Rem Sportsmans 58

[Satchel]

I came across a Remington Sportsman 58, 12 ga. semi-auto, at the local pawn shop today and I am not familiar with this shotgun.
Thought someone here may have some info. Is it a good, bad or indifferent gun?

The blueing is well worn and the wood shows normal scratches and dents for a well used gun.

The screw knob at the end of the forearm has numbers on it as if they are some sort of setting #s, for recoil control??

Asking price is $200.

 

[BigG]

It's an American version of the Browning Automatic 5. If it's in good shape it's probably good for another couple decades.

 

[ArmedBear]

It's not the "American Browning"!

That's a Model 11. TOTALLY different gun.

http://www.remington.com/library/history/firearm_models/shotguns/model_58_sportsman.asp

The Sportsman 58 was the immediate predecessor to the 1100, and Remington's first gas-operated semiauto. The 1100 is pretty similar, and has a few improvements and tweaks.

I shoot with a guy who has all sorts of stuff in his collection. He has a really nice Sportsman 58, and shoots 5-stand with it quite well. From what I can tell, a 58 in good condition is a good shotgun. Fits like an 870 or 1100.

Though the 58 looks so much like an 1100 I thought it was one until I held it, I don't know about parts compatibility with the 1100. The 1100 is like the 870 in that you can get every part and many accessories for it easily. So it depends on what you want from the gun.

The 58 hasn't been made since 1963, when the 1100 came out. It's probably close to 50 years old. My 1100 is 36 years old now, and works great. Just make sure the gun wasn't sitting in a swamp for a few decades.

 

[Fred Fuller]

The Model 58 is a gas operated gun. It has more in common with the 1100 than the Model 11/Auto5 design, which is long recoil, or the long recoil Remington Model 48/Sportsman 48 even though they look more alike.

The 58 was in production from 1956- 1964 and has a lot in common with the 870 design. Since the gas mechanism is in the front of the magazine tube, it's a 3-shot gun only. The Remington 1100 was introduced in 1963 and that was it for the Model 58. The lesser known but similar Remington Model 878, which was also a gas gun and was introduced in 1959, went out of production in 1962.

lpl/nc

 

[ReadyontheRight]

The dial on the end of the forearm is for high ("H") and low ("L") pressure rounds so the right amount of gas cycles the round out of the chamber. If you are shooting skeet rounds, put it on L, heavier game rounds, dial it to H.

Keep it clean. Nice classic shotgun.

 

[BigG]

Oops - my bad. The Sportsman name faked me out. :banghead:I need to take my memory medicine now. What were we talking about?

 

[ArmedBear]

Not bad memory, BigG.

The Sportsman 48 was the last of the recoil-operated Remmies. Easy to confuse with the Sportsman 58.

Model 11 was the "American Browning"

The original "Sportsman" was a fancied-up 3-shot version of the Model 11.

Model 11-48 was a streamlined gun that worked like the 11, introduced after WW II was over.

Sportsman 48 was a 3-shot version of the 11-48.