Thanks, guys! Anything anyone else knows would be appreciated.
Steve, you need to find a 333 20 guage for that stock; somebody's gotta have one that just needs to be extra pretty!
My old "Finnish Lion" 12 has a hand-checkered red/black stock of Yugslavian-origin walnut that looks like Indian rosewood. But the US-importer added a Polychoke vent rib, just for that "extra classy custom" touch.....Does anyone know if that rib could be removed? It doesn't appear to be hard soldered on, but I suppose that even if I were to take it off, I'd have to have the barrels reblued and a new front sight fitted. Might be worth the work, tho.
I don't much like the Valmets for upland hunting now that I'm a certified geezer, but I used a 330 20 and a 333 12 A LOT when I was younger. For ducks and turkeys and coyotes, they are still just the ticket.
I used to take my Savage/Valmet 2400 when I couldn't make up my mind what I was hunting and the bird and deer seasons overlapped. Now I just carry a birdgun and a long-barreled .357. Always made me a little bit nervous carrying both the rifle and shotgun barrels loaded; the Valmet barrel selector is VERY easy to operate....usually carried the rifle barrel empty until I saw fur (yeah, I know that defeats the purpose, but I keep having visions of that .308 slug whining off into the blue, having missed a bird. Ok in Idaho or Kansas maybe, but not in NY or CA.).
