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Stevens model 311

4K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  SuperXOne 
#1 ·
Bought a 1950 vintage 16 ga double that is giving me a few problems. Failed to cock the left barrel once in while, and once the action unlocked under recoil . Anyone know a good gunsmith for this. No shotgun smiths in my area.

I would like to try pulling the stock and cleaning the action, but I afraid i may get a lap full of stray parts. If all is well, does the lock work stay with the receiver when you remove the stock?

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#2 ·
You only need to remove the barrels by pulling up on the forward tip of the forend and then breaking the gun to remove the barrels. Then remove the butt pad and trigger guard and use a large, long screwdriver to remove the stock bolt. The stock will come right off, revealing all the lock parts for cleaning. If any parts fall out when the stock is removed, then they are broken and need to be replaced.

A check you should do on the lockup of the action is to put the barrels on the action without the forend and check for movement between the barrels and action. Wear at the barrel hook and/or hinge pin can result in the barrels being off face meaning that the barrels don't fit tightly against the standing breech when closed. That could be your auto opening problem.
 
#4 ·
Thanks riflemeister you sound like you know what you are doing. I did as you said and could not detect any movement. Hopefully it's something else. Guessing if that fit was wrong it would be curtains.

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#6 ·
My son's 1949 16 gauge 311 started double firing because of soft sears. I had to find a knowledable gunsmith to recut and reharden the sears and fix the problem.

Old doubles are NOT reliable shotguns in the same manner that all of us have come to expect of newer double shotguns. The Stevens 311 was the cheapest new double money could buy the year it was made, and the parts simply wear out after use,,,and perhaps not very much use at that.

If you have to ask how, you don't know how to fix a firing problem on an old double gun. A trip to a good gunsmith is required for this problem.
 
#7 ·
SuperXOne said:
My son's 1949 16 gauge 311 started double firing because of soft sears. I had to find a knowledable gunsmith to recut and reharden the sears and fix the problem.

Old doubles are NOT reliable shotguns in the same manner that all of us have come to expect of newer double shotguns. The Stevens 311 was the cheapest new double money could buy the year it was made, and the parts simply wear out after use,,,and perhaps not very much use at that.

If you have to ask how, you don't know how to fix a firing problem on an old double gun. A trip to a good gunsmith is required for this problem.
You're probably correct about a trip to the gunsmith, but a good cleaning and lube on a gun of that vintage is never a bad thing, plus he gets to see the innards before the gunsmith tells him the widget needs replacing.
 
#8 ·
Super X-

Note that the first part of my post was a request for a referral to a reliable gunsmith. I've got people here in SW FL that can do assembly stuff andf replace a part, etc. but no real get in and fix it guys- can you share yours?
 
#9 ·
David Lauer of Boonville, Missouri, is an old school gunsmith of the first order. His phone number is 660-882-6367. If Dave can't fix it, it's not going to be fixed at a reasonable price. He can reblue and make your old shotgun look pretty, too. Dave works on real guns for real people at reasonable prices.
 
#12 ·
I have the Fox BSE - the nicer cousin of the 311 - when I had issues and parts needed replacing, I was fortunate to have an 80 year old gunsmith with the parts - but there was some machining to do on the inside - they are thought by the three gun crowd to be robust and built like a tank; however, on the inside they are not. Tread carefully on the inside
 
#13 ·
Everybody needs to take a good, long, hard look at Slugo's 5100. That's the high water mark of 311's. That's the one you want, if you ever find one.

The Fox Model B's are very nice 311 cousins, but look at the hand cut checkering on Slugo's 5100, notice the shaping and contouring of the action, the careful color case hardening, the mid rib bead, and the finish on the stock and forend. The 5100's were the absolute top of the Savage line, and you really don't see many.

Also, the 311 series has one thing that all models share. The older the gun the better the gun was made and finished. None of the 311's were ever junk, but Savage started cutting quality of fit, finish, and materials year by year with not ever any improvement from the first one they made before World War Two until the last one they made in 1987.
 
#15 ·
Slugo said:
in honor of the 311. My 1950's 20g/28" with the 5100 action and higher grade walnut furniture...
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9E8n ... 0006-1.JPG
I'm now confused if your gun was made in the 1950's. (Date code in the small oval on the bottom of the frame near the hinge pin?). I have a Eastern Arms 101.7 made by Stevens for Sears that is marked 5100 on the frame. The frame is shaped exactly like your 20 ga., but there is no checkering or mid-bead.

John T. Callahan, Stevens/Fox/Savage Historian told me that my gun is basically a 311 or 5151 and that Stevens used the 5100 stamp from 1941 to 1948 to designate a change in frame design. He said that a Model 5100 is not found in any Stevens catalog.
 
#17 ·
She sure is a beauty ill post a picture of the Stevens that started this thread as soon as I figure out how to take a pic that looks good and how to post it. IMO it's almost as nice
Btw I took the wood off and cleaned the innards. Unfortunately they were not that dirty. Had to hold my desire to tinker aside. I'm sure it is more complicated than it looks, plus my analytic ability far outpaces my competence . They don't call me old stone-hands for nothing.

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#19 ·
Whatever the back story is on a 5100, they are the goodest of gooderns when it comes to 311's.

Look at that slow rust charcoal bluing on Slugo's gun and that oil finished walnut, the well shaped trigger spoons, split back on the trigger guard, steel safety, vibrant color case hardened action,,that's as nice as many Sterlingthworths from the Savage era, folks. The 5100 was top o the line!
 
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