I have a friend who says he has a 30 30 bolt action Savage. Never heard of such a thing. It's a Savage model 340 and here are a couple of pics





How well did they shoot and how much are they worth?

new they sold for around $260.00
blue book used 100%=$225.. 95%= $170.00
Stocks looks pretty good.
Is that rust or pitting or did some one try to cold blue?
If so the value would be quiet a lot less in my opinion.

I had one when I was a kid. They were made from the early 50's and discontinued sometime in the mid 80's. IIRC accurancy of the one I had was on par with my buddies 94 Winchester. As far as $ value goes, I'd guess a couple hundred bucks, more or less. The one you have there looks pretty nice. The 340 was also chambered in the 22Hornet, 222, and 223.

Can you have it drilled and put a scope on it and if so what kind of bases?

Wow what a nice piece of wood on a utility rifle!! Someone at the factory should have diverted that to something more worthy.

The old 340s are a good woods utility rifle. They are generally pretty accurate. The extractor is a weak point on the rimless bolt models. Maybe it is better on the rimmed models. Plateau Hunter

they're getting kind of collectable- lots of mods over the years. made under both the stevens and savage names.

always a servicable gun, I read years ago they were popular with the native population in Alaska (?).



I think the savage 40 (?) is based on the 340 receiver.

My 340d in 222 has a Weaver side mount, made for the savage 340, and the Stevens and Springfield version of the same rifle. The 340D is the "delux," but its wood is nothing like yours.
Mine is quite accurate, many groups near 1/2" at 100, average around an inch.

http://www.riflescopes.com/products/14600/b-square_sporting_rifle_mount.htm

Here's a mount by B-Square.

The 30-30, Savage 340 I load for and resporterized can put 10, 150 gr. Berrey plated bullets in one quarter size hole at 50 yds.It was buoght used 37 years ago and was old back than. roger

I beleive this was the only production gun to come out in 225 Winchester. The 225 Winchester came out near the same time Remington brought out the 22-250 in a factory round. Becase the 22-250 had a long standing as a wildcat, it was well known and generated more interest then the 225.

The Remington 788 was also chambered in 30-30

I have no personal experience with the Savage 340, but I was told by one of my uncles that he was in a hunting party wherein one fired when someone was handling it because the safety did not work. There were several 340s in this group and they tested the others and found that each of them would also fire with the safety on.

That is hearsay evidence, of course. But I would recommend testing the safety on any 340 to determine whether it is really safe.

quote:

Originally posted by CARNE:
I beleive this was the only production gun to come out in 225 Winchester.

I understand that Winchester made the Model 70 in .225 at one time.

Those 340s seem to show up at the gun shops around here pretty regularly... sometimes they try to get $200.00 for them, acting like they are a rare gem of some sort.... but you can normally buy one for $100 to $125.00 if you look around some...

They take side mount scopes only and the magazine is detactable and only sized to take the flat nose bullets...most are fair shooters...

Remington did also make the 788 in 30/30... A very nice example is at one of the local gunshops.. but the $425.00 consignment price the owner has on it is kinda optomistic....

Winchester also chambered the Model 54 in 30/30, which I would love to get ahold of a good one of those...

They make a good rifle for beginning hunters...especially if you can get one that already has the side mount on it.. weaver made one that was available new not that long ago..

They went for about $35.00 and then another $35 or more to have it installed...

I have bought 5 or 6 of them over the last 10 years but play with them a while and then let them go since I really can't handload them with spitzer bullets, the main reason for a bolt actioned 30/30...

But I did loan one to a young guy here, and loaded him up some 110 grain SPs, with an MV of about 2750 fps, and he and his dad both took blacktails with it... his dad was so excited with it, he went out and bought one and I gave him the load data I had used...

quote:

Originally posted by woods:
Can you have it drilled and put a scope on it and if so what kind of bases?

Yes, I've seen a number of 340's with scopes. Since the receiver bridge is split pretty far up, I believe a Weave side mount for a round receiver would work OK.....

