On pre-66 models like yours, the year of manufacture can be determined by the oval barrel stamp. Your barrel stamp is 11K, the two digits are the inspector's ID and alpha character denotes year, K is 1959.
From what little I can see of the trigger, it looks original.
Very interesting scope mount, I couldn't quite make out the manufacturer.
Congrats on scoring a nicely kept survivor.
I stared at that scope mount for while. I don't remember seeing one like it before. Great looking rifle.
Thanks Orezona, when this thing gets out of jail I will get some more pics and post them.Originally Posted by Orezona
Here are a few more I had in my phone my phone, and a couple of a similar scope mount listed on Ebay now.
Man, that's like a left-handed clone of my 1960 30-06. Same stock. Those older walnut stocks are so damn sweet. And yes, that is a vintage B&L Bavlar scope with adjustments on the mount. Very vintage.
As for the trigger, that blade looks too wide to be factory original, but Savage was experimenting then too, so you never know. My factory trigger was more curved, and not as wide.
If you go to Savage FAQs at the top of the forum there are some very good articles in History and in Catalogs you'll find scans of original catalogs covering the 110 back to 1961. In Cartridges of the Savage Model 110: 1958 - 1999 you'll find the .243 Winchester was introduced in 1959.
That's a cool old Balvar! Mine wears a Balvar as well, but about 16/17yrs newer than the rifle.
I'll pull mine out later today and post pics of the trigger. Will provide measurements as well. Know for sure it is grooved like yours.
BTW, I have almost two complete trigger assemblies for those old pre-66 rifles. If you ever decide you want to go back to the original trigger setup, let me know.
I'm replacing mine with a Timney and newer safety because my goal is to make it my primary deer rifle once I get the new 7x57 barrel on it.
Thanks. OK I will start the hunt for something a little lighter.
Thanks for all the info. Thought I saw somewhere they didn't start the 243 till 60 but obviously not. I'm also interested to see what the action length is.
Scope is a Bausch and Lomb, pretty sure it's called Balvar. The adjustments are in the mount, not internally from what I can see so far. I did see that mount somewhere when I was looking up the scope. If I have another pic or 2 I will post them later.
Looks like a Balvar8. They're pretty nice scopes. Best of their time. The adjustable ones especially sometimes have some small flecks inside that can be annoyance but does not inhibit their use. The American Rifleman tested one by dismounting it from the adjustable mounts, smacking against the leg of a chair, and then remounting it. It was reported to hold zero and function was not inhibited.
I get that. Was talking with a friend the other day about recoil on the bench. Awesome that it's the original cal and in the first 100.Mine is 30-06 and do shoot it but not often. As you can imagine, at just 7lbs (including scope) and wearing a metal butt plate, it's not very pleasant from the bench. That said, the connection to my dad and the fact the rifle is one of the first 100 produced, it always makes me smile.
It seemed pretty clean when I looked through it, hope it's as clear as I think it was.
Based on your handle, you are really into these scopes, or ?
They're pretty neat. I especially like the big 6-24 model.
Though not currently on the rifle (removed to deep clean the action) I put a Balvar 8B 2.5 - 8 x 36 on it around '73 - '75. Still an awesome scope today.
My 1960 110 is now wearing a M8 Leupold 6x36 from 1976. It really is amazing how good those scopes are for their age. The 70's were when they had started to figure out lens coatings, and the top optics from those years are still very good compared to what's made today.
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