doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Stevens 311A, not high class but strudy

Perry, my error. The gun is 5100.

i had numerous 311's . 12 16 20.
sold them all.
i got tired of holding the forearm and having it come off in my hand when fired.

I think that Stevens 311's and 5100's are really great guns. My first sxs was a Stevens. I bought it from Bill's House of Guns in Merrill Wisconsin it is a 311 12 gauge. Nice stock, durable gun. I think I paid $125.00 for it used but in great condition.
I still use it today. They are still a bargain.
It would be interesting to see how many double shooters got started with Stevens Shotguns.

Sounds like a great poll Swampman!! I elect you PollMeister!!!

Put me down as a Yes.

My dad paid $78 for mine in February of 1962 for my 13th birthday. I believe I checked the serial number on mine once and found that it was actually built sometime between 1958 and 1961-is?!?! Purchased from the hardward department of Carl Mears and Sons fertilizer and farm supplies in Fair Bluff, NC!!

The first gun I took home was a Remington Sportsman 12 gauge semi-auto AFTER Mr. Carl had told my dad that the Browning A5 "Humpback" I had wanted was $115. The Remington was an even $100. Well, that joy lasted until my mother heard the $100 price tag and "helped" my dad realize that "we" could not afford that. Soooooo, the Remington went back to Mears and Sons and the Stevens 311A for $78 (actually it may have been $73??) came home and stayed and my love for doubles was begun.

I had a 16 gauge 5100 and shot it very well. I wish I'd never sold it! Before I forget, make certain you keep the stock draw bolt tight or you'll risk cracking the stock at the top where it fits against the action. I'm speaking from personal experience!

Steve

I bought a new 311, 20 gauge in 1963 or 1964. Saved big time for it. $60 or so if I remember correctly. Was a quantum leap over my first shotgun a Mossberg 185K bolt action. Shot it for years on quail, phez and ducks. I, of course, thought it magic if I shot a 3" shell in it. Never shot more than a few (less than a box which I still have). Good little gun, especially for a newbie! Finally sold it to a friend for his son. However, it did develop ring bulges in both barrels about a half inch behind the muzzles. How and why this happened is a mystery to me as this was way before steel shot was ever thought of and other than a few ~15 three inchers through it all loads were 7/8 or 1 ounce lead field loads. No, it was not due to barrel obstructions, Dunno. Great little inexpensive shotgun.

The gun that started me on the "Road to Ruin" where nothing would suit but a SxS was a pre WWI J Stevens Arms & Tool Co 12 ga. As I recall paid $25.00 for it in 1954. It was heavy, never weighed it, had 30" M&F barrels. As best I recall I think it was a 325 model. I always called it my "Pore Boy's 21 as it had the same Ugly cigar Box lines. Unfortunately I traded it off many years ago.
A couple of years later bought a Rem 870 20ga with 28" modified barrel. Much to my dismay I shot the old J Stevens a lot better in spite of all its theoretical disadvantages. Soon traded the Stupid Pump in on a Parker Trojan & never looked back. Mostly have Lefevers now but a few other odds & ends.

I started my hunting career with a Stevens 311 in a .410 that was my uncles. The first time he took me to a wooded lot across the street from his house and let me fire it.
I used that shotgun for a few seasons killing squirrels and a few cottontails. I loved that shotgun and had to give it back as his grandson was coming of age.

When in Germany in the service I bought in the gun club a Remington 11-48, .410 with 25" vent barrel imp. cyl. I loved shooting that gun also and still have it.

My dad was a NC quail hunter before I was born and had an older 311 in 16 gauge. He sold it to the local volunteer fire department in November, 1968 to buy "us" a .22 rifle. He passed away three weeks later from a massive heart attack.
A few years later, when I was a teenager, I tried to track the gun down. No success.
I bought an old prewar Stevens 12 gauge when I was in college in VA. Thing broke at least two hammers when I had it. Had to pawn it for book money and forgot to redeem it...

I'm another that started out with a Stevens ............ actually it was stamped J.C. Higgins, a 26" barreled .410 S x S with Tenite stock and forend. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Nearly rubbed the bluing off it making sure it never rusted. Gorgeous figure in that Tenite butt.

Killed my first doves with it, my first quail, my first rabbit, my first squirrel, and my first owl. Before I'm scolded remember, in those days it was quite proper to kill raptors that raided the chicken yards.

SRH