New shotgun project

[CaddmannQ]

Okay so I've lost my interest in doing the AR15 project until the state of California sorts out their position on registration & assault weapons.

But I wanted another project so I bought this old single barrel shotgun to rebuild. I wouldn't have touched it but the barrel looks very nice. I just hope it's not too thin.



I like it a lot because it's a kissing cousin to the double barrel which I already own. And like the Ranger double barrel, it is a Stevens made by Savage and it's a 16 gauge, 28" barrel. I got hundreds of rounds of ammunition loaded that will shoot through this gun.

I didn't pay much for it, but it definitely needs work and I will have to drill & refit the main hinge pin, in order to get the action to close up tight. It needs a little stock repair and will probably need other work as well and it will never be a beauty.

But it's a genuine unserialized pre-1964 antique, and it will provide me with many hours of amusement this winter, even if it just ends up hanging over the fireplace.

 

[CaddmannQ]

Oops sorry . . . I just realized it's not a Savage but a Springfield by Stevens. No matter.

I don't get the gun for 10 days so I don't have it in my hands to look at, but just the photos.

 

[CaddmannQ]

 

[John A.]

I'll tell you a little historical info about that gun.

It's made in Chicopee Falls Mass.

They closed that plant in 1960.

I wouldn't suspect that it will have a serial number due to the production date years before it was a federal requirement.

But Stevens started the company there in the 1890's.

With it having "proof tested" on the barrel, it wouldn't be one of the real early ones (pre 19 teens). By guessing, I would say it was made sometime in the early 1950's.

I only know some of this due to my limited amount of research because after my Father-In-Law passed away a few years ago, my wife inherited her late Grandfathers shotgun (passed down twice now) and from all that I can tell has never been fired. There is no scoring in the barrel and even the trigger, hammer, and breakdown is so stiff it takes both hands to break it open.

Story that I was told by her Aunt reinforced my idea that it hadn't been fired was her Grandfather enjoyed hunting and had purchased the gun new and had planned to use it, but was killed two days after he had gotten it in the mail.

I'm not sure if this is the same model as yours, but here are some photos of that gun. I made it a point to get decent photos of the various proof marks.

 

[CaddmannQ]

Thanks a bundle John!

Your gun sure looks like a beauty compared to this pitted old Relic that I bought.

I was hoping that mine would be older than the 50s-- maybe pre-war-- but it was cheap enough that I really didn't care if all I do is Polish it up and hang it on a wall.

 

[John A.]

That one is my wifes'.

She's offered to let me take it hunting, but I refuse to use it.

Now, if one of the kids or grandkids want to, by all means. They're bloodline. But out of respect, I won't be the first to shoot it. I don't feel it's my place.

Yeah, that's probably weird of me, but it's how I feel.

 

[CaddmannQ]

Well John to some folks this is not just a hobby, and clearly you are one of those folks.

 

[John A.]

There are only 2 ways that I can think of that I would be the first to fire it.

1. To protect my family with it
2. To feed my family with it.

Otherwise, it's not my place. It's made it into the third generation heirloom just fine without any of my help.

I'll oil it and check it a couple of times of year, share pictures of it with my friends, but that's about the end of it.

 

[Djcala]

Love an old American single shot. I know about lever guns that "won the west" and peacemakers made "all men equal" etc... But im of the thought the good ole single shot shotgun probably was owned by more folks used by more folks and feed more americans than any other gun. Not sure about the rest of country but down here you can walk into most any pawn shop and pick still pick up a used but servicable single shotty for 80 to 125 bucs in 20, 16 or 12 the 410s and 10gauges are much more.
Good to see someone else with an appreciation for them. I still have my first a 20guage that was the terror of northern alabama woods i promise ya. Enjoy cadd look forward to seeing it.

 

[meanstreak]

Beautiful old gun John. I love the cold case look as well. I dont have the words to tell what I think about you wanting your wife , kids, or grand kids to be the first to shoot it other than it shows a great deal of respect on your part. There's not enough of that going around these days in this country.

 

[meanstreak]

Oops sorry . . . I just realized it's not a Savage but a Springfield by Stevens. No matter.

I don't get the gun for 10 days so I don't have it in my hands to look at, but just the photos.

Cadd, nice old shotgun. Too bad for the wait. Here in Oklahoma it's about 10 minutes.

 

[RichardL]

The name "J. Stevens Arms Company" was only used from about 1925-46 or thereabouts. Chances are yours is pre-war. Well, pre some war or another.

Nice gun, Cadd! Big fan of old singles here, too.

That first pic looks like the lockup is just fine. But if it's not, here's a tip on flat sided receivers; use a press and push out the receiver pivot pin. Make sure you press it out to the knurled side and not the other way. Turn the pin 180 degrees and then press it back in. If the barrel lug is worn badly, gently smooth it with a round stone rod and then shim it. Don't drill or cut anything if you can avoid it. I've seen a lot of old guns ruined by folks who decided to remove metal right off the bat.

The wood, the best thing you can do on an old gun like that is to remove the wood and carefully open up the tang slot with a sanding block. Those gunstocks will always shrink and they will ALWAYS split. May be sooner or it may be later but it will start to split on both sides of the tang and you finding wood to fit that gun will run you more than the price of the gun. If it's already splittiing, remove it, clean it, glue it, and then do the opening before you put it back on.

