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I have recently acquired a Savage pump shot gun manufactured in 1921. I was preparing to clean it and was able to disassemble the gun with no problem. Now comes the problem....I am unable to reassemble the shot gun.. I am unable to find anything on the web on how to reassemble the gun. I can get the barrel and the magazine back into the receiver but the operating handle bar is not picking up the bolt. I hope that I am describing the problem I am facing accurately. Any suggestions would help.
Good luck with that! As old as it is I don't even have a clue what model it might be, though Joe (Mad Dog) might when he gets back. Only other option would be trying to find an old (pre-1950) NRA Guide to Firearms Assembly on Ebay or at a gun show that might include a diagram and instructions for that particular model. The only Savage's in the newer editions are the few select models that are popular with collectors (Model 6, 24, 29A & 29B, 99, 110, 1903, and the 1919 NRA).
Could possibly get in contact with Savage and see if they have an archive they can dig into. I would think as most gun manufacturers they would have a pretty tight control on their historical items.
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I have a 21 here and maybe we can help each other out as I have a question as well, but a different one.
Anyway, when I tore mine down, all I had to do was lock the bolt into battery before I inserted the action bar into the slot in the receiver. It seemed to pick it up just fine for me. Just shoved it in and racked it. I have yet to test fire it, but the hammer drops and it seems to function. I will tear the thing apart again and see if I can get more insight into what the problem might be.
But I have a question for you about your mag tube. I just got this 21 and it was rather rough. The little indents on the mag tube look to have been bubba'd. On yours, are these there to hold the mag spring in place? Or does the spring go all the way to the cap on the mag tube? I was told this train wreck had problems feeding and I am kind of wondering if the spring tension was on the low side thus not popping out shells properly.
OK, so I just got done sorting out a bunch of issues with a 1921. To answer the OP's original question, to get the action bar to engage the bolt, #1 the slide assembly needs to be aligned properly. There is some sort of block, for lack of a better term, that sits under the slide and is welded/brazed onto the mag tube that orients the slide so that it doesn't twist. Make sure thats lined up. To get the action bar to actually pick up the bolt the proper way, you need to have the bolt locked into battery. Then flip the gun so that you are looking at the under side of the receiver where you load the shells in. You have to take the little hook thing (don't know the proper term here) that holds the shells in and pull it towards the opening (if you were holding shotgun as if you were ready to shoot you would pull it down if that makes sense). Then, once the mag tube and everything else have been put on and properly seated and all that, you pull the shell hook thing out of the way as previously mentioned then slide the action bar past it to engage the bolt.
Its kind of a funky way to do it. The only thing stopping the slide from going off and smashing the end of the mag tube clamp is that block thats welded to the mag tube. Its weird, but it works. Hope this some how helps.