jrswanson1 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Someone local is selling a Stevens Model 311 shotgun. It appears to be a coach gun, no hammers. I will use proper English when typing. Are these decent shotguns? Full and modified fixed chokes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Dude, SASS # 51223 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 They are built like a Tank, and are very good for a starter CAS/SASS piece. They do not open fully for proper speed loading. However with the proper adjustments and possible replacement of the locking plunger they can be made to open for greater access. A Wolf spring kit is available from Brownells. This will allow a greater ease of opening with the reduced springs. I shoot a 12 gage and a 16 gage 311's. They get the job done. Cut the barrels and have fun. My 12/311 is 20" and the 16/311 is 18 1/2". My preference in the 18 1/2". Cylinder bore's are fine for our sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Jeemes Kelly Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I use a Riverside arms, with hammers. Riverside was a low-end Stevens brand and this is basically a Steven 215. Mine is probably 85-100 years old and was confiscated by the police after it was used to commit a murder in 1964. Has been sitting on a rack or in a case under a bed from 1964 until this year. I loaded it up and started shooting (probably should have cleaned it first) and it's a solid gun so far - sure is way higher quality than my wife's Stoeger. I'm guessing the higher end Stevens would be even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 They are built like a Tank, and are very good for a starter CAS/SASS piece. Can't say more about them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrswanson1 Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 Thanks. Is $300 a good price for one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Howdy Stevens made good quality, workingman's guns. Nothing fancy, and you wouldn't see them rubbing elbows with high priced, fancy guns, but treat them well and they will last a lifetime or two. I have two 311s and a couple of older models. There are a couple of things you should know about the 311. Because of the location of the locking lug between the barrels, they can be a little bit awkward to load quickly with two shells in hand. And personally, I do not recommend cutting down the barrels on a 311. The weight of the barrels helps keep the action open. If you cut back the barrels, there will be less weight helping to hold the gun open, so they can have a tendency to try and close on you. Most came with 28" barrels; one choked modified, the other choked full. I never had any trouble knocking down targets with the full and modified barrels. But that's just me. You will probably not see too many 311s in the winner's circle, but they make an excellent starting shotgun. My 16 gauge was the first shotgun I used in CAS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fillmore Coffins, SASS #7884 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Thanks. Is $300 a good price for one? $250 would be better. At a shop, $300 out the door is OK. Fillmore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Henry Quick Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Someone local is selling a Stevens Model 311 shotgun. It appears to be a coach gun, no hammers. I will use proper English when typing. Are these decent shotguns? Full and modified fixed chokes. Since I know you're going to be shooting real gunpowder, the fixed chokes will make cleaning much easier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrswanson1 Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 Since I know you're going to be shooting real gunpowder, the fixed chokes will make cleaning much easier! That's why the 87 isn't getting choke tubes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrswanson1 Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 Howdy Stevens made good quality, workingman's guns. Nothing fancy, and you wouldn't see them rubbing elbows with high priced, fancy guns, but treat them well and they will last a lifetime or two. I have two 311s and a couple of older models. There are a couple of things you should know about the 311. Because of the location of the locking lug between the barrels, they can be a little bit awkward to load quickly with two shells in hand. And personally, I do not recommend cutting down the barrels on a 311. The weight of the barrels helps keep the action open. If you cut back the barrels, there will be less weight helping to hold the gun open, so they can have a tendency to try and close on you. Most came with 28" barrels; one choked modified, the other choked full. I never had any trouble knocking down targets with the full and modified barrels. But that's just me. You will probably not see too many 311s in the winner's circle, but they make an excellent starting shotgun. My 16 gauge was the first shotgun I used in CAS. My current SxS is like that. I keep the shells separated with a finger, it works for me. Thanks for the tip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I currently shoot a Stevens 311 and can tell what I have learned as an amateur gunsmith. The gun weighs more that almost every other SXS used in CAS. Good for reducing recoil but bad if you cannot easily handle the extra weight. Efficient reloads mean keeping butt plate in contact with your shoulder with one hand while loading shells with the other. Easier said than done on stages that require 6 or 8 plus rounds. First make sure the gun you are looking at has a wood stock. Some Stevens were sold with a plastic stock called tennite. Tennite will get brittle at low temperatures and with age. Replacement wood will run you about a $100.00 if you finish it yourself so I would pass on the gun it it doesn't have wood stock and forearm. The wood on most Stevens guns was not of very high quality but given how we tend to handle our guns fancy wood will just get scratched up anyway. One issue you will often see is a large splinter missing or glued back on along the top right side of the buttstock where it mates with the receiver. Other than cosmetic it will not hurt the operation of the gun. If you find cracks anywhere else pass on the gun. You definitely want to change out the hammer springs. Get the kit from Brownells. The kit is made by Wolf Gunsprings. Brownells P/N is 969-000-085WB. Unless you are very mechanically inclined pay a gunsmith to put in the springs. It can be very difficult to get the hammer springs back into the gun. If you try it yourself be aware that if you loose control while the springs are compressed they WILL fly out and if they hit you in the face it will hurt. Wear a Face shield. And no I haven't been hit but I have had the plunger hit the ceiling a time or two. The kit also comes with a reduced power spring for the unlock lever. If you can manage with the factory spring keep it. It is possible that the recoil from even moderate loads will cause the action to start to open and the second barrel will not fire. This spring looks easy to remove and re-install but it is not as easy as it looks. Lose control and it will travel a looonnng ways. If you replace the hammer springs the effort required to open the action will be less and you can get away with cutting down the barrels. I would go no shorter than 24 inches. This will leave the barrels heavy enough to hold the action fully open. My experience is that with the barrels uncut the pattern will be very tight. I have put a round between two targets less than 2 inches apart at 10 yards. Jaw hit the ground when I saw the dirt fly behind the targets. Up side is that with this tight pattern there is NO shotgun knockdown target that will not fall from a direct hit and any range. Cut the barrels and you will get a 6 inch or so pattern at 10 yards. Will leave a little wiggle room but you still have to aim. Brownells makes a replacement from bead kit P/N 078-021-048WB Go to this website http://marauder.homestead.com/irons.html Marauder has good info on modifying the Stevens 311. The chambers will need to have the sharp edges rounded and the the box lock tang that you can see between the barrels in Driftwood's picture above will need some filing and reshaping to make loading for cowboy action a lot easier. I'll post a picture tomorrow of what mine looks like after the reshaping. This made getting the shells into the chambers a lot easier. Be aware that you cannot put metal back so if too much is removed or your remove it from the wrong place you will have a gun that is only suitable for hanging over the fireplace. A Stevens 311 will never be the fastest gun when it comes to reloads for CAS but they are almost indestructible and will outlast any Baikal or Stoger for Cowboy Action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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