 

[CaddmannQ]

Thank you Richard. I played with this gun somewhat tonight and I'm pretty sure it would actually fire, but I don't think I would actually shoot it yet unless I was in danger, and had nothing else.

The pin doesn't appear to be incredibly loose, but if this gun is as old as you say I wouldn't be surprised if somebody has already knocked the pins out and reversed them. We will see...

Now, the stock is already cracked, a little at the tang and on each side in a couple places plus there is a sliver missing. I knew it was all screwed up when I bought it but it's also a beautiful piece of wood and I think I will give it the full treatment including internal fiberglass reinforcement. I will use epoxy and fiberglass to replace the sliver and then just paint some grain and patina on it.

I went through this with my old Sears Ranger shotgun which had the same kind of cracks and missing bits.

It was not nearly so pitted and still had most of the blue on it. This one has not a speck of blue left & I may brown this, instead of bluing it!

 

[RichardL]

The pivot is the #1 of two places you get wear on those. The other is the barrel lug. The pivot, you can look at it and see if it's worn down on the back side where the barrel lug hits it. The barrel lug wear is obvious, too. The reversing of the pivot just switches the worn down part to the front and the perfect side of the pivot to the rear where the barrel lug will then hit it as if it were brand new. That trick only works on flat sided receivers, though. Shaped receivers have shaped pivot pins that look sort of stupid if they're rotated. The pivot pin has the end knurling to prevent it from turning in the receiver. The pin wears that way and not the receiver. The pin can be replaced, the receiver can't. The barrel lug is the same way. It's a tack weld job in most cases and can be broken off and rewelded if it's really badly worn. If it's minor....if the gun locks up pretty decent with the pivot pin fixed (if need be) then just smooth the barrel lug of any burrs and then shim it if need be. A strip of steel food can cut the right width to fit the pivot pin slot, wrapped around the pin and then crimped flat with pliers is all most of those guns ever really needs. It sounds stupid but it's a common gunsmith repair. That age of a gun, it's a perfectly modern gun, too. Perfectly fine steel and a 2 3/4" chamber. If there're no obvious cracks, there's no reason not to shoot it. It's not unsafe. Go light with target shells first, though. It'll kick. Singles with hard butt plates are the worst kickers there are.

And that name, "J. Stevens Arms Company" was used from 1916 to about 42. Had to look it up. That earlier was a guesstimate after not having been asked that question in many years

And John....great looking gun, too! That's a real beaut!

 

[CaddmannQ]

Thank you for all the advice Richard.

I really appreciate the effort you guys spend in helping me out with my guns, and I don't often express my gratitude very well.

I didn't consider shimming the barrel lug. I was convinced that what this needed was to have the assembly clamped together solid and then reamed, and a fatter pin installed.

But I am a retired manufacturing engineer and not a gunsmith. This is not the sort of repair I will dive into without doing research first.

Also I have three first class gunsmiths within 5 miles of me. I will at least show this gun the one or two of them and get their professional opinion before I continue.

I can show you some photographs and describe the condition of the gun but that doesn't really tell you what the condition is. You never know about a machine until you have it in your own hands.

 

[CaddmannQ]

LOL . . . I have to tell you this story now. It points out the fact that as an engineer I may not know what a gunsmith needs to know for an evaluation.

My first wife called me at work one day to tell me we needed a new clothes dryer.

When I asked her why she told me that this one just wasn't getting the clothes dry. Well it was a small hundred and ten volt dryer and I had to ask her the typical questions about checking the lint filter and not overloading the barrel and was it actually turning, or did the Belt break?

It was all to no avail and when I returned home I discovered why.

She had plugged a dryer which pulls almost 15 amps into a 100 ft long by 16 gauge extension cord from my shop. When I got home the wire was so hot and the insulation was so soft, that the plug was drooping 90° from the wall like some Salvador Dali painting of an electrical nightmare.

She didn't think to tell me about that extension cord and I didn't think to ask, because who would do such a thing? (A young woman with no knowledge whatsoever of electrical safety.)

Anyhow I may not know what the hell to tell you, & you may not ask me things are so ridiculously obvious that no one else would ignore them.

But wait it gets worse....

My first wife's sister came over one day and asked me if I could look at her car. She told me she had a broken axle. I told her that car wasn't worth fixing if it had a broken axle and she should get another one.

She said she would drive it over so I could look at it and I told her if she was still able to drive it it did not have a broken axle.

When she gets there I find that she had recently bought a tire, and it is an expensive overpriced sport radial someone sold her at a gas station.

This was an economy car and it had three regular economy car tires, and this one low profile Tire. To make matters worse the tire on the opposite corner of the car had full tread on it because it was the original spare she had pressed into service. The left front and right rear were the same tire but worn down to the bone.

So two opposite corners on her car have widely different heights of tire, and the thing is trying to put her into the ditch as she's driving on the road, just dog-tracking like crazy.

We used to say in engineering that that's not what you know or what you don't know.

It's what you don't know you don't know.