Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
A while back I put in a bid on one of the auction sites for an odd looking pump shotgun that was languishing with no attention. It was marked as a Montgomery Ward/Western Field Model 35, which didn't seem to light anyone's fire, and with its double-humpback receiver and 30" barrel, it seemed like a genuine ugly duckling.
In the stock market, when a given issue shows some promise despite its declining price, some investors will toss in what they call a 'stink bid' just to see what happens. That's what I did with this one.
No one else bid on it. I don't think anyone else even looked at it, really.
I recognized it for what it was, from the pictures that were posted- a transitional model of the Browning-designed Stevens 520, with a crossbolt safety and the action release button at the left rear of the trigger guard. If I had to guess, I'd say it was made in the 1920s sometime. The earliest models of the 520 from 1904 had a 'suicide safety,' a sliding switch in the front of the trigger guard, and had the action release button on the left side of the receiver. The last ones made- the 520-30 models- had a single hump receiver, a tang safety and the action release button at the left rear of the trigger guard.
Other than the location of the controls, nothing substantial changed over the 40-odd year manufacturing life of the Model 520. The patent was filed for in 1903, ten years after Browning designed the Winchester 1893 (later 1897) pump shotgun. There are some similarities- big beefy internal parts, and a take-down mechanism that allows the gun to essentially be broken in half. There's only one shell latch, and there is no disconnector- the 520 will slam fire too, if such extravagance is desired.
This one had looked to be in good shape- the main evidence being that the slots in the screws weren't all buggered up. And so it proved to be when it arrived- other than having what looked to be a lifetime of accumulated dirt and fouling embedded in every crevice. I took it down, removed the plug from the magazine (it looked like a chunk of turned wood cut from a chair or some other piece of furniture), and cleaned the barrel, magazine tube, spring and follower. Removing the stock (nicely checkered and uncracked), I dunked the complete receiver assembly in a solution of Simple Green and hot water for a while, scrubbed what I could reach with an old toothbrush and rinsed it out thoroughly with more hot water. Then I popped it in a warm oven for an hour, and sprayed it down internally with Breakfree while it was still warm.
That slicked it up immensely- it had been clogged with dry carbon-like gunk in the receiver. The bore was pristine and mechanically it seemed sound. Measuring the chamber indicated it was safe for 2 3/4" shells.
But I didn't need someone's cast-off duck gun. The barrel was carefully cut at the 19" mark from the closed bolt face and the original honkin' big ol' brass bead polished and re-installed. As it arrived, the gun had a 13 1/4" LOP with a plain factory buttplate that looked to be original. That's about right for this household, so it was left alone. Everything has gotten repeated coats of Johnson's paste wax, after a few freckles of surface rust were removed, and it's beginning to take on a subdued glow. The bluing is worn but in pretty good shape, and the gun bears its wear marks and slight dings proudly.
So, now there's an old campaigner in the safe to go along with all the newfangled stuff. It takes down into a compact 19" package for travel, and after getting over some feeding hiccups (a slight adjustment of the shell latch was required, a replacement may be necessary for serious dependability) it is demonstrating that it can still bark as well as bite.
For pictures of a similar gun (though earlier production) set up as a trench gun, see http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=134100168 . Picture that one blued and without the heat shield/bayonet attachment, and there you are. For pictures of what is represented to be a genuine 520-30 Riot (US marked) version with a 20" barrel, see http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=134475077 .
lpl
In the stock market, when a given issue shows some promise despite its declining price, some investors will toss in what they call a 'stink bid' just to see what happens. That's what I did with this one.
No one else bid on it. I don't think anyone else even looked at it, really.
I recognized it for what it was, from the pictures that were posted- a transitional model of the Browning-designed Stevens 520, with a crossbolt safety and the action release button at the left rear of the trigger guard. If I had to guess, I'd say it was made in the 1920s sometime. The earliest models of the 520 from 1904 had a 'suicide safety,' a sliding switch in the front of the trigger guard, and had the action release button on the left side of the receiver. The last ones made- the 520-30 models- had a single hump receiver, a tang safety and the action release button at the left rear of the trigger guard.
Other than the location of the controls, nothing substantial changed over the 40-odd year manufacturing life of the Model 520. The patent was filed for in 1903, ten years after Browning designed the Winchester 1893 (later 1897) pump shotgun. There are some similarities- big beefy internal parts, and a take-down mechanism that allows the gun to essentially be broken in half. There's only one shell latch, and there is no disconnector- the 520 will slam fire too, if such extravagance is desired.
This one had looked to be in good shape- the main evidence being that the slots in the screws weren't all buggered up. And so it proved to be when it arrived- other than having what looked to be a lifetime of accumulated dirt and fouling embedded in every crevice. I took it down, removed the plug from the magazine (it looked like a chunk of turned wood cut from a chair or some other piece of furniture), and cleaned the barrel, magazine tube, spring and follower. Removing the stock (nicely checkered and uncracked), I dunked the complete receiver assembly in a solution of Simple Green and hot water for a while, scrubbed what I could reach with an old toothbrush and rinsed it out thoroughly with more hot water. Then I popped it in a warm oven for an hour, and sprayed it down internally with Breakfree while it was still warm.
That slicked it up immensely- it had been clogged with dry carbon-like gunk in the receiver. The bore was pristine and mechanically it seemed sound. Measuring the chamber indicated it was safe for 2 3/4" shells.
But I didn't need someone's cast-off duck gun. The barrel was carefully cut at the 19" mark from the closed bolt face and the original honkin' big ol' brass bead polished and re-installed. As it arrived, the gun had a 13 1/4" LOP with a plain factory buttplate that looked to be original. That's about right for this household, so it was left alone. Everything has gotten repeated coats of Johnson's paste wax, after a few freckles of surface rust were removed, and it's beginning to take on a subdued glow. The bluing is worn but in pretty good shape, and the gun bears its wear marks and slight dings proudly.
So, now there's an old campaigner in the safe to go along with all the newfangled stuff. It takes down into a compact 19" package for travel, and after getting over some feeding hiccups (a slight adjustment of the shell latch was required, a replacement may be necessary for serious dependability) it is demonstrating that it can still bark as well as bite.
For pictures of a similar gun (though earlier production) set up as a trench gun, see http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=134100168 . Picture that one blued and without the heat shield/bayonet attachment, and there you are. For pictures of what is represented to be a genuine 520-30 Riot (US marked) version with a 20" barrel, see http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=134475077 .
lpl
