New Stevens, need some opinions.

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dogmush

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Hello all,

I recently bought a Stevens 620A off of Gunbroker for $100. The idea was to pick up another pump gun for cheap. I had originally planned to cut it down and have a compact takedown 12ga that I only had about $130 in. I could take it in a backpack or truck or whatnot. The auction said it had some hairline cracks in the stock, but I wasn't really looking for a pristine gun.

Well when it got here, those cracks had had a good time in shipping:
blandingNV011.jpg

Sigh. I thought about not taking the transfer and sending it back, but I don't think the seller misrepresented anything, just bad luck in shipping. The box wasn't even beat up. Besides I like the idea of a Browning designed shotgun. So it's mine now. and I need a stock.

I found a couple places to get a new stock, and they're all about $50. Which is cool, but has caused a shift in my perception of the use of this shotgun. Once I drop another $50, and spend the time to fit and finish the thing, it's no longer, to me, a cheap throw around gun. I'll be invested in it then. So I'm looking at my options.

Option 1:
Put a new stock on it, clean it up and leave it be. I don't hunt birds, or really play clay games, but if I did this it'd be my second shotgun that could. So if I got a wild hair I could take a friend out and we could shoot clays locally. The few rounds I shot as a kid I enjoyed. This is the cheapest.

Option 2:
Put a new stock on it, cut it down as originally planned and use it for a road trip/camping defense gun. I already have two "tactical" shotguns, so I don't really need another, but I think I'd like this better then my Chinese 870 knockoff and my Bennelli doesn't actually get out much (to pricey). So this option would a more useable fighting gun.

Option 3:
Make it into reproduction trench gun. I can find or make the correct wood, I found a repro bayo lug/heat shield. I could set it all up, then have it reblued and bring it to an "as new" reproduction. (Sans markings. not counterfeit, just a repro) This is by far the most expensive option, but gives me a really neat shotgun, that at least looks like a piece of history.

So now I come to a gun boards favorite thing. Give me your opinion. Any cool ideas for this gun? What would you do with it? It's obviously become a project gun, but which direction should I take it? What say the shotgun gurus.*


*No PGO suggestions. I have more class then that.
 
I would take a few pic's if you have a cell phone that does that, put the gun in the back of the safe, go to a few gun shows and see if you can find another stock for it. Don't go crazy and contact a custom stock maker and have them overnight one to you. Just take your time you might be surprised what you will find at a gun show if you take your time and don't rush it.

From what I gathered in your post there is not one specific style of gun you want so, just think about it for a while, its not your only gun so its not like you absolutely have to have it for home defense or anything, and if you did I would ask why you bought the cheapest gun you could find off a internet site without ever even putting your hands on it and knowing that it has a few "quirks".

Just my .02
 
[chuckles] No, it's definitely not my only firearm. Its not even my only 12Ga pump. Its just that my original plan for this gun (low cost breakdown shotgun) has been torpedoed. So I'm looking for a new plan.

Tinkering on guns is my hobby. So I can sit back and come up with a master plan for this. Once I've shifted the plan I'm not even against spending some money on out if I get a shotgun I like out of it. I really liked the design, and solidness of this shotgun so I'm sure it'll make a cool project, once I figure out what to do with it. This thread is hopefully more of a brainstorming session for me. Of course I still need a cheap breakdown shotgun too.
 
That's a shame.

If you have all the fragments, can you reconstruct the pistol grip with epoxy?
 
Might need some mostly invisible reinforcement with some fine finishing nail sections as pins epoxied into predrilled holes, but it's likely worth a try. Cheaper than a replacement stock, anyway. Might not be pretty, but if it works...
 
Some of the old arsenal stocks used really small nails and a epoxy to hold broken stocks or arsenal repair patches, of course there is always camouflage duct tape ;)
 
I would get the replacement stock & try to fancy it up a bit by defining the pistol grip much better, adding a nice cap to it, and putting a nice recoil pad on it, maybe add some contour that follows the shape of the receiver. I saw a great article on this once, can't remember where. In the same article they took a beavertail forend and made it a splinter style.
 
Was the gun insured, even for the $100?

If so, you might see what will happen if you file a claim against the carrier. Sometimes they want the damaged goods for scrap value against the claim, but with this being a gun, they might just pay it and say keep it. if that is the case, you could apply the 100 towards a new stock
 
Let me guess....

parcel post? Holy cow, hairline crack? Im sure you might find an original or at best, a reproduction but your lucky to get away with $50.00.

It took me almost six months plus to find a reproduction stock for a Stevens 520 A and that was $80.00. I had that old gun parkerized and the blue removed from the Weaver choke to get the final look of the gray and silver combination.

I'd put the new stock on and keep it as it was originally intended. The Stevens shotguns are a great amalgamation of steel and walnut. Great guns that are built to last.....
 
Fill the cracks with wood glue, clamp it up and then sand it down when it is dry. Then, cut or sand the stock into whatever shape you desire. Go to wal-mart or your local auto parts store and buy some fiberglass resin and some fiberglass cloth. Cut the fiberglass cloth with scissors into strips about 1 1/2" wide. Take a cheap paint brush and lightly coat the entire stock with activated resin. wrap the stock with the fiberglass cloth, overlapping about 1/4"-3/8". Dab more resin on the cloth until it is completely saturated. Let harden. Sand and repeat one more time. Paint whatever color you desire. You will have a super strong stock that will last a lifetime. A quart of resin at walmart is about 11 bucks. A packet of cloth is about 7 or less. Can't remember off hand. A small tube of wood glue will be a few bucks. Add a can of spray paint and some sandpaper, grand total should run you about 25-30 bucks max. I promise you, it will be as strong as anything you can buy.
 
Eh......no fiberglass and paint.

One of the things I like about this shotgun is the wood and blued steel. I have enough black and plastic guns. Whatever I do will have to look as close to original as possible. For just getting a functional shotgun, that'd be a good idea, but I want a functional pretty shotgun.

No one likes the trench gun idea? huh. I thought it was a neat idea.

On a related note, were these things choked? Is there any way to tell short of patterning it? there's nothing added to, or removable in the muzzle.
 
Glue might work as well as glass bedding epoxy, but you will want to drive some brass pins into the pieces as well for extra strength. The wrist takes a lot of punishment and needs all the reinforcement it can get
 
On a related note, were these things choked?

The longer barreled sporting versions often were choked, yes. The chokes are fixed, as was the standard at the time they were made, and so there is nothing externally visible or removable, unless they have one of the compensator type chokes installed.

The riot and trench versions were all CYL as far as I know.
 
I guess I never actually said, or posted a pic. This is a 28" barrel. So full choke?
 
Likely MOD or FULL. Does it say on the barrel back near the receiver? If all else fails, measure the inside muzzle diameter for an approximation.
 
Had time to take it apart today.

Looks like a no go on the repair. Small pieces are missing, the part that goes into the receiver is smashed rather then cracked and the stock bolt is bent at about 25 degrees and the threads are stripped.

It looks like someone ran out of ammo and beat whatever they were hunting to death with the stock. :D

Looks like I'll be shopping for parts. This cheap shotgun keeps getting more expensive.
 
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