Oldest known Savage 110

[SevenFan]

I posted the following on Jan 14, 2017 shortly after joining the former SavageShooers forum. At the time I had no idea as to provenance of the rifle.

Starting to get back into things after a several year hiatus. Some recent research about the 110 (30-06) my dad gave me. I know he got it from a neighbor in trade for some automotive work and that had to be between '67 and '68. This was the first high powered rifle I ever shot.

I pulled the rifle out and confirmed it has a 4-digit serial number, 1071, and the barrel stamp stamp is 16I.



Receiver and bolt have matching numbers.



All original including the metal butt plate as seen here.



Stock is in decent condition and shows what I'd consider normal wear and tear from hunting use.



I remember mounting a scope on it during my late teens, a B&L Balvar 2.5 - 8x (had to remove the rear sight and had it stored). Sling studs were added by my uncle after I left home for my USAF career. Pestered my dad for years to sell the rifle to me but he always refused and he never used it again.

On a whim, sometime between 1990 - 1992, he retrieved it from his brother, gave it to me, and told me he wanted me to have it.

Haven't seen any 110s here with a lower serial number nor one with an "I" barrel stamp. Thought some would be interested in seeing this.

A day later forum member Mad Dog replied.

Wow, not sure how I missed this. Thats the 71st Savage 110 they built. They started all 110s at 1000.

The Savage 110 wasn't offered til 1958 but they started building them in 1957 for 1958. I have only one more 110 made in 1957 in my data, serial number 12XX.

Very nice gun!

So that's the story. I removed the sling studs and wish my uncle had never put them on the stock. I reinstalled the same 2.5 - 8x Balvar I put on it in '73 or '74. The original rear sight assembly is complete and stored away. Interesting tidbit - I, too, was born in 1957, Jan 16th to be exact.

Hope you enjoy this piece of history.