One wonders why Savage did this. Right up to the beginning of WWII, per my 1940 Shooters Bible, there were more short shells available from American ammo makers than there were 2 3/4" shells. That's especially true in 16ga, and the percentage of short shells to long was also higher in 20ga than in 12ga. In the long run, when ammo makers dropped their short shells--not sure when that happened, someone with late 40's catalogs or Shooters Bible could perhaps comment--that turned out to be a good decision. But during the 30's, there was certainly no shortage of American shells appropriate for use in short-chambered guns.
Unfortunately, many American gunsmiths adopted the practice of lengthening short chambers to 2 3/4", but skipping the reproof step.
