A local gun shop has a Stevens Arms Co. 311 D double barrel 12 Guage shotgun. It has a color case frame that looks like tiger stripes and a wood stock that might be beech. I could not find any serial number on it.
Are these good guns in terms of function and durability? Given that it apparently has no serial number is there any way to tell when it was made?
I know almost nothing about shotguns. I have a Winchester Model 94 carbine in .32 WS that was made in 1956 and I just thought it would be neat to have a revolver and a double barrel shotgun from the same era.
Look on the underneath side of the receiver, just behind the hinge point; there should be a very small oval with a letter and a number. The letter will tell you the year of manufacture, not sure what significance the number has. All Stevens and Savage shotguns made between March 1949 and December 1968 will have this mark. It may be poorly stamped or worn and hard to read, but the letters follow this pattern:
A=1949, B=1950, C=1951, D=1952, E=1953, F=1954, G=1955, H=1956, I=1957, J=1958, K=1959, L=1960, M=1961, N=1962, P=1963, R=1964, S=1965, T=1966, U=1967, V=1968, W=1969, X=1970. Note there is no "O" or "Q" in the series. On occasion, the letter/number may not be in a circle.
Does the shotgun you're looking at look like this?:
This is a 12 gauge 311H I used to have, it dates to 1972, so it has a SN, located on the lower left side of the receiver above the triggers.
Stevens was purchased by Savage in the 1920, and Savage later bought the AH Fox company in 1929. The Model 311 was introduced in 1930. Stevens was always a rather inexpensive shotgun, and made store brands for JC Whitney, JC Penny, Sears, and many others during the 1930's and 1940's, They are available in the four most common gauges, 12, 16, 20, and .410 bore. Wood was usually poplar or birch, both painted and stained/varnished. After 1942, the AH Fox company had stopped production; Savage wanted to keep the name alive, so they took the basic 311 design, added some roll stamped "engraving" and used walnut for the stocks, and named it the Fox Model B. This became the premium grade between the 311 and the Fox B, although internally, they are identical. Later, there were some Fox B models that had a single trigger, and some had single ejectors as well. Both guns are box lock, Anson and Deely actions. Pretty reliable and durable, made for years of service as a dinner-getter.
I have three of the Fox B shotguns, a 12, 16, and 20 gauge. My 20 gauge was made in 1950, and here is a picture of the date code oval. It says "8B". My guess is the number may be the month of production, but I have no information that supports that, and I've not seen enough of these markings to know how high the numbers go.
There is another way, less precise, to date your shotgun. Stevens production was originally in Chicopee Falls, Mass until 1960, then moved to Westfield, Mass. The location of manufacture is stamped on the barrel along with the gauge and chamber size.
I've forgotten a lot of what I used to know about Stevens and savage, but I like the guns, and if taken care of, will last a long time. I've shot over 200 rounds in a day in my Fox B 12 gauge, on sporting clays ranges. My 12 gauge was made in 1973, I believe. I will say, parts can be hard to find, depending on what you need. Hammers and firing pins are what would need replacing, if the gun is fairly old. Hammers will crack, and the right barrel will have more use than the left. These guns were typically modified choke on the right, and full choke on the left, or could be improved cylinder and modified. In any case, the first shot is usually with the right barrel and a followup if needed, with the tighter choked left barrel, for a bit longer range.
When you open the gun, note where the locking lever rests when the gun is closed. It should sit to the right of center; as the gun wears around the locking lugs, the lever will move to the left. If the lever on the one you're looking at is left of center, check that the gun does not have any play at the breech face when closed. It should be firmly locked shut.
