I have a fondness for 16's. Stopped in a lgs last Friday and the first thing I see are a couple boxes of Rem 16ga shells on the miscellaneous table they have set up there. Looked further up the table and see 5 more boxes of Herters brand. They are all marked 5 bucks a box so I say how much if I take all 7? He says 20 bucks and I say sold. He rings them up and tells me it came to 18.95, didn't want to fool with figuring out the price and what the tax would be to get to 20. He bags them up and while he's doing that I ask "say, was there a shotgun that came in with those shells" and he says yessir. He reaches over and grabs a double barrel, hands it to me, it is a Stevens 5100 in pretty decent condition. Price tag says $199, I say what's the best price and he comes back with $149. Ring her up!












The date code indicates that it was made in 1951, probably carried a lot and shot very little. Some case color remaning in protected areas, the 2 ivory beads are missing, it locks up tight and seems to be pretty stiff opening and closing. It has a few specks of paint that I will have to remove, shouldn't be a problem. I ran a few shells through it for function testing and passed, killed several horse apples in the process. For under 2 Benjamins I think I got a deal.

In the last two pictures--There is a Luger in the woodpile!

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Possum—The other white meat!

Boy! I'll say you got a good deal! What a sweet little gun! I had an old Fox B 16 gauge side-by-side that one of my sons has now. I love the sixteens! Congrats on your find!

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Pack light and cinch tight.

16 ga. IMO the finest bird hunting gauge ever. Too bad it isn't in modern "vogue".

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John

Well done! I have a twin to that one. I am a life long fan of the 16 ga. And it was my primary gauge for forty years of bird hunting. I put five big fox squirrels in the crock pot Monday with a old Belgium Browning A5 16 ga., it was my primary birdgun when living in S. Cal, and AZ., back in the 70's. It shoots the old 2 9/16" shell.
I have a SxS 16 that I hunted with the last ten years of my bird hunting career that I have downed dozens of birds with. I concur about the 16 being the best choice for bird hunting. It's strong suit is when it is built on a 20 gauge frame rather than the heavier 12. A 6 - 6.5 lb 16 is a joy to hunt with.

Nothing wrong with the 16 ga, except that ammo is a little difficult to find. The local Academy store usually has a few boxes on the shelf, but there's not much choice in shot size. Several years ago I ran across a plastic grocery bag with over 100 loose 16 ga shells in it at a garage sale for $5. The 16 ga has always been very popular in Europe, and it also was in the USA until the 20 ga-3" shell arrived on the scene. You got a great buy on the double.

$149 for the gun, less than $20 for 7 boxes of ammo! On the way home did you buy a lottery ticket?

Very nice buy. Verah nice in fact.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

I certainly wouldn't have passed that up either.

Nice! My first gun was a Stevens 311 in 16 ga when I was 12.

You done good. As Grannie would say, "I would rather have some peoples luck than have a license to steal". Larry

I would have gone for that deal as well.

My 16s are a Winchester Model 12 and a
Marlin 90. The Model 12 has accounted for squirrel,
grouse, geese and one small whitetail buck. I also
hunted turkeys with it but never got a shot.

The 90 has been carried and fired at grouse but
the operator failed to connect.

Nice! I have it's twin in a 60's flavor. Gave $175 for it at a LGS as the owner figured it would have a birthday there. Something about shooting those purple shells brings back memories!

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Dave

Sweet !
Man you did extremely well on that deal.
The 16 was my Daddy's favorite. He hunted everything from deer to birds (quail) with it.
Gary

Oh, HELL yes! I haven't been able to hunt for years, but I always wanted (but never acquired) a sixteen gauge.

I've long liked the Stevens side-by-sides. My all-time favorite shotgun, long gone now, was a 311 in twenty gauge, 28" full and modified.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Nice deal!!!

I used to shoot a 16 gauge in cowboy action - I still would if I ever get back to match shooting. I cannot recall if I have two or three, it's been so long, but my main match gun was a 16 gauge Model 97 Winchester - tricked out - even I could run it fairly fast!

