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Well I found one I couldn't resist. I picked up a little Stevens 20ga model 345. Its old and worn but man what a cool little gun. Weighs right under 6lbs and fits like a glove! I'll get pics up as Woodcock season starts this weekend. It'll need a little work but it can wait till after the timberdoodles have left, any recommendations for middle of the range smith that blues barrels?

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Looking forward to the pictures. Don't believe I've ever seen one in the flesh. Be interesting to see how it is chambered. At the same time frame they introduced the No. 345 double the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. were making their No. 200 pump for 20-gauge shells up to 3-inch --








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Originally Posted By: RARiddell
Well I found one I couldn't resist. I picked up a little Stevens 20ga model 345. Its old and worn but man what a cool little gun. Weighs right under 6lbs and fits like a glove! I'll get pics up as Woodcock season starts this weekend. It'll need a little work but it can wait till after the timberdoodles have left, any recommendations for middle of the range smith that blues barrels?



What would help is where do you live?

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Whenever I get a new gun like the one you've gotten I'll fix it up as inexpensively as possible (just enough so it's not an eye sore) and use it for awhile before I decide to keep it or not. With that thought in mind, you may want to simply cold blue the barrels and use it as is this season. If you find you really like it then spend the money to have it rust blued.

As far as cold bluing the barrels, I simply remove any patches of surface rust, degrease with automotive brake cleaner spray and then cold blue right over the old blue. Usually 2-3 repeats with cold blue will get it looking pretty nice.

Steve


Approach life like you do a yellow light - RUN IT! (Gail T.)
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I'm up here in Downeast Maine, I don't mind shipping but wanna make sure it goes to the right guy. luckily there is no major rust or pitting, but the tubes are starting to brown and there are a few field scratches, I know it's not an expensive gun but how many 345's do you see, it's got some pretty cool features for a Stevens, chopper lump barrels, bearings on the cocking rods which is a really neat feature and two beads on the ribs. I feel if the gun has made it this far in life, might as well extend it even further!

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Sometime doing nothing to a gun is the right answer. Fix what is needed to make it safe and functional but not to restore it. The plus is that you can use it without worry because it has that well worn look already. Guns have character from all their bumps and bruises. I have a couple very well worn guns that I just keep as they came to me. A hundred years of wear is sometimes a sign of good service and respect.

My late uncle had a .410 Creacent double he used for decades. Even after he could well afford any gun he wanted he used that gun most of the time. So when it came to me I decided if it was good enough for him this way I'd keep it the same to remember him as he was. A good, hard working man who never complained about his life or troubles.

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I had looked at the No. 345 pages in J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. General Catalog No. 54 where the No. 345 was introduced and it didn't state chamber length. The later pocket catalogs of both J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. and then J. Stevens Arms Co. state the No. 345 is "chambered for 2 1/2 inch shells" --



as most 20-gauge guns of that era were.

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yeah mine is 2 1/2 inches not sure what year it was made, it does have a serial number on the water table, barrels and forearm.

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Cool Gun! What's the barrel length?


The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. - Albert Einstein
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28 inches mod and full

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