Stevens 520 takedown

I looked at some of the pictures on the net and the parts break down at Numrich Arms.

I would say no, too much machining and too many machined parts.

But it is a very nice break down gun fitting in a very compact case or pack if it had a short barrel.

A cut down 620 fits nice in a Craftsman underseat tool box.

oops, the pic disappeared

Takedown shotguns pretty much went the way of the horse & buggy.
When there was an actual need for them.

The older guns like the Winchester Model 97, and Model 12, as well as the Stevens and others were old school designs that used the receiver as the actual locking surface for the bolt to engage.

More modern designs are much cheaper to manufacture.
And almost without exception use a barrel extension for the bolt to lock into.

That requires the barrel so slide off the mag tube, and out of the receiver to take the barrel off.

So, you are left with a take-down shotgun, but one with the mag tube permanently attached to the receiver.

rc

Yeah, the dovetail design requires some serious steel, which equates to weight, but what a cool design for a truck gun, as mine is. Hope I have 15 seconds to slide it together when the SHTF !

Himmmmm maybe there is some use for my model 12 in 16 gauge.

I wouldn't just cut one down, it has to be one with a damaged barrel or one with a barrel wart on it(polychoke, cutts comp.).

There are just so many of those older guns and if in good shape, should be kept that way.

Too many cheaper pumps being made today that can be converted.

they made some 97's in take down

I picked up a US military model 520 for~ $200 at a pawn shop in MT while on vacation a few years back. It was a solid reliable shotgun that traveled with my family on several cross country trips. In a fit of stupidity, I traded it for a nice 1903 Springfield.

This thread has me checking on them over on gunbroker! Its threads like this that end up costing me money

I've owned a few over the years. Both Model 520's and Model 620's. I've owned a couple of them in 20ga. which I prefer. Also a Military version riot gun (not the trench model).

I have a lot of respect for these two models and of course they are John Browning design guns.

I have only one 12ga left. It is a well used but servicable gun . No chance of collectability in my lifetime and when I get a chance I will likely cut the barrel back to make it more sellable.

All of my over unders, side by side and single shots take down. Can also remove the barrel from the action of my pumps and most of my semiauto shotguns as well, reducing the length for transport.

With the capabilities of CNC machining, it should be relatively easy to replicate a takedown design along the lines of the 620, if any manufacturer decided to do so. An update of the internal design would be timely as well, to make it easier for the average user to maintain.

After all, the takedown design JMB used was based on the Burgess Folding Police Shotgun of the 1890s... if we could do it then, we should be able to do it now.

http://nramuseum.org/the-museum/the...justice/burgess-slide-action-folding-gun.aspx

I love my 520. Resides in soft paintball gun case that keep under the back tray of my grand cherokee.

Ouch!

jaguarxk120 said:

I wouldn't just cut one down, it has to be one with a damaged barrel or one with a barrel wart on it(polychoke, cutts comp.).

There are just so many of those older guns and if in good shape, should be kept that way.

Too many cheaper pumps being made today that can be converted.

Click to expand...

Some of us have learned to love our "warts".

I get wanting to cut these rascals if you have no need for nor ever intend to "hunt" it but fortunately, I learned my lesson before it was too late.

I bought the longer and older 97 with every intention of cutting it down for Cowboy Action as well as a "take-down" companion. Luckily, I took it out hunting - mostly for the novelty. Man alive have I learned to love this affair. Playing with campaign/election signs, I've found the Poly-Choke is the real deal. So versatile if you remember to write down the various load reactions to the various settings on the device.

The lower 520-30 is a righteous "Trench Gun" and I used to drag it everywhere as a companion gun in part due to its take-downness, regardless of its high weight. Later, I got a gussied up 590 and this is relegated to a more honorable place on a rack to be looked at.

So, where am I going with this?

I hate to see firearms of a standard production quality we're unlikely to see again be cut down to take advantage of their split-personality. If they're nasty old rattle-traps that can still be tuned up - you bet. Had I gone ahead and cut this 97 - I'd have really missed out on something as would any follow-on owners should they too resist the temptation to cut before hunting.

Also, given the weight difference between my all steel take-down 520 and a rigid 590 I've found the 590 more favorable. Short package length being mandatory, a fella may have little choice but to molest an older gun but at least in my case - slim and long packaging has worked out very well indeed. I have found myself so seldom ever separating a take-down for transport that the feature essentially amounted to a novelty for me.

Nice Shotguns.

Very nice Trench gun ! The riot model I had didn't have the bayonet and barrel shield feature. I wish it had, but still it brought good $ when I sold it.

The same visit to my brothers in AZ where I picked up the riot gun I found another M520 US gun. This one had a adjustable choke which according to some sources was correct for the gun. The regular barrel length guns were bought for use as trainers to develope the concept of lead on the moving target. Kingman AZ had a Airforce training Hub. (lots of .50 BMG brass laying in the desert training area)

so was the 520 and 620 really advertised as a "takedown" shotgun or was Stevens just showing off their machining capabilities? I have my father's 620 and I haven't shot it in a long time for the reason of available parts. I sure wouldn't think about cutting the barrel off.

I'm in the process of repairing a nice old 620a in 16 gauge. It needed springs for the slide release (the common forward spring, and the sneaky aft spring that you never hear about), and now I found I need to replace the firing pin retaining pin. It broke clean in half, if you can believe that.

Takedown shotguns pretty much went the way of the horse & buggy.

Click to expand...

Well, except for all of those O/U and SxS guns still out there.....

My stevens 620
started out like this


finished up like this