My other 16s are long barreled goose guns, fun for CAS, too, but very slow. Early 1900s or late 1800s manufacture. An Ithaca and an LC Smith successor company, I think it is a "Fulton" model by Hunter Arms.

Due to the difficulty in obtaining 16 gauge ammunition I bought a ton of it when I could. If you come to Dallas (you're not that far!!!) let me know and I'll give you a box!

My 16 ga is a J. C. Higgins (Sears) bolt action (tubular magazine) that I got back in the 1950s. It has one of those adjustable choke things on it. I never did use it much, and haven't fired it in at least 10 -15 years, but nothing wrong with it except it is sort of crude-looking and oddly proportioned. I don't know who made it originally for Sears. A bolt-action shotgun always seemed like a strange creature to me but it is a cheaper and simpler way to make a repeating shotgun.

Nice

Just saw an ad for the new Browning "Sweet Sixteen" Looks really nice Perhaps 16 gauge is returning in popularity?

American Rifleman | Gun Review: Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen Shotgun

So, are you going to tell us about that Luger?

You got a good deal on the shotgun. If it was a 12 or 20 ga., he'd have probably wanted more.

Just think of what the dealer must have paid to let you have the gun for $149!

Sounds like my 1956 Stevens.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

That's a sharp looking SxS and a great buy at that price. Great condition.


The '5100' designation is actually the action style. Stevens went to 2 new styles in the mid 1930's,,the 5000 and the 5100.
The 5100 was used on the Stevens No. 530,,which the OP's shotgun is.

(The 5000 was the (Stevens)Springfield No. 515 SxS. Action is the same, just contoured slightly different on the outside ).

Before WW2, the 530 had a capped pistol grip, the 515 did not, both had walnut stocks with checkering.
In '40,,the 530T came out,,this was the Tenite stocked model.

After WW2, reorganization of Savage/Stevens/Fox back to the ChicopeeFalls Stevens plant and the Tenite stocked 5100 actioned Sxs was now called the Springfield No.311.
By '48 the Tenite stocked Springfield No.311 was now the Stevens No.311,,still the 5100 style action.

By 50/'51,,,the Tenite Stevens No311 was gone, replaced with a plain uncheckered wood stocked model still called the 311;

,,the wood stocked Stevens 530 had lost it's pistol grip cap after War time production had resumed but retained it's checkered walnut stocks.
The Stevens No.530 stayed in the line till '54.
These were all '5100' action sxs's. Many so marked on the frame, Some not and are marked with the '530' No, or Model designation.

These are coil spring/internal hammer actions. They replaced the Lewis patent coil spring/in-line striker type actions Stevens was using before that.

Congratulations on your new 16. My first pheasant gun was a 16ga. Monkey Wards double.

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BCCI Life Member #2068

I am not sure that 16 ga shotguns ever went away. I have a friend with a Remington 1100 in 16 ga, and another friend with a 16 ga Mossberg 500 pump. He reloaded for it, and used it for trap shooting.

You are correct, the 16 still lives and has been sustained by a cult of dedicated hard heads like myself over the decades, pretty much like the 41 mag and 10mm. With the advent of the web, all of us hard heads can now network. Actually, nowadays I can find everything I need to reload the 16 for anything from clays to deer, and there are still factory loads out there for most applications.

I had a Stevens 16ga in the '70s that was lost in a home burglary. I always have missed it. I have a nice 311 in 20ga but that deal the OP got was really sweet.

16 gauge is my favorite .....period! I have a Stevens 311 from '59 that will hold its' own in the field with any SxS ever built.

You may FANTASTIC deal!!! Congratulations! Let's go take some quail sometime.

Best,
Charles

P.S.,
I have a 16 Ga Iver Johnson single barrel too.

So was my Dad's. He got it after WWII (Navy Veteran) not much was available at Sears then and always said he had intended to buy a "better" shotgun (pump) but the bolt J.C. Higgins took care of everything from quail to deer and now my brother has it. Still hunting with it.
Gary

This thread is getting a lot of attention. You bought a real nice gun for a great price. It looks well taken care of. The Savage-Stevens SxS didn't get a lot of fitting like some SxS's did but they were strong guns. Being a cheaper gun, they were hunted hard but had a good reputation of taking the abuse.

