Need I.D. on a Savage Arms .22 long rifle

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Fireball

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My grandpa bought a golf bag at a garage sale, came home and found a rusted out .22 long rifle in the bag. It is missing a magazine and really rusted. I can't find the serial number but an inscription on the barrel reads:

"MANUFACTURED BY SAVAGE ARMS CORP. UTICA. N.Y. U.S.A.
PATENTED NOV. 28.1905. SEP.7.1915. SEP.4.1917. NOV.20.1917"

I really want to restore this rifle but I can't do so without some sort of magazine. Any information is appreciated.
 
Sorry about the wait i had to resize the pictures.
 

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"...where the serial number might be?..." There may not be one. Prior to The GCA of 1968, S/N's weren't required on .22's.
Bob's Gun Shop lists mags for a Savage Model 23A. $35 each. Suspect that rifle is too far gone to bother with. Look at the barrel first.
http://www.gun-parts.com/magazines2/
 
If it was a 23 the SN would be right between the bolt handle and the receiver port. This I think is a more rare and much less seen pre 23 type rifle(22?) or along those lines. The bolt knob, bolt handle cut in the receiver and the ejection port is not a 23 here. I would be checking and trying to clean the bore in this thing as these type guns shoot and I mean shoot if they have target sights put on them.
 
I've seen a lot worse than that brought back. Even if the bore has light pitting it will still probably be a good shooter.
 
Prior to The GCA of 1968, S/N's weren't required on .22's.
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Minor nitpick: Prior to the 1968 GCA, serial numbers weren't required on anything, not just .22's. It also wasn't illegal to change or obliterate a serial number. (Since it's now illegal to buy and sell guns without serial numbers, there is a legal process in place for legally transferring a pre-68 gun with a "pre-obliterated" s/n, but this is a bit off topic. Originally non-serialized firearms are grandfathered.)

Inexpensive .22 rifles were often produced without serial numbers in the pre-GCA era because (a) these rifles were regarded as cheap tools that were easily replaced and (b) applying serial numbers costs money, so eliminating the s/n allowed the manufacturer to save a few cents and hopefully undercut the competition's prices. Interestingly, gunmakers would apply serial numbers to more expensive .22 models as a sort of premium feature. For instance, Winchester did not serialize the Model 69 bolt-action repeater, but they did serialize the fancier and more expensive Model 75, even though it was based on the M69 action.
 
It's not a model 23 or 23A. It is a Model 23AA (double A). Check www.e-gunparts.com for replacement mag. It will still probably be an OK shooter.

It's never going to be in the "collectables" category in your lifetime, condition-wise, but I've seen a lot worse. Liberal amounts of fine oil or turpentine and 0000 steel wool will clean up that bolt and trigger guard nicely, and you will have yourself a nice little plinker.
 
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