New to me, canoe gun

[Boreal Birch]

I have been very happy with a Savage 24C Campers Companion .22/ 20 gauge over/under for my annual or semi annual brook trout, ruffed grouse, camp & canoe trips, that I take in Northern Minnesota. Last fall I took my beautiful full stock 375 H & H Sako rifle with me and traded it away to a mid west gun dealer for a 1921 Marble's Game Getter. It is a 18" barreled .22/.410 over/under folding stock firearm that is ideal for pot shooting grouse on the portage trails or any off the beaten path places that brook trout fishing takes me. I have a couple of friends that reload, but they got tired of custom making 2 inch .410 shells for the little Marble' s, so I sent it off to have the 2 inch chamber bored out to two and half inches, now my friends are happy making me regular sized shells and I can buy them over the counter at outdoor stores. The gun has a folding rear peep that folds to a open sight, with the peep sight the gun is way more accurate with the .22 barrel than I will ever need. It will also shoot slugs from the .410 to near point of aim too. As I have gotten older my days of thrashing around in the pucker brush chasing grouse are nearing the end, but being the first over the portage with a pack and this little 2,5-3 pound gun is still doable for the the next ten years or so. Best wild meat ever is the ruffed grouse, dinners of brook trout are just about as good.
Here is a link to the some information on this gun or if your interested the web has much more.

 

[Iskweo]

Thats kind of cute and as you say, nice and light for taking grouse at short ranges. Targets of opportunity so to speak. I have been taking my 1022 but have been pondering a 12 ga single with one of those rifled barrel inserts in say .38 special or .22 magnum. I have been trying to find an old Stevens favourite to tote around in a sleeve on my rucksack...nifty little grouse getter.

Christy

 

[Boreal Birch]

Christy..........
The kid on the next farm to ours had one of those Favorites, we used to hand it back and forth taking turns shooting grouse (or shooting at grouse) when I was a kid. Next time I am back in Northern Minnesota I'll have to ask his brothers if they still have that gun in the family. I'll bet you could find one if you did a bunch of interweb searching. A single shot twelve gauge with a insert would be a very good canoe gun. Twelve gauge slugs are what we used in our bear guns (pump action repeaters with sights) when I worked for Alaska Fish & Game counting salmon in spawning streams. I wonder how accurate a .22 would be coming out of a insert, shooting at a grouse, I would maybe go with a 28 gauge or .410 insert to make sure I hit what I was aiming at. I'll check with some of my more knowledgeable firearms expert friends, an get back to you.
You got me thinking of making a sleeve for my Northwoods Canoe Pack (Duluth Pack version of the famous Woods Pack) for my little Marble's, Hmmmm, now the rusty wheels are turning.
........Birchy

 

[memaquay]

I've got one of these: https://www.chiappafirearms.com/p/id/181/product/Little-Badger.php
Can usually find them on sale for 189 bucks. Under three pounds, quite accurate with the little peep site.

 

[Guest]

I have a savage 24 in .22rf and 20ga. 3". The most versatile gun I own. Being a living history guy, having a faux birchbark canoe, and a flintlock gun builder-I an considering building a smoothbore flintlock "canoe gun". That is an actual primitive gun style.

 

[snapper]

Interesting to hear the term "canoe gun" as this is something I'm familiar with from my re-enacting/living history background. Sometimes they're referred to as "blanket guns" because they're short enough to be hidden under a blanket. When we used to go out on the Lake George tactical, a French & Indian War week long engagement, my paddling partner had one and it was always kept out of sight but at the ready whenever we landed the canoe in "enemy" territory. Nice little weapon.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time....be well.

snapper

 

[Canotrouge]

I really would like a 22/20 to carry in the fall while moose hunting something short and light, but also something of good quality not cheaply made stuff... You know!

 

[Guest]

My model 24 is wicked accurate with .22s, throws a nice tight shot pattern, and shoots a slug well out to 60yds. I have a 1.5-4 scope on it. it's only flaw is that it's heavy.

