Savage Sporter .22 rifle questions?

Hi all,

I just bought an old Savage .22 rifle. On top of the barrel it is marked Savage/Sporter with patent dates 1905, 1915, 1917. Serial no. is 65550. From some info that I have found I believe it is possibly a late 1920 model. I didn't get a magazine with the rifle. I did see an individual that had a similar rifle, but his looked to be a slightly later model with a six digit s.n. After talking with him and examining his rifle he showed me the magazine that went with his rifle and told me he had an extra one that he would sell me. The magazine doesn't fit my rifle exactly, it looks like the magazine well in my rifle is longer than the magazine by about 1/8". I can manipulate the flat spring in the forward part of the magazine well and manipulate the rear retaining plate in the mag well to accommadate the magazine but it still doesn't seem to be correct for my rifle. The magazine that he sold me has a small knurled knob on the bottom of the magazine and a raised bar on the back side to fit a slot in the magazine well. It is similar to what my rifle would require but just a little shorter in the forward measurement.
Do the later models of this gun use a different magazine? I have read somewhere that some of the later models did have a shorter magazine well opening than the previous model, but I'm not sure.
Any information that is forthcoming would be more than welcome. I'm new here so I'm not sure that I can post any image files.
Thanks in advance, barr

The serial number identifies it as a 23-A - 45,000 to 127,000. The magazines with the knurled knob are correct. These are designed so the rear rib snaps into a slot in the fixed rear magazine guide and is held there by a flat spring pushing on the front of the magazine - the magazine has to have the bottom pulled forward, using the knurled knob, to bring the rear rib out of the slot in the rear guide so it can be removed - the magazine well is longer than the magazine to allow this forward movement to remove & insert it.

Thanks, Sav22,
I pulled the stock off of the rifle and found that the spring in the forward part of the magazine well is nothing but a flat piece of blue steel bent at a 90deg angle.
Not sure of this is correct or not, since it looks like the only way it is held in place is by being sandwiched between the stock and the barrel, seems odd.
Any one know if this is the correct way they had this spring installed or do I have something missing?
Appreciate the help Sav22,
barr

The front magazine retainer is nothing more than what you have. There should be a hole that one of the screw's from the floor plate to the barrel pass through. A very simple design, why I like them so. Enjoy your new rifle.