Stevens 311a 16 gauge. What ammo can be shot through it?

I wouldn't advise slugs and certainly not steel shot. Slugs might not hurt anything, but they aren't very accurate in SXS shotguns. Many guns made prior to about 1990 aren't suited for steel, especially doubles. Barrel length? Most of the ones with 26" or shorter barrels are IC and Modified. Longer barrels are usually modified and full. But there are exceptions. You could mic the end of the barrel and compare the measurements to this link.

http://randywakeman.com/Choke and Barrel Specs.htm

the barrels will be marked near the breech F, M, IC, C depending on the choke of that barrel in letters small enough I can't find them anymore.

311's came with the right barrel modified choke and left barrel full choke; the idea being that the right barrel was the normal one to use for the first shot, and the tighter choke was provided for the followup, longer range shot from the left barrel. The 12 ga 311 I once has was marked for 2-3/4 shells, but as stated, no steel shot, and slugs not a great idea. The last few years they were made, I believe you could get them with 3" chambers. These were designed as upland game field guns. They are pretty reliable and can take quite a bit of poor care, but parts like hammers and firing pins are getting harder to find. I sold my 311 and bought a Fox B, basically the same gun with some cosmetic differences like a vented rib and stamped engraving and nicer wood in the stock. I have a 12, 16 and 20 gauge in the Fox B; all three guns have different barrel lengths, but the chokes are the same. I actually use the 12 gauge to shoot trap, skeet and sporting clays, and on a given day might put 100-150 rounds through it, quite a bit of punishment for a shotgun not really designed for such use that is 45 years old, but it still locks up tight.

bangswitch I find that odd, my 26" 311's were all choked i/c and mod.

I had a 16 gauge, Stevens 311 double-trigger when a teenager. The front trigger fired the right barrel, as I remember and it was full and modified. Couldn't hit much with it, but it was my first double and I wasn't a very good wing-shot back then. When a grouse flushed at the edge of a field and flew straight-away across the field and I missed both shots, the gun was traded the same day. Ha ha.

Singe it's 16ga you don't have to worry much about shell length - 2 3/4" only. Stick to lead shot (no slugs). Buckshot should be fine. About the only 16ga load they make is #1's which is a decently small(-ish) pellet as buckshot goes.

Have fun with it. I've got a 311 in 12ga that was handed down from my grandfather and that gun fits me better than anything else in the safe, though because I want to keep it as well preserved as possible I rarely shoot it.

bearman49709 said:

bangswitch I find that odd, my 26" 311's were all choked i/c and mod.

Click to expand...

Maybe it has to do with barrel length, then. My 311 12 Gauge had 28" barrels, and maybe they could have been ordered with other-than mod/full.

My Fox B's all have different length barrels; the 12 ga. is 28", the 16 ga. is 26", and the 20 ga. is 24", but they all have mod/full chokes. I can't imagine why a field gun made to shoot doves, grouse, and the like would have a IC barrel.

I sure would like a pair of IC barrels on my 12 gauge; it would make skeet a lot easier

I've never hunted doves but for grouse and pheasant I find I/C is the best choke. If it has two barrels I like I/C and mod, for pumps and auto loaders I/C is all I use.