I took another good look at that 16 gauge Ranger 5000 last night.
I also took the butt stock off of it to look at the mechanism.
While doing some research on the markings I have come to believe that this gun was made about 1939, right about the start of World War 2, but they were few of this exact pattern because of the war.
It seems there are many many earlier and later variations floating around which differ somewhat in the lock work, the trigger guard & the type of floor plate: if removable or non-removable.
The later models all seem to have an inscribed model number on the left side, which mine does not have.
Earlier models seem to have a different lock work which is evident by the pin arrangement on the side of the receiver, the length of the tang, and an earlier style of script in the Ranger name.
This gun supposedly equates to a Stevens 515 but I haven't seen a diagram which proves that yet.
A Diagram is reputed to exist and to be marked Stevens 515, but in parentheses it says "receiver Marked 5000", (which mine is.)
Evidently the Springfield Stevens guns were Marked Stevens 515 on the left side and 5000 on the right side, while trade guns and Guns for Sears and Roebucks were not marked with the number on the left side in my gun's particular production run.
All this leads me to hope that this one might be more rare than even the Hunter Arms or Fulton built Rangers.