Apr 25, 2026 4 min read

One of my favorite parts of being an outdoors writer is pretending to be a gun writer of sorts. Not just because of my long-term admiration for writers such as Col. Jeff Cooper, Gene Hill and Elmer Keith, but rather because of my long-standing affection for the strange and unusual firearm.

I’ve often stated that if I were a gun, I’d be a Glock. They are utilitarian, simple, not particularly good looking, but they are most importantly, dependable. Those sentiments aside, I enjoy learning about, using, studying and proving that certain classic pieces are indeed works of art as well.

Enter, the Savage 24. If you are not already familiar with this piece, it is an over-and-under style double barrel affair featuring a shotgun on the bottom and a rifle on top. It is a break action that gives the shooter a choice between rifle and shotgun. Considered to be a “combination gun” the 24 was an afterthought to the Stevens Arms 22-410, introduced in 1938 and exiting production in 1950. Around 1950, Savage Arms took over production of what would become the Model 24 and its numerous variants. Production lasted until 2010.

The original Stevens guns, which about 15,000 were produced for use by the U.S. military in WWII as survival guns. The original 22-410 weighed in at seven pounds, came with 24″ barrels and had an overall length of 41″. When Savage took over production from Stevens, numerous off shoots resulted. Shotgun barrel offerings included .410, 20 gauge and 12 gauge. Rifle offerings included .22 LR, .22 WMR, .22 Hornet, .222 Rem, .223 Rem, .30-30 WCF, and both .357 Magnum and Maximum calibers.

In attempting to sum up the qualities of the Savage Model 24, some might label it unique. It certainly fills a number of utilitarian tasks quite aptly. Others would call it “odd” because it does not purely excel at any one task. The pistol grip sort of makes it a rifle and the bladed front sight and winged adjustable open rear sight offers enhanced accuracy from the traditional single bead shotgun sight of that day and age. Shouldering remarkably well, it is passable as a wing shooting piece but has trouble both starting and stopping its because of the shortness as well as the lightness of the overall configuration. That being said, I’ve seen pheasant, grouse, rabbit, squirrel and pigeon taken with ease with a model 24.

Many variations resulted in the development of the 24 along the way. Plastic stocks as well as wooden ones were featured. Some stocks contained space for storing spare cartridges while other models came in reduced length models, take down models and even features like scope mounting grooves and attachments, replacing the iron sights.

My brother owned the first Savage model 24 that I was familiar with. He was a pretty good rifle shot and I can recall a number of squirrels falling victim to the .22 LR barrel. I don’t ever remember him sounding off with the 20-gauge barrel. Unfortunately, his was lost to a house fire many years ago. I was always intrigued by the strange little gun and fancied harvesting a variety of game with such a versatile tool. Those were the dreams of youth.

I came into possession of my friend’s Savage 24-B, recently, following his passing. His wife presented me with his gun which I believe was purchased new, sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Mine is a 20 gauge/22 Magnum and features one barrel selector on the port side of the weapon as well as a second hammer selector. It has a silver/satin aluminum alloy receiver with a leaping fox engraved on one side and a flushing grouse on the other. A stylish gold trigger rounds out the package. The combination gun accepts both 2¾ and 3-inch shells. Originally the piece wore a Weaver model 330 rimfire scope with Weaver Tip Off mount but I removed it for practical purposes. Following several decades stored in his safe, I am considering giving it a second life as my new turkey gun. After patterning it the other day and being choked full, it appears to shoot pretty good groups from 25-35 yards. I figure that should do nicely in the turkey woods for a greenhorn turkey hunter like me.

Dave Bates writes a weekly outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter. He can be reached at alphaomegashootingsolutions@gmail.com