Hello all, so I recently acquired a savage model 1920 in 300 and the guy who had it before me tried to drill and tap the barrel to put scope mounts on. The problem is that he drilled all the way through and his remedy was to put a screw in and weld the hole shut. After firing it a couple times the welded hole started to crack. Not sure what to do. Are barrels easy to find or should I try welding it the right way.
1920 savage 300
- Thread starter jcoff
- Start date
Jim Watson
New member
I can't imagine finding a 1920 barrel floating around loose.
Is the hole into the chamber or bore?
Is the hole into the chamber or bore?
WalnutBill22
New member
If it's that far back it's probably just through the receiver, which shouldn't be a big problem. The barrel near the breech end is pretty thick, so he would have to have drilled a very deep hole to go all the way through it. I would suggest carrying it to a good gunsmith to get his opinion before shooting it again or welding anything. The M1920 is a very nice little rifle, and if it's in good shape is worth a lot of money (about $600-$800).
Reading your post over, it sounds like the hole is in the barrel, three inches in front of the receiver. Is that the case? If it were in the receiver, it should cause no problems just to tap it well and put in a plug screw. I do agree, however, with the suggestion to visit a gunsmith. This rifle is well worth fixing correctly.
Email me the pic and I'll post it for you.
A new barrel that duplicates the factory contour should be easy for most competent gunsmiths to install along with reusing the original factory sights. Unfortunately you'll loose all the factory markings which will hurt the value of the rifle if you ever wanted to sell it. However a functioning firearm is worth more to me than a wall hanger, and there is a market for shooter grade rifles like these.
The other option is to have full restoration done by someone like David Turnbull. He'll make it look like the rifle should and reproduce the factory markings. However, a 1920 Savage probably isn't worth the effort for a full restoration.
A new barrel that duplicates the factory contour should be easy for most competent gunsmiths to install along with reusing the original factory sights. Unfortunately you'll loose all the factory markings which will hurt the value of the rifle if you ever wanted to sell it. However a functioning firearm is worth more to me than a wall hanger, and there is a market for shooter grade rifles like these.
The other option is to have full restoration done by someone like David Turnbull. He'll make it look like the rifle should and reproduce the factory markings. However, a 1920 Savage probably isn't worth the effort for a full restoration.
Jim Watson
New member
That's ugly; I would not trust any sort of repair there. Especially after it has already messed with.
As said, you could have a Douglas barrel turned to the factory contour. It would be a neat light hunting rifle but it would no longer be a collectable except to somebody who would put the spoiled original barrel back on it for a showpiece.
As said, you could have a Douglas barrel turned to the factory contour. It would be a neat light hunting rifle but it would no longer be a collectable except to somebody who would put the spoiled original barrel back on it for a showpiece.