Sears bolt action shotgun

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OrangeCat

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Saw this while picking through a local pawn shop and grabbed it for the sheer novelty.


Figured I would do a quick rundown of it since I don't know how many of the younger people here would have seen one

So what I grabbed is a 16 gauge Sears ranger 105-20 note the 20 at the end of the model number and the fact that I am a moroon means I thought it was a twenty Guage....oops


Here's some pictures of the stock other than a mummified bug that fell out it when I pulled it off not a whole lot going on here.
Recoil pad

That screw in the middle in front of the cutout for the magazine is all that holds it to the receiver.
 

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Speaking of recover let's go through that now

Here's a shot of the lifter in order to load the magazine the bolt must be open and it's a little tricky to get the last few rounds in. You kinda have to push down on the shell as you push it in


The weld at the front is pretty good indicator of the overall fit and finish this guy was definitely made to a price point.

the trigger and the safety are pretty simple but effective for what they are.
I feel like maybe the spring is a little weaker than I would care for something that I was going to take traipsing across a dam but in a blind or a n aluminum boat it's fine.


Some top views of the magazine lifter the bolt hits a lug and snaps it into position and notice the twin extractors

On to the bolt
 
I have one of these in 12g, and my buddy has one in 16g. However, ours are JC Higgins 583's. We bought them, just like you, for the sheer novelty. Easily my favorite long gun. What caught my attention specifically was the tube, as I'd only ever seen them being box fed.
 
It's pretty simple affair two parts the front is just a big piece of steel and the back is where most things are going on


Unfortunately I can't get the retaining screw to come completely out right now but it you look at the cocking handle that big square lug is the locking lug nothing to it it looks square on the back with a slight rounding of the corners on the front that look like it was done to improve the action.


Locked up in the receiver with a simple but effective safety. And it actually cocks on opening, which is actually pretty neat


Some final details the magazine holds five rounds and while I'm not taking it out the spring is very fine almost like guitar wire and the bead is awful tiny.

Someone has used it pretty well and while it locks up nicely, a lot of bluing is just gone and I can see how these have fallen out of favor for more modern designs. I might put a few rounds through it just to say I did but I definitely don't see myself tracking through the woods with it much still a neat little blast from the past for me.
 
If you don't mind me asking, does it have a serial number? Mine's old enough to not have one.
 
My first gun was a 16 ga. bolt action Mossberg I bought with my paper route money. I moved around a bit after leaving the military and it got lost/stolen in one of those moves.
 
It's actually damn near pleasant to shoot.....at least with 2 3/4 federal 7 1/2 game the three inch magnums out of the 20 guage break action Turkish shotgun were way way way worse.

I have zero idea what the choke is but at about ten yards it drilled a nice fist size hole in the berm with five shells. Firing pin indent off center a little bit but consistent and no hiccups out of the cycling. Shells did slide down the lifter I to the chamber if I pointed down while cycling which considering the ground was the target was all of them. Neat gun would be way more comfortable using it if the lock up were more robust.

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IIRC that's an H&R 120. One of the friends of my Father-in-law had the H&R version in 16 gauge and used it for ducks. He and my FiL (who shot a Sweet-16) were always competing but results were only slightly higher for the semi over the old bolt. My FiL though sure took far more shots.

As I've mentioned before I just used a 20 gauge and whatever blind I was in was where the mommy ducks brought their ducklings for safety.
 
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