Savage model 29

[Pat C.]

New to me vintage Savage model 29 early 30's. Mostly plum patina ,nice classic rifle.
Barrel is loose in frame, ta per pin is all that holds in. Need to come of with a fix so I can shoot it.
Thinking of knurling shank and use lock tite with a new taper pin reamed hole.You can see the small gap at shoulder.
These were nicely made rifles except for the pinned barrel.

[VanHahner]

That's a little sweetie for sure, good find !

[Sustinemus]

The barrel just slips into the receiver with a pin through a hole under it?
Hmmmm...

[Pat C.]

Yes, its a taper pin . I tapped on it to no success. Common short coming for an otherwise finely built rifle.
The fix is to hand knurl the barrel shank and possibly peen slot wall where the pin fits.Then coat it with #648 lock-tite ,probably turn pin to new surface .Can't change it much as it almost breaks through ejection port now.

[VanHahner]

The barrel just slips into the receiver with a pin through a hole under it?
Hmmmm...

Quick and dirty for small game, because both sights are on barrel, so getting it lined up perfectly with the receiver is not critical for hunting !

[Pat C.]

With the receiver held rigid ,I can move muzzle 3/16" side to side. Apparently pretty common in these early model 29. At some point the loosness will affect headspace . This rifle has heavy machined bolt with dual heavy milled extractors and locks into battery with twin locking notch in top of receiver.

[Sustinemus]

I'd sure want to cinch it up tight.

[Pat C.]

Talked with GeneB over on Gunboards who is a collector and very knowledable on Savage model 29,29A,29B rifles. He pretty much give me the low down on what I have . He told me to double check the locking notch area as they were prone to wear from people using high velocity ammo. Luckily mine are good. He stated they are for standard velocity ammo only.

He went on to say my rifle is a transitional stage where they started making some changes . He also said the loose barrels were mostly with the 29 and he had several that way .

He also stated the checkering pattern was very unusual but appeared to be factory consistent but early rifles usually had three point design.And he had never seen this larger pattern .
Learning about a new to me rifle is half the fun of owning it.

[GunnyG]

I have one of these that also suffered from a loose barrel and other abuse surrounding the taper pin hole. I ended up doing some cosmetic welding on the receiver and building up the back side of the pin slot on the barrel, and then file fitting the pieces to pull up the slack.

It's tight now.

[Pat C.]

Got it apart today, absolutely no wear anywhere.But the killer is shank is .618" and the bore is .625" ,making a sloppy fit.Variety of ways to fix ,but I'm leaning toward doing no harm and using precision steel shim to wrap barrel.
Check out that bore ,looks brand new!