R&D 103............Looking for information

Hi
New to this forum
I just picked this up today sans magazine.

Barrel is 26" long and .900 at the end.
It is marked Savage and Westfield Ma. just up the road from me.

Wondering about the action, type of magazines, etc.
It is a beast weighing around 12 pounds.

The other question is :
I've heard barrel and receiver were made from one piece of steel is that correct ? And on this one also ?


http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j8...psu3oyeaht.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j8...pswsblc0lv.jpg http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j8...psrzof0vhn.jpg

Holy crap, you did good. Can't place the model right now but I'll do some digging, it's gonna be hard to match.

That RD stands for Research and Development, it's a prototype.

I'll sick Gene on this, he'll know.

Thanks Mad Dog.
Looks similar to a 34 ?

Interesting, more pictures might help but from what I see it's a much more modern gun than I am familiar with. I have some of the Savage R&D guns but much earlier vintage, mine are not stamped like that with the 'RD'. I've found it hard to document the R&D guns, two of mine have letters from a previous owner stating where they were acquired... but that's only as good as people feel his word is. I probably will never get any type of documentation on the others, they will have to be judged on how unique they are with only a possibility/probability of them being R&R guns.

It looks like you have an interesting piece and the way it's stamped is a plus for documenting it.

I'll take and post a few more.
Maybe take the scope and mounts off to get a clearer picture. I Did want to light a few off with it beforehand though.

[IMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j8...psyc79ioua.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j8...pskzervsfe.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j8...psit5sadex.jpg[/IMG]

I did yank the scope off and took a few more pictures.

The first is where the barrel meets the action.
Savage proof marks apparently ?
The bolt has an S stamp also.

The scope is back on......it "needs" to be retested.

I'm guessing this is an odder duck than originally thought.

If it was made after 1960 it might have a date code on it somewhere but it might not either being an R&D rifle it might not have made it that far. You can take the stock off and look around for a small oval stamp with a letter and a number stamped inside of it, it will be real small, like 1/8".

I gave it a quick function test.
It does make a nice crisp hole.

Something I found odd when I removed the scope was the bottom of the scope blocks matches the contour of the receiver. I'll see if I can get a picture of that.

Does anyone think this bears a resemblance to a model 19 NRA ?

The stock definitely looks like an NRA later style stock but the rest of it is puzzling. I've never seen that bolt configuration on any of my guns, they must have "developed" it more.

I have a magazine on the way for a 19 hopefully it will work.

This was from the function test it was close 25 yards but I'm an optimist.

https://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j...snu62vptf.jpeg

I just bought a 93 Troy Landry edition in 22 mag that makes one clean hole with 5 shells at 50 yds, I think all my old Savage pumps and bolts are snubbing him now in the safe.

I'm still in a quandary I picked up this magazine thinking it would be right.
It isn't. This gun is going to take one very similar to an Anschutz any help on that ?

MD got to love a nice clean hole with a 22 mag at that distance.
The 22 mag often seems to get a bad rep accuracy wise.
I have a Smith model 48 that is super precise.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j8...snjlq2ixu.jpeg

Whats happening with the magazine? Is it not fitting or not locking right? I know my later 19-33 takes magazines like the old banana shaped mags, maybe this one needs something like that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mad Dog

Whats happening with the magazine? Is it not fitting or not locking right? I know my later 19-33 takes magazines like the old banana shaped mags, maybe this one needs something like that.

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MD thanks
Yes It is not fitting not even close and Yes I think it will be a banana shaped style.
An Anschutz mag is very close
Any help on a model /magazine I should look for ?

The one I use in my 19-33 has a small S stamped on the bottom of it but I imagine if you find one with a small W stamped on the bottom (winchester) it would work just as well, at least I've heard they fit Savages.

I've had to fine tune a couple magazines that wouldn't lock up in the right spot in the mag well. Pretty much just a 30 second job with a dremel after you figure out where the lock is supposed to engage the mag.

Thank you
As an aside one of the old savage engineers will hopefully be looking at the photos to see if he knows more about this gun.

I think this might be what you need - https://www.brownells.com/magazines/...prod72216.aspx

I would suggest only the 10 shot, the 5 shots are to short for some of the heavy stocked rifles, like the late 19's and the Stevens 416's, and bottom on the stock before they are all the way in - your gun might be different, the magazine catch looks like it sticks out more than on the rifles mentioned... but that's just a guess. Look at your magazine catch to see if it has the catch tabs toward the bottom of the magazine well or to the top - if to the top it might take the Anschutz type - the 5 shot magazine from Brownell's has both the low and high catch notches and will work in more models, but it is shorter than the early factory 5 shot magazines which did work in the older heavy stocked guns.

ADDED - The Remington magazines will work in a Savage without modification, the after market ones will have an 'R' stamped on the bottom, the Winchester magazines will need to have a protrusion on one side near the top removed and notches for the catch added.

The magazine you have is for the early pre-1933 1919's and the 1922 & 1923 Sporters.

I have some of the rifles from the Savage prototype collection that was sold off in 1988 and a couple I think may have been. My guns are from the 1920's & 1930's, I wonder if that engineer might know if there are any re3cords of what was in the R&D collection, or if he was familiar with any of the older examples that were in it?

Quote:

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I have some of the rifles from the Savage prototype collection that was sold off in 1988 and a couple I think may have been. My guns are from the 1920's & 1930's, I wonder if that engineer might know if there are any re3cords of what was in the R&D collection, or if he was familiar with any of the older examples that were in it?

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I imagine he is just chock full of information he has been with them over 45 years.

Thank you and MD for the help

If you ever wanna sell it get ahold of Sav22 here first, I can tell he would just love to dissect that bolt.

The bolt is "funky"

I was able to get two 5 rounders with the S on the bottom and they work.
pretty happy about that.

So it probably is a variant or prototype of some kind of model 19-33 NRA.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mad Dog

So it probably is a variant or prototype of some kind of model 19-33 NRA.

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I definitely think that is correct.
The gun is down at my local shop and I talked to the engineer today.
He stated he started the R&D numbering so I'm hopeful he may know a bit about the bolt design.
The gun is being left there until he stops by to examine it.

He did stop by and couldn't elaborate on the bolt.
Said he did work on the stock design.
A local smith was there and thought it may have been made that way for rapid recocking on a round that didn't initially fire. Tried the trigger said not quite as good as a winchester but very nice.

Saw a model 6DL last week that had the same style stock, of course the model 6 was a semi not a bolt but the stock was very similar.

The place I picked this gun up has another RD gun.
That ones a 110 in 243.
I need to stay out of that place....

If it was in Canada I'd grab it up in a heart beat, and I hate 243's unless it was a 99R.