Where are the combo guns?

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The cost to build a decent combo is prohibitive. Especially an American made gun. The Savage 24 has a following and I get several in on consignment. They sell when they are priced right. I think that the 24 was dropped from production in 65. The Valmet 2100 was imported by Savage until 1980, I believe. You could get it in 12ga/30-06 and as you can see from DM's post, they are accurate.

One of the neatest combos that has come through my door is Steyr side by side in 16ga and 9.3X72R. Double hammer and double trigger. Dates back to around late 1800's early 1900's. The old gun is rough, but so COOL!

If you have deep pockets I believe that combos are still available from Merkel.;)


I'm pretty sure that the M24s were made much later than that - I bought several in the mid to late 70s. :cool:
 
I have one of the 24DLs with the brazed barrels. It is more accurate than I am and fun to hunt with. The challenge I have is that I am perfectly legal to hunt small game with the .22/20 combo, but some of my favorite honey holes are shotgun only. So I hunt with it when I can, but I am not willing to tempt fate in the shotgun only places.

If they do a proper job on the new M6 I will buy one in a heartbeat. Always wanted one.
 
The really expensive combo guns are built in Europe. The Cape gun which is a sxs with a smooth bore and rifled barrel, originally was built for hunters in S. Africa. Lots of fowl and big game for the taking. Drillings originated in Europe as the royal class didn't have any game laws. The game belonged to the property owner, or nobility. Still does as most hunting is done on privately owned property (shooting estates).

I think game laws and seasons here insured the demise of the combo gun.
 
Correct on most points. I can, on my land, hunt everything but turkey and deer with a combo. Oops, technically, I can't hunt birds since it is also a rifle. Crap! Coyotes, woodchuck, foxes, coons, possums, squirrels and rabbits look out. Everybody else gets a pass.
 
I have for many years been a owner of one Savage Model 24 or another. This one (M24V) came to me with damaged barrel that I regulated and extended to make sure it was of legal lengths. The upper barrel was chambered for .222 Rem. but now has been converted to .223 Rem. The 20ga bottom barrel is set up for screw in chokes and among my selection is a rifled choke tube for shooting sabot slugs if I wish. Under the forearm wood is a compartment that holds a cartridge adaptor from .223 Rem. to .22RF. In the butt is a compartment that holds whatever your pleasure. I keep some .22RF cartridges there. SavP1.jpg
 
The Valmet 2100 was imported by Savage until 1980, I believe. You could get it in 12ga/30-06 and as you can see from DM's post, they are accurate.
First of all, The Savage import was the 2400 (made by Valmet) and it never came here in 30-06, the action wasn't considered strong enough for 30-06, but they did come chambered in .308 Win.. Even in .308 hand loaders stretched the frames, so that's why they didn't get into anything bigger.

The Savage 2400's are a WORLD better gun than the 24's, not even in the same class!

Savage didn't import the Valmet 412 like mine, Valmet imported it and thousands of others. It's built much stronger than the Savage 2400's...

LOT'S of European mfg's still make combo guns, (and drillings too) there's lots of the used combo's on the market too, with prices are all over the board...

DM
 
I'm pretty sure that the M24s were made much later than that - I bought several in the mid to late 70s. :cool:
Your right. The original 24 ended in 65. The 24V and the 24 Field went 1967-89. The latest one is the 24 F that went from 1989-2007. There are 15 variations of the 24.

Savage also had a Model 389, 42 and the Valmet made 2400. The Russian made Baikal models MP94,SPR94 and IZH94 are some of the most affordable combo guns out now that I know of.
 
I use my Merkel Combi, 12 over7x57R for roe deer hunting with a dog. #1s in the shot barrel for close shots and a Norma 156grn Oryx for farther away. Now i know 156grn Oryx is a tough bullet for roe but what if the dog pushes out a boar? 202.jpg P7110171.JPG I've shot moose with that bullet in the combi. Sorry Pete D Your post above is not true. Several European gun makers produce Combi's
 
"The latest one is the 24 F that went from 1989-2007."

I had a model 24 F in .22 Hornet-12ga . They must have made them out of lead . Way to heavy a gun, and I quickly sold it.
 
I use my Merkel Combi, 12 over7x57R for roe deer hunting with a dog. #1s in the shot barrel for close shots and a Norma 156grn Oryx for farther away. Now i know 156grn Oryx is a tough bullet for roe but what if the dog pushes out a boar?View attachment 775172 View attachment 775173 I've shot moose with that bullet in the combi. Sorry Pete D Your post above is not true. Several European gun makers produce Combi's

I think that you have me mixed up with someone else. What I wrote was
Combo guns are popular in Europe where gun ownership is much more strictly regulated than here. The two guns (or three or four) in one is a way around that.
What part of that is not true?
 
I think that you have me mixed up with someone else. What I wrote was
What part of that is not true?
Sorry for the late reply. I've just got back from boar hunting in Hungary.
The popularity of combination guns has nothing to do with how restrictive European gun laws are. Combi weapons are popular because of the type of hunting done in Europe. Combi's and Drillings are not as popular as they once were. The younger people coming into hunting want more modern hunting weapons.
 
Sorry for the late reply. I've just got back from boar hunting in Hungary.
The popularity of combination guns has nothing to do with how restrictive European gun laws are. Combi weapons are popular because of the type of hunting done in Europe. Combi's and Drillings are not as popular as they once were. The younger people coming into hunting want more modern hunting weapons.

I will defer to your experience.
Is that type of hunting that a hunter can engage multiple types of game while in the field and the combo allows for appropriate choices?
 
How about a nice 4-barrel Vierling?:

opt_100967348_51293_16AD50FDC99E6F97.jpg

Franz Sodia 4 barrel Vierling. It is a very
unusual combination of one Cal. 12 ga barrel and three rifle barrels - each of a different caliber: 7 x 65R / 5.6 x 52R / 22 mag.
 
Why is it combo guns are not produce d anymore. Like a 12 gauge and 3006 combo or 12 gauge .308 win

I'm trying to go from rifle & shutgun into one. Found 12-12/9.3x74R. Might bite the rifle is quite powerful on par with .375H&H rimmed nitro express.
 
I will defer to your experience.
Is that type of hunting that a hunter can engage multiple types of game while in the field and the combo allows for appropriate choices?
I use mine when hunting roe deer with a dog. Often the range is 20 Mtrs or less, then a dose of #1s is just right for roe. for longer shots i use the rifle barrel. In Scandinavia we hunt every thing with dogs, be it fur or feather. so with a combi or drilling on a hunting day you can shoot a roe,hare, blackcock or even Boar and moose with the same weapon. My merkel combi has a great set trigger that i have used many times to shoot roe deer when sitting in a hunting stand
 
i got a newly introduced savage m42 o/u 22wmr/410 as one of my first long guns when i retired to the u.s. from overseas a few years ago. im not a hunter. it was to be politically correct trunk and survival gun for inherited, non-deep wilderness land in canada on which i had a plan to build an on-grid cabin. i shot it enough to know that it defines a true compromise. fast forward, things happened and i still have the m42 and the land, both safely tucked away, unused and unbuilt. would i buy the m42 again? no. i generally dont let guns go, but this one can when i get around to selling a few. if im where no handgun is allowed (i.e. in canada where i cannot bring a beloved ruger single six 22wmr/lr), then a ruger or marlin 22lr semiauto rifle would be my primary, with a 20ga shotgun for a secondary, piece. the m42 would be only a distant third choice, really better suited to be tucked in a small airplane or live-on boat.
 
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