Savage Stevens 311 features

[y2k600f4]

Wondering if anybody can give me some info/advice on a savage 311 12g. Been looking for a decent SXS for some time and have come across a savage 311 30" with Pachmayr Pad; new condition, original box. What features does this version have ? Also I am guessing it has 2 3/4" chambers. I am guessing all 311s have extractors and not auto ejectors ? Any info would help out. Looking to use this to compliment my Rem 870 in both the field and for skeet, but don't know if this is the best bet. Thanks.

 

[Fred Fuller]

311s are pretty much working class doubles. They're pretty basic. Far as I know they all had extractors only, no ejectors. Double triggers too, which I always considered an advantage. They haven't been made for a while now, I think they stopped making them in the mid-1980s or thereabouts.

The barrels should be marked as to chamber length, all the 12 ga. 311's I have seen were 2 3/4" but that's no drawback IMHO.

A good 311 is as good a basic double barrel as a person could want IMHO. If the price is right ($300-350) it would be hard to go wrong.

hth,

lpl

 

[sm]

30" fixed choked barrels are traditionally full choke.

For skeet, one is best to use open cyl, skeet or improved cylinder.
I would still get the gun, if it checks out. Have a seasoned person "ring the barrels" to make sure they are still secure.

Tweak the load to the barrel / choke.
For instance, one "can" get a more open pattern from a tighter choked barrel (choke) by using softer shot, even more "flat" shot.

Sure the neighbors will think you are bit crazy for driving back and forth over a bag of soft ( chilled) shot, before you reload your shells, still one can get ~ IC performance in doing so.

Ain't that right Lee?

*snicker*

 

[earlthegoat2]

The Stevens 311 is the the best value going in a double. They are no frills but very well made guns. I have seen some 3 inch guns out there but in my opinion these dont look as good as the older 2 3/4 inch ones. I have a 311 in 12, 16, 20, and 410. They dont seem to break and you dont pay much for them ever. 200-300 for the 12s and 16s and 300-400 for 20s and 400-500 for 410s.

 

[Virginian]

Very good gun. I started out with one just like it many years ago. It was a duck killer for sure.

 

[y2k600f4]

Everyone thanks for your posts and great info. Going to look at the gun today...supposedly "looks never fired" it is from a dealer and I believe the price is $350. It is 3" and F/M chokes.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Sure the neighbors will think you are bit crazy for driving back and forth over a bag of soft ( chilled) shot, before you reload your shells, still one can get ~ IC performance in doing so.

Ain't that right Lee?

Well, when I first started flattening shot, I wasn't old enough to drive- I used a hammer and the lid to an old cake tin to hold the shot 8^), and pounded it on the concrete floor in the basement. But it still worked...

lpl

 

[GRIZ22]

I have one that's marked 2 3/4 but will chamber 3" shells. Never tried it don't do it.

Just another caveat.

 

[y2k600f4]

I picked up this Stevens 311 series H today. It appears to never been shot and included original box. 30" barrels, F/M fixed chokes, 2 3/4" and 3" receiver. It has one or two small chips in the bluing. Serial # starts with D and I am guessing it is from the 80s (??). Also it has a Pachmayr Pad was Added. Paid $350 + tx. Hopefully I made the right choice for a SXS.

 

[COK]

Enjoy your 311, a good reliable shotgun made in the U.S.A. Something you do not find much anymore.

 

[rbernie]

I have one that's marked 2 3/4 but will chamber 3" shells

All 2 3/4" chambers will *chamber* a 3" shell, they just shouldn't be used to *fire* that 3" shell.

I have two 311s; one 12ga and one 20ga. They are reliable, fun to shoot, and I vastly prefer their double trigger to single trigger designs for a working gun.

 

[y2k600f4]

I am having a hard time finding consistent info on the date. There is no date code and this is a series H (last model and 3" receiver)...I am guessing 80s ? I found 1 source saying 60s but I believe that to be incorrect. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[SWAMPUS]

Stevens dbl bbl

Right now buy any dbl bbl in working condition!!!I am a dbl bbl nut and have been watching sales for the last sev. years.Fellow down here in NW Fla sold a 311 for $800!Old working dbl's are worth the investment!I bought a nice Ithaca 20 ga Flues Model 6yrs ago for $380.Current gunbook value $1100.If nothing else the old 311's are fun to shoot.Most are farmers guns choked mod+full.

 

[Speedo66]

"Paid $350 + tax."

You bought a new or like new American made SxS in excellent condition for $350 and you're wondering if you did OK?

If it works, and no doubt it will, sounds like you did great, don't you think?

 

[sm]

Well, when I first started flattening shot, I wasn't old enough to drive- I used a hammer and the lid to an old cake tin to hold the shot 8^), and pounded it on the concrete floor in the basement. But it still worked...

I knew you were raised right.
Started young as one is supposed to be parented and mentored.

I was not as tall as a Stevens 311 when I was flattening shot, though I was big enough to eat quail felled with a 311 with barrels marked F/M.

Young'un, your shot felled this beautiful bird- Mentors

I was a lot of help reloading those shells and watched Mentors load up their 311s and other fixed choked guns for quail, with shells "I did".
Just as I was other loadings, for other game, "I did".

Maybe one of these days I again will have a 311, a 20 bore would suit me just fine and dandy.

 

[y2k600f4]

Sure glad I did not go with a russian import !! I really like the quality of the 311 even though it is by no means a high end SXS.

 

[Kman]

I see many at the shows, the price was definately good. The twelves have a tendancy to crack at the wrist, the others not so much. I'd use light loads if you were going to put it through heavy use.

 

[JWF III]

Great gun and great buy on it. Just for clarity sake...Have you put a tape on the barrel? I know that most Stevens 311 12s came with 28" barrels choked F/M. I'm not as familiar with the H-Series, so it may have been different. But I would hazard a guess that it's 28". If I'm wrong, and it is 30, my gut would agree withsm that it's choked Full/Full.

I've actually been (casually) looking (for ~10 years) for that exact gun to use on waterfowl. I was going to get the chokes opened up to either Cyl./Imp. or Imp.C./L. Mod. to allow steel to be shot. I've been lazy about looking for one the last few years. Not many make it to the used gun shelves in central Georgia.

I learned to shoot doves with a 20ga Stevens 311 H, and now miss the feel of a double in the duck blind. One of these days I'll find the one.

Wyman