 24V, however, (.357mag over 20ga.) is the most versatile long gun I've ever owned - between being able to use slugs in the 20 and birdshot (rare, but rather easily made) in the .357, I've effectively got four guns (five if you're into .38sp) in one package that still takes down small enough to fit into a backpack.

 

...TS...

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For the money a Rossi Matched pair is hard to beat. You have to change barrels though. My Son's is a .22LR/20 Gauge combo.

 

But, they come in a variety of offerings.

 

For a long time, I have thought those matched pairs looked interesting although I haven't bought one (yet.)  Even the .410/.22 youth combo that sells at Walmart for around $169 looks like a pretty good, utilitarian combo.

 

I'd kind of like to have one of the .44Mag/20 gauge matched pairs.  I don't think there is anything that walks, crawls or flies in the continental United States that couldn't be harvested for food with that combo.  I also wouldn't mind having one of the .22WMR/12 gauge combos and would think that it, also, would be capable of harvesting pretty much any game animal in the continental U.S.

 

Then there is the one Rossi Matched Set that is 20 gauge/.22LR/.44Magnum.  In an emergency/survival situation (where one might go to extremes beyond normal, sporting hunting practices) I'd think that would put anything from chipmunks to moose 'on the menu'.

 

Heck, there are even single shot handgun versions of the 'matched pairs', etc.  One comes with a barrel that allows the use of both 2 1/2 inch .410 shells and .45 Colt ammo and another barrel chambered for .22LR.  That sounds like a pretty useful 'backpack gun', to me.

Edited by JAB
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I'll echo Moped to a point; I've read both good and bad about the inserts.

 

Knowing myself the way I do, I'd stand a better than average chance of losing the darn thing just about the time I needed it most. My trusty ol' Savage 24V, however, (.357mag over 20ga.) is the most versatile long gun I've ever owned - between being able to use slugs in the 20 and birdshot (rare, but rather easily made) in the .357, I've effectively got four guns (five if you're into .38sp) in one package that still takes down small enough to fit into a backpack.

 

...TS...

I would LOVE to have one of these in .357/20ga!  To me, that's the ultimate combo!!!

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Chiappa is making the Double Badger over/under in .22LR and .410 and I think it looks pretty nice.  For some reason, way back when Sears and Penney's still had firearms in their catalogs (as in when I was just a kid), one of the things that always caught my eye were the over/under rifle/shotgun combos.  There was just something about them I found appealing and I guess the appeal never completely went away.

 

The biggest thing that stops me from getting an over/under combo or one of the Rossi matched pairs is the cost.  North of $300 for what is essentially a single shot shotgun or rifle (or, in the case of the O/U, a single shot shotgun and single shot rifle) for which I don't really have a practical use and which would likely stop being fun at the range pretty quickly is just too rich, for me, when I can point out pairs of repeater shotguns and repeater rifles which together cost less than one of those single shot O/U combos.  For example, I recently bought a Savage 320 for just under $200 and have a very serviceable Winchester 190 that I bought used for around $89.  It is kind of hard, for me, to justify paying $100 more for a single shot shotgun and rifle than I paid for those two, combined.  Okay, maybe it isn't fair to compare new vs. one new and one used so it might be more fair to say that I bought the Savage for less than $200 and saw a bolt action, mag fed Mossberg .22LR rifle at Wally the other day for something like $130 - which still means I could buy two brand new 'repeater' firearms for the price of one single shot combo.

 

I can kind of see that the cost would be justified for an O/U due to the complexity of the action, extractors and so on plus they are kind of a niche firearm.  I just wish Rossi didn't hold their matched pairs so dear.  I mean, being that they can sell the youth combo .22/.410 for around $169 (or less) it would seem that they should be able to sell one of the larger caliber/gauge matched pairs for not a whole lot more.

Edited by JAB
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I would LOVE to have one of these in .357/20ga!  To me, that's the ultimate combo!!!

I'll second that emotion! :up:   :pleased:

 

I've owned mine for nearly 30 years and, although I tend more toward traditiional muzzleloaders, it is my very favorite modern gun of all time. Over the years I've used it to hunt just about everything from rabbit & squirrel to pheasant, waterfowl, hogs, turkey and deer (both whitetail and mule deer). I seldom use a scope, but have mounted one on it in the past and taken both coyote & whitetails out to 150 yards (not bad for a "pistol bullet!").  I gave (I think) 120 dollars or so for it brand new back in '84 and wouldn't take 20 times that much for it now.

 

:usa:

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I've seen quite a few variations of the Savage 24's but never that particular combo.  I imagine that would be a very useful setup. 

