Maybe a Savage 755A?

[DMW1116]

I have a Savage shotgun I think is a 755A. It’s semiauto, engraved receiver, 25” or so barrel, with a raised bead front sight on a non-robbed barrel. It only takes 2 3/4” 12 gage. From a little research, it has one of the 755A’s defining characteristics, which is one must hold in the bolt release button to load the magazine. Were there any similar models? I’d like to clean it and shoot it a little but don’t know how much or how to take it down.

 

[Savage30L]

If it's a 755A, then it's on a Browning design, and the takedown, maintenance, etc, will be similar.

Edited to add: I learned (the hard way) that older Savage/Stevens shotguns were manufactured with little quality control; many of them do not shoot to point of aim. And, I don't mean that they are a little off, I mean way, way off, with patterns centered so far from point of aim that those guns are useless for shooting anything beyond point blank range. I have 4 old Savage/ Stevens guns, and only one shoots to point of aim. Two are doubles, and while the left barrels are dead on, the right barrels pattern 30 inches low at 30 yards. I also have a Savage 30L (hence my moniker) that shoots 30" low at 30 yards. I used to have an old pump (model 520, I think) that shot 30" high and 16" right at 30 yards.

I tell you this because, if you want to shoot your 755a, your first chore (after inspecting it to make sure it is mechanically acceptable) should be to pattern the gun, to see if it patterns sufficiently close to point-of-aim to make it practical as a shooter. If it does pattern properly, by all means, use it.

 

[PapaG]

I'd not recommend takedown any further than removing the forend nut, forend, barrel, friction rings and barrel for cleaning. This gun is a clone of the Browning Auto5 and IIRC, the friction rings operate the same way, one setting for light loads and one for heavy. Google "friction ring placement" for Auto5 and you can see how they go.
This would not be a gun I'd advise high volume use simply due to age.

 

[DMW1116]

I really would like a schematic or something before I dig into it. It's old but seems clean. I haven't found any rust. I'm going over it for my brother, but even if it was mine, I only shoot shotguns once or twice a year at most, and then it's clay target loads. I need to sit down and do some research before taking it down to clean it. I'm tempted to just try to shoot it as it is, but that also seems like perhaps a bad idea.