Hello again folks. Some weeks ago I posted about a new (to me) Stevens I had bought that had a broken stock and asked for some ideas on a direction to go.
I pondered it a little bit and came up with the idea to utilize the breakdown feature of this shotgun as a neat way to have two shotguns in one. I'll get another front end, make one into a more "tactical" oriented shotgun, and leave the other in a more "sporting" configuration. Kinda like the Mossberg 500's that come with two barrels, only more complicated and time consuming, and with harder to find parts. Good thing this tinkering with guns is my hobby.
So I bought a new stock, and got a whole new front end that was supposed to be off a "Stevens 520 or 620" off of gunbroker and figured I'd start tinkering and plotting out the steps for the project. That's when it all went bad (of course).
First question:
It seems like the magazine stop isn't working right. In the pump guns I'm familiar with the catch holds shells fully in the magazine until the action is all the way open, then releases a shell on to the lifter and springs back out to catch the next shell in the magazine. On my Stevens the catch is retracted until the action is open so that there's a shell half on the lifter in "firing" position. Then is springs out to stop the next shell when the action is open and releases that shell onto the lifter as the action closes on the first round. This makes it kinda clumsy to load. It does actually feed and chamber shells, it just doesn't seem right. Is this the way they all work or is something wrong with mine?
Pictures to help explain:
Action closed, bolt locked. Note that the shell catch is retracted so it won't catch shells.
Action all the way open. The catch has extended to hold shells. If the weapon were loaded there would be a shell on the lifter and the catch would be holding the second shell.
Action closed, round chambered. This is how the rounds sit in the magazine. You can kinda push them forward and load another round but if you push the lifter up, the magazine will empty itself.
It just doesn't seem right.
Question 2:
It seems like someone less skilled then I (or just more exuberant) has had a go at my second front end. In addition to a bent action bar which will need some work or replacement the new barrel doesn't *quite* fit. The extractor notches are too narrow, the face is a little peened and most worrying of all someone roughly removed about 30% of the first lug. It's close though. If I put the good action bar on and turn the gun upside down there's enough slop in the bolt that it'll close and fully lock. (Bolt Lug fully engaged in receiver and takes the bolt release to open it) I fully expected a bit of hand fitting to make everything nice and smooth (or working) but I'm a little worried about that lug.
Pictures:
"Good" barrel on left. altered part is the lower right of the first lug.
Part of me says that that's not much of the overall lug space on the barrel, shotguns are relatively low pressure anyway and the barrel will stay in the receiver under firing, but part of me wonders if I'm only saying that because I already bought this barrel.
So Question 2 (A) is: Would you bother with the handfitting it'll take for good function on this barrel, with that lug area missing or do you think even when fitted it'll be unsafe to fire.
And Q 2(B) is that enough that you'd be on the phone with the seller demanding some partial refund, or is that within reasonable for used parts of unknown age and origin. To my eye that's pretty obviously a post manufacturing alteration, but would you expect your average gunstore owner without another 620 to look at that and say "Yep, that's been filed on, should mention that in the ad."?
Thanks in advance for any opinions you can give.
ETA:
Also; Whats up with those extractor slots? my original barrel, as well as every other good picture I can find on the net have slots that are both wider (top to bottom) and deeper(going well into the third lug) Was there a change in extractor size somewhere in the 520-620-620A run, or is it possible I just have a wrong barrel?
I pondered it a little bit and came up with the idea to utilize the breakdown feature of this shotgun as a neat way to have two shotguns in one. I'll get another front end, make one into a more "tactical" oriented shotgun, and leave the other in a more "sporting" configuration. Kinda like the Mossberg 500's that come with two barrels, only more complicated and time consuming, and with harder to find parts. Good thing this tinkering with guns is my hobby.
So I bought a new stock, and got a whole new front end that was supposed to be off a "Stevens 520 or 620" off of gunbroker and figured I'd start tinkering and plotting out the steps for the project. That's when it all went bad (of course).
First question:
It seems like the magazine stop isn't working right. In the pump guns I'm familiar with the catch holds shells fully in the magazine until the action is all the way open, then releases a shell on to the lifter and springs back out to catch the next shell in the magazine. On my Stevens the catch is retracted until the action is open so that there's a shell half on the lifter in "firing" position. Then is springs out to stop the next shell when the action is open and releases that shell onto the lifter as the action closes on the first round. This makes it kinda clumsy to load. It does actually feed and chamber shells, it just doesn't seem right. Is this the way they all work or is something wrong with mine?
Pictures to help explain:
Action closed, bolt locked. Note that the shell catch is retracted so it won't catch shells.
Action all the way open. The catch has extended to hold shells. If the weapon were loaded there would be a shell on the lifter and the catch would be holding the second shell.
Action closed, round chambered. This is how the rounds sit in the magazine. You can kinda push them forward and load another round but if you push the lifter up, the magazine will empty itself.
It just doesn't seem right.
Question 2:
It seems like someone less skilled then I (or just more exuberant) has had a go at my second front end. In addition to a bent action bar which will need some work or replacement the new barrel doesn't *quite* fit. The extractor notches are too narrow, the face is a little peened and most worrying of all someone roughly removed about 30% of the first lug. It's close though. If I put the good action bar on and turn the gun upside down there's enough slop in the bolt that it'll close and fully lock. (Bolt Lug fully engaged in receiver and takes the bolt release to open it) I fully expected a bit of hand fitting to make everything nice and smooth (or working) but I'm a little worried about that lug.
Pictures:
"Good" barrel on left. altered part is the lower right of the first lug.
Part of me says that that's not much of the overall lug space on the barrel, shotguns are relatively low pressure anyway and the barrel will stay in the receiver under firing, but part of me wonders if I'm only saying that because I already bought this barrel.
So Question 2 (A) is: Would you bother with the handfitting it'll take for good function on this barrel, with that lug area missing or do you think even when fitted it'll be unsafe to fire.
And Q 2(B) is that enough that you'd be on the phone with the seller demanding some partial refund, or is that within reasonable for used parts of unknown age and origin. To my eye that's pretty obviously a post manufacturing alteration, but would you expect your average gunstore owner without another 620 to look at that and say "Yep, that's been filed on, should mention that in the ad."?
Thanks in advance for any opinions you can give.
ETA:
Also; Whats up with those extractor slots? my original barrel, as well as every other good picture I can find on the net have slots that are both wider (top to bottom) and deeper(going well into the third lug) Was there a change in extractor size somewhere in the 520-620-620A run, or is it possible I just have a wrong barrel?
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