 

My trusty ol' Savage 24V, however, (.357mag over 20ga.) is the most versatile long gun I've ever owned - between being able to use slugs in the 20 and birdshot (rare, but rather easily made) in the .357, I've effectively got four guns (five if you're into .38sp) in one package that still takes down small enough to fit into a backpack.

 

...TS...

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I've thought long and hard about this lately and come to the conclusion that these things are a novelty. Certainly better than nothing, don't get me wrong but they have a modicum of usefulness in my useless opinion.
They will not, by their very design, do what a quality dedicated rifle platform will do.
I've seen the CZ before and having the rifle barrel on bottom is a horrible idea. Your sights or scope sit way high relative to the bore.
I've shot the older savage 24's and they are fun but I don't get the feeling they'd hold up under abuse and the ones I've shot we're not particularly accurate. I'm sure others are so don't take my word for anything.
The new Savage is mostly plastic and just look cheap.

If I'm going to take the time to actually carry a rifle, I'd heap rather go ahead and drag my AR or one of my bolt guns with a proven load.

I suppose I can see it for some people who need a more diverse capability but if y'all would listen to me and start casting for your bolt rifle, you can load a plethora of differing things.
I can load my 308 to hunt bear, or using a single buckshot pellet run through a sizer, I can hunt small game. If I were bugging out on foot, this would be the way I go. I'd have a small assortment of ammo ranging from hot to not in lead and jacketed bullets.

I see the appeal but upon heavy consideration I feel a person would get much more benefit from a dedicated platform.
Just my opinion, yours will undoubtedly vary. Edited by Caster
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  • 2 weeks later...

Guess it all boils down to "To each his own." Just like the best fire starter thread - the best fire starter is the one that you've personally tested enough to become comfortable and confident with in any given situation/scenario, not the "really neat firestarter" that some guy told you he heard his buddy talking seeing some place on the internet that was really cool but he can't remember the name of, but it's guaranteed to work - even in an upside down rainstorm thirty feet under a waterfall in a rainforest in the Tyrolean Alps.

 

I've owned my Savage 24V for nearly thirty years and it has never let me down. The shots I've missed have been my fault, not the gun's (maybe I just got lucky with the one I bought, but even shooting rifled slugs through the 20ga, I've never wanted for accuracy, although aim point does indeed vary depending upon what caliber/load you feed it.) And even after shooting myself with the damn thing on March 15th of this year, there's no amount of money that will tempt me to part with it. But that doesn't mean it's what's best for every one. It means that it works for me.

 

I've read/heard about the inserts mentioned in the OP for several years now and I can see where they'd have their applications and I wouldn't mind being in a survival situation with someone who has one that has proven itself. But since I already own a proven (to me) rifle/shotgun combo, it wouldn't make much sense for me to purchase one. The potential versatility could prove an advantage, but Caster makes a great point regarding his own observations of the versatility of his .308. Does it make me want to run out and buy a .308? Nope. Because what works for him isn't guaranteed to work for me any more than my personal experience with the 24V trumps his past experiences with a similar gun.

 

Bottom line, if the newly opened sporting goods store I checked out when I was 24 years old had carried these inserts, I'd have tried one (or more) in half a heartbeat. As it happened, they didn't and instead I stumbled onto a deal on a unique gun that would end up giving me a lifetime of unfailing service...

 

 

...TS...

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I've handled that Savage over & under.... It's horrible. It feels like a toy, and the stock is almost a youth length... Way too short for my reach.

 

I have a Stevens 410 / 22 that was my grandad's. It's not in the best of shape, but they can be had for around the same price as that cheap Savage in good shape.... And mine lasted at least 3 generations of young rabbit and squirrel hunting. When I get around to it, I want to take it to someone who can fix it up to safely operate again for when my son gets old enough to use it. He's 2, so I've got a while. ;)

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I hunted with a friend in Alaska that had one if the Springfield M6's and he tried to take all legal game with that gun. Together we killed countless rabbits, squirrels, and grouse. A porcupine also fell victim. Tasted like hell. No amount of BBQ sauce could hide the taste.

On one camping excursion, we decided to cut a tree down with the .22. 3 days of plinking at that tree and it finally fell. No point here, just unadulterated youthful behavior.

I still kick myself for not picking up one of the M6's when they were reasonably priced. Horrible trigger, but neat little gun.
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I've handled that Savage over & under.... It's horrible. It feels like a toy, and the stock is almost a youth length... Way too short for my reach.

Ditto  - handled one at Cabela's last week.  It's not the same gun as my 24V - not even close.  Same name and 2 barrels, but that's it.

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