doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com model 31

The primary reason the 31 functions so smoothly is the carrier.

It's as long and wide as the receiver itself. Pivoting on the side walls of the receiver on reletivly large trunions & at the extreme rear of the recv;r. Leverage and very small contact surfaces.
All that makes for a very easy job of it for the bolt/slide to operate it by simple cam motion.

The carrier on the 31 is a whole separate part from the trigger group unlike the 870 where they built the carrier into the trigger group.
The carrier in the 31 is under no spring tension at all. It is simply moved into position by the bolt slide going back and forth as you operate the slide.

When they do wear out and fail to feed, usually the cam surfaces on the carrier are starting to wear down and the carrier isn't being lifted quite high enough for the shell to be chambered cleanly.
Rebuilding the cam edge(s) a few .000" puts it back to life. The carriers are reletively soft compared to the bolt slide surfaces which are hard.

A shade tree fix for the above is to 'gently' squeeze the front area of the carrier arms together a bit. That makes the shell ride a little higher on the opposing carrier arms and can sometimes make them feed OK once again.,,sometimes.
But it really doesn't 'fix' the problem.
Don't squeeze too much!!

Lots of parts change configurations in the 31 as well as gauge specific parts,,check carefully before buying any replacements if you do need any.

Also the way the barrel mounts into the receiver isn't as rigid or as precisely aligned as is the M31's in relation to the bolt's lock-up cycle/operation. The 870 needs twin bars for smooth operation. The 31 was an offspring of the M17 with a better barrel to receiver connection than the 870 but more expensive to make. The 870 is the AK47 of pump shotguns. Stamped parts that work better than just pretty good and as reliable as any ever made--the old Wingmaster but the cheaper made Express has quality control issues.

The AK-47 of pumpguns about covers it. Good one!

We used to have a poster here named "Tex" who extolled the virtues of the 31 over the doubles. All in good fun. We wanted to make some shine and bought an empty whiskey barrel. He couldn't see inside and used a match to see inside. Yup, Tex blowed himsef up and after an extended stay in the hospital finally posted again and even found an engraved 31. But he didn't post for long after that and I am afeered that ol Tex isn't with us anymore.

I've had the chance to do a little research on these guns and most that I see have the ribbed forend. This gun has the slim checkered version. Was that a grade difference or a period of production thing?

You might try posting your question in the Remington site. http://www.remingtonsociety.com/

Not very active, but some knowledgeable folks over there.

"Not very active" is an understatement. A fine group, though.

Most of the 'deluxe' type for-ends and checkered grip model 31s I have seen are the older, pre-1941 model guns with the small trigger guard which does not extend back into the hand of the stock. I believe though that the deluxe wood was available to the end of production...Geo

Thank you Mr. Newbern. So can I presume from the forend wood on the gun that it is a Deluxe model? It was that wood that finally got me to pull out my money, I'd just never seen one like it before.

I went back and re-read your previous post about 31s earliers today, which filled in some of my knowledge gaps. I believe Researcher has outlined the slight differences in design for the three periods of production (1931 to '34, '35 to '41, & 41 to '49) on another post (here?) that I cant find for some reason. Unlike the Model 12, these older Remingtons don't seem to be well cataloged by multiple authors. More's the pity, for they seem to have a bit of a following. I'll bet these guns make great 16s?

When the Remington Model 31A "Standard" Grade was introduced, it was as a 12-gauge 3-shot pump gun with a checkered stock and forearm --



Five shot versions and the 16- and 20-gauges followed fairly soon. Remington did some redesign and introduced the 1934 version which had, to my mind, a rather unimpressive takedown system --



For 1937, Remington introduced the Model 31AP "Standard" Grade with a plain stock and ringed forearm at $42.50 list price, and what had been the Model 31A "Standard" Grade became the Model 31AC "Standard" Grade with the checkered stock and forearm at $45.50 list price. By 1938 the Model 31AC "Standard" Grade was gone and the Model 31AP "Standard" Grade was up to $42.95. By 1939 they dropped the P and the Model 31A "Standard" Grade now had a plain stock and ringed forearm.

In 1941, the Model 31 came of age with the introduction of the 1941 version, with to my mind a much better take-down system than the spring-loded 1934 version, and the larger trigger group giving a better feeling grip. 1941 version on right --



Remington also introduced the lightweight version with the Aeromet receiver in 12-gauge in 1941, but by the June 1941 catalogues they said "Delivries of this model delayed indefinately due to raw material shortage." No mention of the lightweight version in the January 1942 catalogue. By 1947 the Model 31 was again being offered in regular and light weight versions. Model 31LA above and Model 31A below --