Originally Posted by
Oldtimr
A drilling is 2 barrels over one barrel, or one barrel over two, pronounced drelling, from the german word drei, meaning three. The savage over under is not a drilling. Just saying.
It might not be a drilling, but it's not an "Over under" either. It's a "Combo gun". Just saying...
I used to have the same weapon, an old Savage 24. The combo guns seem like a great idea in theory, but their usefulness in application is limited. The rifle was "huntable," but far from 'extremely accurate'. Mine wasn't regulated properly when I first received it, but a trip to the smith had it shooting a 100yrd zero on the rifle and a 50yrd with the shotgun well enough.
It's great that you have the option of throwing shot on a close coyote, or reach out a bit on a long range coyote - and only have to carry one gun to do so - but the lack of follow up shots for either case is what crippled it for me.
It's more versatile than a single shot rifle alone, or than a single shot shotgun alone, but beyond that, it's just not great. The "ideal" scenario for it is if you clip one up close with the shotgun barrel, then anchor it as it tries to run away with the rifle. Call in a double at 100yrds, or wing one at 100yrds that needs a follow-up shot, and you'll kick yourself that you don't have a repeating rifle. Call in a close double, smoke the first one with the shotgun barrel, and miss the second one on the run with the single shot rifle and you'll kick yourself again.
It's a great choice if you have a calling partner that plans on doing the shooting, and you're doing the calling. When I go with a partner, I usually do the calling, and I carry a shotgun. But there's been plenty of sets where I can see the dog long range, and my partner just can't see it. That's when the Savage Combo Gun was handy. I sold mine because I was calling alone all the time, and find that I'm kicking myself these days since I'm calling with partners more often than not.
I often carry two weapons when I call alone, a shot barreled Super Nova and an AR-15. The AR is up on jacks beside me, the shotgun in my lap. I can switch easy enough for long shots, and if I need to switch after hitting one close, then I have access fast follow-up repeater for the runner(s), 'cuz the truth of it is that most of us miss most of our runners.
The Savage is definitely something different. When calling with a partner, I'd carry one again if I still had it.