(There have been a number of bolt-action .30/30's over the years. The first one I ever saw was a Model 54 Winchester in the thrift shop at Fort Bragg NC in 1953. They wanted $35.00 for it. Should have bought it! Then there are several /StevensSavages from the early 1900's, and of course, the one you have. Then the Rem. 788 was made in .30/30 also. That should be a real good one!

quote:

Originally posted by LE270:

quote:

Originally posted by CARNE:
I beleive this was the only production gun to come out in 225 Winchester.

I understand that Winchester made the Model 70 in .225 at one time.

Well, of course! The .225 was Winchester's replacement chambering for the .220 Swift in the M70; the very first .225 rifle of all. But it never became as popular as the .220 Swift and was eventually dropped.

I HAVE ONE OF THESE MYSELF WITH A SIDE MOUNTED SCOPE. IT IS A GREAT SHOOTING GUN. NOT THE PRETTIEST AT THE DANCE BUT IT WILL HANG WITH THE BEST OF THEM. IT WAS MY GRANDDAD'S AND HE HAD THE SCOPE PUT ON IT WHEN HE GAVE IT TO ME. IT WAS MY FIRST RIFLE AND I AM DOUBTING I WILL EVER GET RID OF IT.

My 325 Stevens bolt action in 30-30 handles spitzer bullets very well. So I do not understand the statement in one of the post that states, "can't handload spitzer bullets." Well why can't they be handloaded? I have loaded many spitzer bullets for mine, but went this past fall to the Hornady 160 grain Leverevolution factory round. Took one deer with it. Worked very well.

Have owned the Savage 340 in .30-30 WCF, but the slickest bolt action .30-30 Winchester has to be the Winchester M-54, bar none. Had one,and sold it, dummy me. Now I have a Model 98 Mauser in .30-30, a custom rifle, not mush value, but Lord does it shoot!!
LLS

In the early 1960s my brother and I bought nearly identical Savage 340s in 30-30. We both mounted Weaver side-mount 4X scopes on them. The 30-30 was the first cartridge I started reloading for.

Oddly my rifle would 1" groups all day, but no matter what I tried (different loads, rebedded the stock etc) my brother's would never do better than 2 1/2" group.

Barstooler

I bought a Stevens 325 for my wife and it is basically a carbine variant of the 340. Fantastic gear..very accurate and I get sub MOA with 125 Sierra Spitzers at 2450ft/sec. The light Sierra really knocks caribou flat.

I put a sourdough front sight on and it shoots very well set up like this. It will feed empties from the magazine into the chamber!

Seafire.......I own a Model 54 Winchester in 30/30. Has a Buehler scope safety installed, low bolt, and is drilled and tapped for Weaver bases, all documented as having been done by the Buehler Bros. themselves, in the far, long ago. I think the trigger has been "breathed on" by someone who knew triggers, too. What a fine rifle..... When they talk at length about controlled feed on these forums, they must have a 54 in mind, as mine feeds rimmed 30-30 rounds as well as any rifle I've ever shot!
I load IMR 3031 and Speer 130 grain hollowpoints for fun, and 150 Nosler Ballistic Tips for our big Minnesota Whitetails.
Keep looking......You'll find one someday.... Grant.

quote:

Winchester also chambered the Model 54 in 30/30, which I would love to get ahold of a good one of those...

I remember seeing a Winchester 54 in 30-30 years ago for sale, and have regretted not buying it ever since.

I owned several Remington 788s in 30-30, back when I was in college, and beginning to deer hunt in Georgia. Very good deer rifles.

I have always been tempted by the Savage, but I studied the action, and the inability to mount a scope, and it seems that the bolt has only one lug, really doesn't appeal to me at all.

I have gone with bolt actions in 308 Winchester, and at times I have loaded to 30-30 velocities for nostalgia. That's the way I'm going to keep it - if I just want 30-30 performance, I'll down load my 308s.

However, I have a contender G2, which I'm thinking of getting a 30-30 barrel for, but this new .308 Marlin cartridge looks pretty interesting. Maybe a barrel for the contender will be made for it.

