Stevens 620/Westernfields

[Vollertron]

I got an old Western Fields Model 60 which is apparently a Stevens 620. I desperately want to disassemble it and refinish the entire rifle. The problem is I can't find anywhere on the internet about the receiver and trigger housing. I can get the barrel off easily. I found a parts sheet but I'm not familiar with shotguns and need some instructions. It can't be that hard but I want to do it in the correct order. HELP!!

 

[Fred Fuller]

can't be that hard

Yeah, right . Famous last words.

It's a Browning design- as in John Moses Browning. It (in its previous guise as the non-streamlined Stevens 520) dates aaall the way back to 1903, a mere ten years after Browning designed what became the Winchester 1893 pump shotgun, which evolved shortly thereafter in the the Winchester 1897.

Early Browning designs are full of little fiddly bits. Ask any old time GI who was ever assigned a BAR.

Best advice I can give is to leave off thinking about refinishing the gun, clean it up (take the wood off the receiver and dunk the whole thing in a strong solution of dish soap and HOT water, let it soak for a while, scrub what you can reach with an old toothbrush, rinse with lots of HOT water, then let it dry in the sun or put it in the oven on WARM for a while- then re-lube with a good gun oil and let it drain before reassembling). Then give the whole gun- wood and metal- multiple coats of Johnson's paste wax.

The old warhorse got its scars and age marks honestly, value them for what they represent and leave them in place- clean and well cared for.

fwiw,

lpl

 

[Vollertron]

that sounds like a great idea. i just really wanted to get all the unnecessary dirtiness off of it and didn't wanna use it until it was properly ready. THANKS!!

what does the johnson stuff do?

 

[Fred Fuller]

It's floor wax .

It will help protect both wood and metal from moisture- at least to a reasonable degree. It's an old-timey thing to do, but it works. My grandfather got me started using it on guns a long time ago. It works really well on blue steel and walnut.

lpl

 

[tuna]

Careful taking it apart, my 520 still likes to cut the crap out of my every time I take it down.

 

[bushmaster1313]

I sent my WWII Stevens 620 to Frank Vallone at Sycamore Hill Designs

http://www.sycamorehilldesigns.com/
with instructions to clean, polish and lube the internals of my Stevens and then function test it: