New here so go easy on me...
I've come across a new shotgun (well, new to me) to sit along side my Ithaca 37. It has some light surface rust and one area of minor pitting on the outside of the barrel. The wood is still in good shape with nice checkering.
Here's the strange thing....there is no model number...not on the barrel or under the engraving on either side of the receiver. I'm only guessing it's a 720 because the receiver isn't alloy like the 745s and the serial (728xx) seems to correspond with earlier guns. The engraving is the one I've seen online with the hunting scenes and flourishes around the edges. "Savage" is clearly embossed in the middle on one side.
There are no military markings. The barrel says it's made in Utica, NY; and there are two stars ** (improved choke I believe). There's also a mark that says (SP). I don't know anything about that one.
I've read that mine falls between the serials when the U.S. Army was buying these up for trainers, etc. This doesn't seem to be the case with mine since there are no markings. Does anyone have a guess as to whether Savage Arms was making shotguns for commercial purposes at this time?
Anyhow, I'd be glad to know any useful tidbits people may know about these shotguns. Particularly, any additional history someone may be able to dig up, like a year. I think the 720s were made between 1930-1949...that's a pretty big range though.
I probably won't re-blue this gun (how much does a pro hot blue cost?), I'll just get rid of the stains and rust, restore the wood, and keep it lightly oiled.
Cheers All,
Mat
I've come across a new shotgun (well, new to me) to sit along side my Ithaca 37. It has some light surface rust and one area of minor pitting on the outside of the barrel. The wood is still in good shape with nice checkering.
Here's the strange thing....there is no model number...not on the barrel or under the engraving on either side of the receiver. I'm only guessing it's a 720 because the receiver isn't alloy like the 745s and the serial (728xx) seems to correspond with earlier guns. The engraving is the one I've seen online with the hunting scenes and flourishes around the edges. "Savage" is clearly embossed in the middle on one side.
There are no military markings. The barrel says it's made in Utica, NY; and there are two stars ** (improved choke I believe). There's also a mark that says (SP). I don't know anything about that one.
I've read that mine falls between the serials when the U.S. Army was buying these up for trainers, etc. This doesn't seem to be the case with mine since there are no markings. Does anyone have a guess as to whether Savage Arms was making shotguns for commercial purposes at this time?
Anyhow, I'd be glad to know any useful tidbits people may know about these shotguns. Particularly, any additional history someone may be able to dig up, like a year. I think the 720s were made between 1930-1949...that's a pretty big range though.
I probably won't re-blue this gun (how much does a pro hot blue cost?), I'll just get rid of the stains and rust, restore the wood, and keep it lightly oiled.
Cheers All,
Mat