KB

quote:

Originally posted by Oldmodel70:
Seafire.......I own a Model 54 Winchester in 30/30. Has a Buehler scope safety installed, low bolt, and is drilled and tapped for Weaver bases, all documented as having been done by the Buehler Bros. themselves, in the far, long ago. I think the trigger has been "breathed on" by someone who knew triggers, too. What a fine rifle..... When they talk at length about controlled feed on these forums, they must have a 54 in mind, as mine feeds rimmed 30-30 rounds as well as any rifle I've ever shot!
I load IMR 3031 and Speer 130 grain hollowpoints for fun, and 150 Nosler Ballistic Tips for our big Minnesota Whitetails.
Keep looking......You'll find one someday.... Grant.

quote:

Winchester also chambered the Model 54 in 30/30, which I would love to get ahold of a good one of those...

Grant,

I am envious, very envious... I have dropped a few of those big Minnesota Whitetails myself... I spent a total of 15 yrs living in Minnesota...

I use to hunt North of Hibbing, or south of MacGregor...

Buy it. But also buy an extractor as a back-up. They seem to be the weakest link in this chain and may be hard to find a decade or so out.

quote:

Originally posted by CARNE:
I beleive this was the only production gun to come out in 225 Winchester. The 225 Winchester came out near the same time Remington brought out the 22-250 in a factory round. Becase the 22-250 had a long standing as a wildcat, it was well known and generated more interest then the 225.

I THINK you meant to say:
"I believe this was the only production gun besides the post-64 Win M70 to come out in 225 Winchester."

AD

My 12 year old daughter shot her first deer this fall with a Savage 340 .30-30. I loaded 1 grain less than max with RL15 with 150grn Rem PSP. It is quite accurate and she can really shoot it. If the bolt is worked too softly occasionally it won't reset the firing pin. Bolts were made to be operated with more zest anyway. It will not feed the next round this way, so it is not a safety issue IMO. She weighs 90lbs and carries it well. It is a fun little rifle. We didn't want her fighting with the hammer on a 94. It is a perfect rifle for her. I would hunt with it. It has a Weaver #1 sidemount with a 3-9 Tasco. I recommend this rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Ugger:
Buy it. But also buy an extractor as a back-up. They seem to be the weakest link in this chain and may be hard to find a decade or so out.

Good advice.

I inherited my grandfather's Stevens 325C. Just a beechwood stock. Nothing fancy like Woods'. I just got it back from my smith last weekend. Broken extractor/ejector. The gun shoots very well with factory stuff. I'm anxious to load upsome 125 gr. or 130 gr. pointed stuff to try that. I'm thinking Hornady 130 gr. spire points for starters.

Can anyone tell me why the book value is substantially higher on the Stevens than it is on the Savage?? Seems odd because the Stevens seems to be a plainer gun.

A bolt action .30-30? Not to hijack this thread, but I have never understood why.

The Winchester Model 94 and Marlin 336 are so much handier and nearly as accurate. From all I have heard and seen, just about any Model 94 or 336 you might find will be a guaranteed minute and a half rifle.

And by the time the 340 came around, Savage had already made one of the best .30-30s (or .303 or .300 Savages, or .308 Winchesters, for that matter) known to man - the Model 99.

A bolt action .30-30 is just a weird thing. The only thing weirder might be a .30-30 double rifle. Like going from the ridiculous to the absurd!

I intended to bid on one of these at an auction last fall.I missed out by a few seconds,never got to bid,it sold for $170 dollars.

Back when I was a member ofthe Cast Bullet Assoc. there were guys shootingthe 30-30 788 Remington in the cast bullet bench rest matchs. And doing rather well.
Jim

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
The only thing weirder might be a .30-30 double rifle. Like going from the ridiculous to the absurd!

You are probably right but I'd like to have one. roger

quote:

Originally posted by arkypete:
Back when I was a member ofthe Cast Bullet Assoc. there were guys shootingthe 30-30 788 Remington in the cast bullet bench rest matchs. And doing rather well.
Jim

There is one that was refinished down at the local rifle shop...

however,

they want $425.00 for it on consignment...

it hasn't been moving.. but a lot of guys sure look at it, compared to its twin in 308 right next to it...