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I’ve long been a fan of the Savage Model 24 over and under rifles. They’d been made since the late 30s, and were available in a myriad of rifle and shotgun caliber and gauge combos. Most of those old Model 24s were blued steel with wood stocks. The idea of a compact rifle/shotgun combo as a camp or survival rifle is appealing, and Savage hasn’t forgotten that. Their current over and under combo rifle is the Model 42. It’s a takedown rifle with synthetic stocks, and they just dropped a couple of new color options for it.
The Earth Tone Model 42s
The Savage Model 42 breaks down with the simple push of a button. It packs up into an included Uncle Mike’s Go Bag, and you can stuff it easily in your truck, your boat, strapped to your ATV or just stashed out of the way in your camp.
The Model 42 is a simple break-open combo gun that fires rimfire rounds from the top barrel and .410 bore shotgun shells from the bottom. A number of the old Model 24s offered centerfire rounds and other gauges, but the current Model 42 keeps things simple by offering .22 LR or .22 Magnum rifle options over a .410 shotgun barrel. This allows them to keep the guns light, compact and affordable.
The short length of pull and light recoil make the Model 42 a great option for new or youth shooters, too. The synthetic stocks are weatherproof, and the barrels have a matte black finish that’s easy to maintain. Black with some red trim used to be your only option, but Savage just added Flat Dark Earth (FDE) and Olive Drab (OD) Green stocks as an option as well. Being that these are guns made for the outdoors, those muted, earth tone colors make sense.
Model 42 Features:
- 20-in. barrel combination rifle/shotgun
- .22 LR or .22 Mag. over .410 bore shotgun
- Simple break-action design
- Adjustable rifle sights
- Simple one-button takedown
- Removable rear sight to allow optic mounting
- 2 sling studs
- Included takedown carry case
- Black, FDE or OD Green synthetic
- MSRP: $579
Where To Buy
I grew up around the Savage 24. The first time I saw a 42 I thought it was all plasticy and junk.
I always thought .22 LR over 20 ga. and .223 over 12 ga. made the most sense. Always on the scout for both, but owners of a 24 must be a jealous bunch. Can’t find ’em.
It’s been awhile. They seem to be unicorns. Last one I saw for sale was 600 bucks.
We get about one a year through the repair shop. Either for a worn/broken firing pin or a malfunctioning barrel selector. Symptoms of older softer steel meeting modern ammo.
That 410 barrel unfortunately weighs more than the nips on a boar hog, is my view.
28 ga could be good.
Hmm. I really like that idea of that particular caliber combination as a survival platform. You would have .22 LR rimfire for small game. And you would have .410 shotshells for small birds such as mourning doves or even for those damn red/pine squirrels that never stop moving long enough to shoot with a .177 caliber pellet or .22 LR bullet.
Plus, in a pinch, you could even load a .410 slug shell for a significant ability to stop a human attacker. You could also, again in a pinch (as in a bona fide survival situation), use either the .22 LR or a .410 slug to take pronghorn antelope and even white-tail deer at close range.
If I didn’t already have a Henry AR-7 survival rifle, and if I had not just spent serious money on a rimfire can and a “do all” can (which handles all handgun calibers–even Magnums–plus .300 AAC blackout subsonic as well as .450 Bushmaster), I would be submitting my order to buy one of these.
Since I already have a compact rifle chambered in .22 LR, maybe I split the difference and get an inexpensive break-action .410 shotgun.
20 ga on the shotgun. Shells are common as dirt and inexpensive. Not so 410 and 28. Twenty is also more efficient. Everything from birdshot to buckshot to a rifled slugs. .410 slugs? Well… I did work a suicide once where a .410 slug was the caliber of choice. Contact wound to the chest. It worked, but I wasn’t very impressed at the autopsy.
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