Comments on: [Guest Post] This Old Gun: The Stevens 311A Shotgun

By: Mehul Kamdar

Mehul Kamdar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:51:21 +0000

A long time ago and in another part of the world, I owned a Savage-Stevens SxS 12 ga shotgun which is still registered in my name. It accounted for over 200 pigs shot with ball and countless more shots at inanimate targets when I was bored. And when I moved to the USA, the gun was as tight as it had been the day I bought it. Somehow, they made things to last in the old days unlike now – call me an old fart if you like, but this is why I prefer a mint Browning A-5 made in 1956 for hunting these days and not the latest whizz-bang Benelli or Remington semi auto. The Savage-Stevens were poor mens’ guns and if they were built as well as mine was, you can appreciate how well the more expensive guns built in the old days were.

PS – Double triggers can be as easy to use as single selective ones. Just takes practice and there should be some fun in shooting a few rounds of clays at a club to get the hang of shooting with them.

By: Pedro

Pedro — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:51:26 +0000

There is something special about shooting an old gun that was once owned by a family member from a generation or two back.

In today’s throw away society, good honest blue steel and walnut stands out, and having that connection to another family member adds to the mystique.

Treasure that gun, Bill. It will live on for generations more. Might not be worth a great deal of money, but has a priceless history.

By: Arthur B. Burnett

Arthur B. Burnett — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:49:15 +0000

I enjoyed both of your gun post Bill. Years back my girlfriend (now wife) and her (now our) son joined me in Cowboy Action Shooting. I had a russian built 12 gauge double barrel with exposed hammers but we needed another shotgun. Matt and Helene found stevens double like this one 12 Gauge. It may have been a 311 but it lives at Matts house these days and I’m not sure of the model number.
It was heaver than mine, which helped with recoil, and the internal hammers ment it was faster on the stages when reloading two or three times under the clock. The beastie is built like an anvil and extremely reliable.
The two trigger system is so natural I have never had a new shooter experience difficulty making friends with it. As for follow up shots, I don’t think there is a better system than double barrels for two quick, aimed shots be it shotgun or rifle.
Both Matt and I have various modern shotguns but when hunting for Ducks or Geese I still show up with my double barrel russian with exposed hammers, and Matt has his Stevens Double.

By: Oswald Bastable

Oswald Bastable — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:24:13 +0000

Yes!

My first experience with a shotgun was the 311.

30 years later, I brought one at auction for a song, as steel shot had just been made mandatory for gamebird (which I don’t bother with)

The left-hand barrel would often not fire, but this was fixed by stripping- sure enough it had many years of oil and crud binding up the lock. Not the first time I have got a bargin buying a ’sometimes working’ gun!

By: Erich Martell

Erich Martell — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:02:23 +0000

I really enjoyed this read and the pictures. Gave me a nice, happy feeling – I sure hope the 16-ga Stevens stays in your family for centuries to come.

By: Papa Bill

Papa Bill — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:13:45 +0000

I did something very similar after being invited to join a local gun clubs weekly trap league this last spring. For the first few weeks I shot a borrowed shotgun but then the Chantilly “Nations Gun Show” came around and I found a new, in the box, Savage 311 in a private sale.

The seller told me that his father had been a dealer but had passed away in the late 1990s. He and his sister moved the remaining sporting weapons to a storage facility and just kept them as is until the financial crises made them decide to sell them this year. My good luck.

I paid $450.00 for the shotgun and research indicates that it was manufactured in 1983. It still had the factory grease and was in the factory box. It took forever to clean but in the end I was left with an outstanding double barrel that would do for trap and hunting.

I did have a spring break after about 400 rounds. It took a local Virginia gunsmith about a week to repair and it’s been perfect since. Truth be told, it shoots better than it’s 60-year old owner.

Papa Bill