Boomstick Bruce Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 First off, I'm new to SASS. I have been told more than once and have read the Steven's 311 is not he best shotgun for SASS but they are built like tanks. Well i'm not shooting to win, i'm shooting to have fun, and i am having a ton of it!!! so, i shoot a 311 as my match shotgun. in my first match i discovered it's slow, heavy and all you know reloading it can be a real pain, especially with the stress of being on the clock. so i ordered some wolff springs, did the hold open mod and cut her down to 20"... WOW!!! its a totally different creature now!!! what a smooth, fast and manageable gun!!!! if you're new to sass/cas, and you're looking for an indestructible shotgun the handles well and will suit you for a few years, i dont think you can go wrong with a modded Stevens 311! I love mine!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Love all My 311's . Great American made SxS . I use a Stoeger for Cowboy when I shoot a SxS . Have been using one for 9 years now , With Zero Issues. Now as of this year Im trying a 1887 slicked up by Lassiter. Going to be a much bigger learning curve . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Bullweed Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Good basic guns made by a reputable firearm firm. A couple of thoughts: Savage-Stevens made the 311 until the 1970s. That means that the youngest 311 that you find is 40 years old. Make sure that that the 311 that you choose to work with is still a solid gun. The 5100 is likely a poor choice. It looks like a 311 but is difficult to break down and is a level below the 311 in quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I started out with two 311s. Slicked them up and they worked well. Finally found the wife a Baikal so I sold her 311. about a year later I found a Baikal and started shooting it. Then I got a Lassiter 87 and haven't shot my SXS in over a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Boomstick Bruce, I have a 311 series H that a friend gave me. It still has the long barrels. I am refinishing the stock and forend soon. The original stock was cracked. I found one that is 90% finished. It has the 26" barrels and the bluing is so nice on this gun I just can't bring myself to cut the barrels. But even with the longer barrels it's hard to keep open when loading. The image below is the only thing that I have found that explains the "hold open mod". Is this what you did to your 311? ...I didn't do a search on Youtube yet. I prefer images over trying to follow a video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I ran across this 311A at a gun show (bottom). It was already hacked off and had a coupe of minor problems. But great bores and lockup. The guy had what I felt was a high price on it. I made him an offer I just knew he wouldn't take. He was about to counter when Mary said "Come on. We just got here. Let's look around first.". She didn't get her comments out before the guy said he'd take my offer. I cleaned the ugly varnish off the wood and fixed a couple of hairline cracks. I also had out local cowboy gunsmith cut the forcing cones for modern star crimped loads. Seemed like the felt recoil was reduced by cutting the forcing cones. I suspect all these old 311s were made with chambers for roll crimped shells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick Bruce Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 4 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Boomstick Bruce, I have a 311 series H that a friend gave me. It still has the long barrels. I am refinishing the stock and forend soon. The original stock was cracked. I found one that is 90% finished. It has the 26" barrels and the bluing is so nice on this gun I just can't bring myself to cut the barrels. But even with the longer barrels it's hard to keep open when loading. The image below is the only thing that I have found that explains the "hold open mod". Is this what you did to your 311? ...I didn't do a search on Youtube yet. I prefer images over trying to follow a video. thats exactly the mod i was referring to... i did mine a little differently but got the same result... i ordered a second set of wolff springs for it because i thought i lost the first set i ordered. well they came in the mail that same afternoon (why i thought i lost them i'll never understand) so now i have 2 sets of springs... guess i need to buy another 311 to put them in... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick Bruce Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 oh and if you take it apart to do this mod (i did mine with a screwdriver holding the cocking leve rup and a dremel to cut) drive the pins out inside of a drawer, springs and hammers and parts fly away when the pins come out... i didnt make the tool this guy uses to put the hammers in but i did use the drill rod (actually i used a broken bit) that makes the job soooo much easier... heres a vid... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Thank you, Bruce. I appreciate it. I do recall that video.Sedalia Dave had posted it. Nifty tool! Looks like I will have to fire up the ol' Dremel tool soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 i started with a 511 and have a 410 311 for the kids that i thought to use , but after moving to the stoeger for beating up i bought one of those in 410 as well , i use my cowboy guns , dont want to baby anything , i actually like my gvintage stevens enough to care what they look like at the end of the day , just my 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slate Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 20 hours ago, Tom Bullweed said: Good basic guns made by a reputable firearm firm. A couple of thoughts: Savage-Stevens made the 311 until the 1970s. That means that the youngest 311 that you find is 40 years old. Make sure that that the 311 that you choose to work with is still a solid gun. The 5100 is likely a poor choice. It looks like a 311 but is difficult to break down and is a level below the 311 in quality. Following Stevens' model numbers can be a little confusing. Basically the 311 is a 5100; the 5100 was an earlier designation which was changed to 311 in the early '40s, but was a number that was continued to be used on many of the store branded guns that Stevens's built for chains like Sears. The 5100 designation was often stamped on guns also stamped as 311. 5100 can really be considered more of a frame designation than a specific model number. Some of the store branded 5100 guns can even be a little higher grade than the Stevens' branded guns. I have an old "Ranger" branded 5100 that I use for CAS that has a decent quality walnut stock and hand cut checkering. On some of the Stevens' guns in the '40 you'll find stocks made a type of plastic, which Stevens called "Tenite". Kind of the same idea as the "Coltwood" that Colt used for many of its grips during the late '40s and early '50s. Don't shy away from a Stevens'built double just because it's stamped 5100 and not 311, they're the same thing. Best regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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