Savage Model 389

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Airgun Mounts

The History of Savage Arms

Savage Arms was founded in 1894 by Arthur Savage in Utica, New York. Arthur Savage held two important patents at the time: a patent for a repeating rifle with a single-column magazine lever-action rifle, which he acquired in 1891, and a patent for a hammerless lever-action design. That paved the way for Savage’s quick rise to success.

The company’s first breakthrough came in 1895 when it introduced Model 1895 – the first hammerless lever-action rifle on the market. It was modeled after Model 1892, an earlier design that never saw production due to losing a bid for a US Army contract. Model 1895, however, won the contract for New York National Guard, but it was soon canceled due to getting caught in a contemporary political climate.

Savage continued investing efforts into the production of military-grade weapons. It was named one of the two finalists in the US Army trials for a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and it lost only to the now-famous Colt M1911. Savage used the gained experience to produce high-quality pocket pistols, though, which resulted in the introduction of Model 1907, 1915, and 1917.

During World War I, Savage was merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance company. The joint company focused all its efforts on the production of Lewis machine guns and heavy equipment for war purposes.

Between the two wars, Savage decided to expand its business inside the USA. In 1920 it bought Stevens Arms of Chicopee, followed by A.H. Fox Gun Co. of Philadelphia and Davis-Warner Arms and CrescentArms Co. of Norwich in 1930. Success followed and in 1939 Savage introduced the Model 24 combination gun which sold over a million copies.

When World War II commenced, though, Savage was once again ready to answer the call of duty. It focused all its resources on war efforts, producing a staggering number of weapons. It already signed a contract with Auto Ordinance Co. in 1938 to manufacture the famous .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun, and most of these submachine guns that were used in WWII were produced by none other than Savage. The company was also contracted by the US government in 1940 to produce .30 and .50 caliber Browning machine guns. On top of that, Savage manufactured one of the most mass-produced bolt-action rifles of WWII, the British No. 4 Lee–Enfield. A record of 1.2 million Lee-Enfield rifles was produced by Savage during the time of war.

Production dialed down after the war, though. In 1946, Savage closed its facilities in Utica and moved all its operations to the Stevens manufacturing premises. Even though the Model 110 was introduced in 1958, which remains one of the company’s most successful rifles to this date, Savage started to experience some issues. In 1960 all production was moved to the current location of Westfield, Massachusetts, and what followed was a series of different ownerships over the company. Savage gradually ran into serious financial problems and in 1988 the company declared bankruptcy.

The company had to cut back on its manufacturing costs to the point where it even stopped producing short-action configurations of its most successful model, the aforementioned Model 110. It wasn’t until 1995 when Savage returned to private ownership led by Ronald Coburn who sort of rejuvenated the whole company.

In 2002 Savage introduced and patented AccuTrigger – a safe and user-adjustable trigger that soon became a success. The following year, in 2003, the company was named Manufacturer of the Year by the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence, further reaffirming Savage’s distinction. Four years later, on May 15, 2007, Savage 93R17 BTVS has been named the best rifle in the Best of the Best presentation by Shooting Times, Sporting Gun, and Shooting Gazette magazines.

In 2013 Savage once again changed ownership. It was acquired by Orbital ATK for 315 million dollars, and it was later handed over to Vista Outdoor which later sold it for $170 million in 2019 to a group of private investors led by Savage’s management.

The company also had its logo changed in the middle of the 2010s when it decided to retire its old logo that presumably featured Chief Lame Deer, a native-American tribesman leader. The latter supposedly approached Arthur Savage in 1919 to purchase rifles for his tribe. In exchange for a discount, Lame Deer agreed to a deal. According to the deal, Savage was allowed to use Lame Deer’s face for promotional purposes. Many doubt the authenticity of this story, however, and Savage itself removed it from its official website as well.

Savage Model 389 Review

Savage Model 389 in 12 GA over 308 Win. (Source: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/en-gb/item/64926726_firearm-savage-m-389-12ga-308-win-shotgun-rifle)

Figure 1: Savage Model 389 in 12 GA over 308 Win. (Source: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/en-gb/item/64926726_firearm-savage-m-389-12ga-308-win-shotgun-rifle)

If you thought that information about Savage Model 389 is very scarce and incredibly hard to come by, you are right. This is a very short-lived model that only saw two years of production in the late 1980s.

This over-and-under combo gun is widely considered to be a Savage Model 24 variant, and it was produced in Italy by an Italian company MAR and then imported by Savage.

It differs from the Savage Model 24 by the barrel, trigger, and hammering mechanism.

While the Model 24 has the rifled barrel over the Gauge, it’s the opposite on the 389. The bottom barrel of Savage Model 389 is rifled for either .308 Win. or .222 Rem., and the bore comes in 12 Gauge, with the combined length of the barrel measuring either 610 mm (24”) or 660 mm (26”).

On top of that, Model 24 comes with only one trigger with the barrel selector found on the hammer, while Model 389 comes with two triggers, one for each barrel, and has no barrel selector. Also, the hammer of Model 24 is exposed, but the Savage 389, on the other hand, features a Superposed hammerless design.

The action-breaking lever is found on the tang and it’s the same as on the majority of other combination over-and-under guns.

In terms of visual properties, Savage Model 389 sports a classic wooden stock with a checkered fore-end and grip.

The receiver of Savage Model 389 features a flat 11 mm dovetail for ease of scope mounting, and it is another thing that differs from the Model 24. The latter usually utilizes a rounded 3/8-inch dovetail – a mounting standard that is popular in the USA but not so common in Europe. The reason for the difference can probably be ascribed to the fact that Model 389 was produced by a European country and was at least to some extent meant to serve the European market.

Due to the short period of production of this combo gun, Savage 389 never really saw widespread use among American gun owners. It is mostly considered to be a collectible nowadays and surely enough any Savage enthusiast or other gun collectors would be lucky to have it in their repertoire.

Savage Model 389 Calibers

Savage Model 389 can be chambered for:

.222 Rem./12 GA
.308 Win./12 GA

Savage Model 389 comes with a flat 11 mm dovetail (with a recoil notch) which greatly expands scope mounting possibilities.

A 11 mm dovetail of Savage Model 389 with a recoil stopper

Figure 2: A 11 mm dovetail of Savage Model 389 with a recoil stopper (Source: https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/savage-combination-guns/savage-389-12--308.cfm?gun_id=101131496)

dovetail 11 mm

D: 11 mm

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Model 389

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Model 389

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension.

Since Savage Model 389 features a flat 11 mm dovetail, any rifle with the same mounting system will have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with it.

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Model 389

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed.

Again, any rifle with a flat 11 mm dovetail will have two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Savage Model 389.

Best Scope Mounts for Savage Model 389

Fixed Scope Mounts for Savage Model 389

When it comes to fixed scope mounts for Savage Model 389’s 11 mm flat dovetail, you would be hard-pressed to find a better solution than these Rusan Roll-Off Rings for an 11 mm Dovetail.

They are made of steel, offer an abundance of quality for their price, and come with a 10-year warranty.

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Savage Model 389

This Henneberger one-piece mount earned our top recommendation for a detachable repeatable scope mount for Savage Model 389. It is reliable and extremely versatile and is thus a great choice for your rifle. It is manufactured in Germany, is made of aluminum, and has a 30-year warranty attached to it.

It will, however, need to be coupled with a Picatinny rail. We recommend this BKL Dovetail to Weaver/Picatinny Adaptor Mount which will solve the issue. It fits on both 11 mm and 3/8” dovetails.

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu