Savage 101 Single Shot Pistol

[michaelc46]

Hello Gentlemen,

I am trying to locate any info on a handgun I picked up at an auction last night. I have not seen one like it before. It is a Savage Arm Model 101, Single Shot .22 LR. It looks like a revolver but is actually a single shot.
By pushing on the cylinder it pushes out to load a single .22LR. The barrell rotates outward from the frame as if you were going to load a regular revolver and you eject the spent shell the same way.

The auctioneer said it came from an estate and thought is was a circa 1920's gun.

It's kind of a nice little shooter and I am just wondering about it.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Old Fuff]

Well it's not 1920's... I think it came out in the 50's or 60's.

The way they load a box of shells will last all afternoon, but they are reasonably accurate.

 

[oweno]

I actually own one of these - bought it in either 1962 or 1963 via a friend who worked at Stevens/Savage Arms in Chicopee Falls, Mass. I think it cost me somewhere around 12 bucks (employee price).

As Old Fluff said, reasonably accurate, pretty good trigger pull too.

Savage/Stevens back then was trying to find other markets - this handgun was one such try. They also were getting into the power lawnmower and commercial freezer business.

Their top-of-the-line gun was the 99; they were also making shotguns under the J.C. Higgens name for Sears as well as many other private lable brands.

 

[plateshooter]

I have one of those, I bought it for $20.00 probably 25 years ago. I've shot more vermin with that gun than probably any other gun I own. I kept it in my tackle box for years and killed many snakes with it, took it rabbit hunting with me for those bunnies that won't run. It is great for dispatching trapped pests with cb caps or shorts, I have taken 2 treed racoons, many back yard ground hogs, and a skunk (that was a mistake I will never do again) with it. I sometimes throw it in the range bag when going to the range, and it still shoots in the black at reasonable distances. Mine is really ugly, has almost no finish left, but it still takes care of business when it's needed.

 

[ribbonstone]

At ne point, about 1960 or so, wre three single shot "plinkers". The Savage was the most gun-like of the group...and a pretty nice little outfit.

Wammo (yep..the slip-and-slide people) had one that looked like a semi-auto, but was a single shot; the odd thing was that it had automatic ejection. Would blow back like a semi-auto, ejecting the case, but that was it.

Sheridan had one, the Knockabout, which looked odd, but ran on the old Stevens tip-up system...didn't look a thing like one, but the way it worked was just about the same. Actually, it looked more like an electric drill's grip than a handgun.

Guess it was a simpler time...handguns made specifically for just knocking around in the woods or getting a kid a good start on gun safety.

 

[Dienekes]

I remember the Savage 101s--once in a great while I run across one. Probably have an ad around somewhere for them.


For some reason I always sort of liked the Sheridan "Knockabout" single shot. Picked up a 98% one a few years back and occasionally take it out to relive the 1950s. It has (very!) fixed sights but it shoots right on.

Just plain fun.

 

[michaelc46]

Thanks!

Thank you all for the information. It is really nice to know where to go for the real scoop on guns. Wish I had this info before I bought into what I was told. Buyer Beware I guess!!! Oh well, at least I know I did ok on the Erfurt 1911 I asked about last year. I was in Tombstone last week and found a 1916 there in almost the same condition as mine and priced at $2500.
He had a holster but it was not original like mine.

Well I got a plinker again, that will be nice.

Again, Thank You All for the help.

Mike

 

[oweno]

Here's a bit more - from 'Pistols of the World' by Hogg & Weeks, 1982 edition:

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The Savage 'Revolver'

After an absence from the pistol business of nearly 40 years, Savage returned in 1960 with a single-shot pistol, the Model 101, chambered for the 22LR cartridge. The pistol had the appearance of a Frontier style revolver but, in fact, the barrel and the 'cylinder' were an integral unit which swung out of the frame for loading and ejection. It was withdrawn from sale some 10 years later.

//////

and I really wish that Hogg's book was updated. Wonder if it was. Mine is old and the cheap paper is turning yellow and brittle.