 

[deerfly]

those over unders were popular when I was a kid growing up in the 60's and 70's, not sure why they're not more popular. One of my dads friends had a savage 22 hornet over 20 gauge. Not sure where that ended up but I wish I had it today...

 

[Iskweo]

There is a site (in Canada) called Tradex...they have a bunch of combination guns at present...including 12 over 22savage/hornet etc.They only ship to Canada though.

 

[memaquay]

I have a very nice savage 24, .22/410 combo. Problem is, the barrels are no where near in tune. >22 shoots about 6 inches left of the .410 at 10 yards. I'm in the middle of scoping it with see through mounts. The .410 is good with the open sites, so I'll dial in the .22 with the scope. Chiappas makes a very nice .22/20 guage that I'm going to get as soon as I have a spare 500 bucks, it's called the double badger. It's a two trigger gun, really looking forward to getting it, the shotgun takes chokes as well.

 

[Guest]

luckily mine shoots .22's,slugs,and shot to the same point. Since I don't shoot flying game with it, the low mount 1.5-4 scope works fine for turkey and running squirrel. I can take almost any game with it.

 

[Canotrouge]

My dream gun is a Brno 308 or 30-06 12 gauge. One gun that do it all!! I would trade a lot of other guns for one of these in new old stock!!

 

[NYViking]

If you are looking for combination guns (or drilling's as they are sometimes called) check out gunsinternational.com Fun just to look around but if you are after the hard to find firearm there is a good chance you will find it here.

 

[DanOver]

As Memquay noted, those Savage combo guns were hit and miss if the barrels aligned correctly and it was hard to regulate the barrels. The Tikka/ Valmet and BRNO guns were higher quality and were lined up correctly. If you can find a Tikka made Stevens gun, you can sometimes get a steal. The Savage I always wanted was a .357 mag over 20 gauge, but they are too high now for what I need it for.

I have a folding Italian made .410 folding shotgun with a full choke that is my dog training/ backpacking meat gun. It shoots very tight and the long Shot string of the .410 does not matter much on sitting targets. Things weighs about 4 lbs., with a 26" barrel and is balanced nicely.

 

[Boreal Birch]

I bought and traded about 9-10 Savage .22/20 gauge model 24's before I found one that the shotgun barrel would put a slug in the same place as the .22 barrel. I bought and installed a peep sight to get greater accuracy from my increasingly poorer eyesight. I carried this firearm taken down in my pack whenever I flew salmon stream surveys for the Commercial Fisheries Division of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. I reasoned that if the aircraft ever went down and I didn't die in the crash I would maybe need it in case the ELT didn't alert a rescue in a timely manner. I liked that gun so much that I bought a Valmet 30-06/12 gauge to be my main moose/grouse fall in Alaska hunting gun. I have been very pleased with it also. The nearly one hundred year old Marble's Game Getter is of the same ilk, wonderfully accurate with both .22 and .410 slug. I really like the .410 with bird shot shells for ruffed grouse and have enjoyed many fine dinners because of it's nice pattern of shot at semi close ranges. Any of the three are excellent canoe tripping, camping or hiking tools if you enjoy eating wild meats.They might even come in handy in case of the Zombie Apocalypse. No need of a semi auto of any kind in my experience, my father and grandfather taught me to make the first shot count.

 

[DanOver]

Here is a photo of the Effebi .410 I plan to start my canoe shooting with.

 

[Guest]

danover, I have a 12 ga just like that. never thought of using it for a canoe gun-good idea. It's real lite and folds small.

 

[Iskweo]

I picked up a Swedish rolling block 16 ga shotgun for my travelling. It needs some love but is a nice handy and light little thing. Much better than any of he current offerings, and in 16 ga which is very nice to shoot.

 

[DanOver]

Iskweo, the old(er) Midwest pheasant hunters revere the 16 gauge as a perfect tool.