Are you going to hunt with it?? Enjoy your new gun, Larry

I been thinking about buying me a 16 ga. shotgun.I never see them in my LGS,they do carry shotguns.

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Life is short,live it fully.

My favorite gauge to hunt with since I bought my first one in 1979 (Stevens 94) from my uncle for $35. Long gone now but have a Ithaca NID with 26 inch barrels choke cylinder and cylinder. This is my brush grouse gun. Also a 1988 vintage Citori Lightning 26 inch barrels. Citori is my pheasant gun. Nice Stevens and I would bought that in a heart beat at my dealer.

Kelly

My first shotgun was a Mossberg bolt action model 485B 20 ga. Those are the ones with a 2 rnd detachable magazine, Santa brought it when I was around 10 yrs old.
Anything flying was safe, I couldn't hit squat with it. That changed later on..



I hope they sell a bunch, this is the first that I've heard about them. Unfortunately that probably won't happen and they'll end up at CDNN or similar outlet.


It's a mismatched 1906 commercial that I picked up a few months ago. 1906 upper and the lower is an old model frame, probably from a Swiss contract. I had
been looking for a good 30 cal shooter, I was just getting around to giving it a good cleaning and taking some pics.



Thanks for all of the information, I somewhat suspected that it may have been something like this with the frame designations, reason being that I had looked at
a Tenite stocked marked Springfield that was marked the same, 5100 on right receiver. That one had been rode hard and put up wet several times. I didn't know what to call mine so I just stuck with 5100, that's all that I could find anywhere on the gun itsself.

I looked everywhere for info on these shotguns, your post has provided the most information. Is this somewhere on the 'net, a book, or is it just what you've picked up over the years?


They haven't, those of us that really like the 16 are always on the lookout for another shotgun. We know that they are usually priced lower than the 12's and 20's so it's good for us. We already have a good supply of shells so that is not a problem.


I'm one of those, was hooked on my Dad's Sweet 16 at about the age of 13-14.


I think this thread has gotten the attention because 16ga is in the title. Everyone, or most everyone, knows that if it's about a 16ga it's going to be vintage and all of us old/older guys love vintage guns. I have always wanted a Stevens DB but never really found one to take home, I feel lucky to have gotten this one and would've paid the asking price if he didn't accept my offer. Hopefully I'll be able to try it out on some Dove before the season is out.

My neighbor Gave me a nice 311A, well used barrels are now a brown patina, but the receiver has nice case coloring.
Not at home now so pix available.

an old thread, but I love my 5100 in 16ga to. it was made in 57 just like me,,,,,,,,,,,,

That's a nice one!! Would love to find one just like it.

I realize this post is pushing 5 months old, but the OP not only got a great deal money wise, but for a "working gun" at any price, even in the days it was new...I don't think you can beat the Stevens 530 line of S X S.

Mine is a 28" 12Ga. 530A with a 1953 date code. Left barrel is Full, right Modified, and there is not much this gun won't do when you do your part.

My other vintage loveable gun is the Ithaca M37 (mine is 1962) and this one is also 12 ga with 30" barrel to reach out for those "high flyers".

Took me a while after working with the Ithaca and its True-Glo front sight, to get proficient with the double ivory beads of the Stevens, but an "old gunner" told me....just shoulder the gun, and "if your holding true, the beads will form a snowman and you just pull away". I tried it several times and sure enough if I could quickly see the two beads as distinctive "separates"...I would miss, but when the front was clearly smack on top of the mid-barrel it worked more times than not.

Haven't been afield in many years but thanks for the post...maybe I'll see if grandson would like to walk around and find his own "snowman".

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Charlie B
SWCA#3083, SWHF#570

Have one just like it in 12ga. It was cut down for CAS and was very nicely done.
I picked it up for a good price at a gun show and it has become my favorite shotgun. It was great in the brush for small game and pheasants!

My 16 ga. Win. Mod. 97, is the gun that started my lifelong interest in guns. When I was three years old, my uncle let me look at, touch, and admire his .16 ga. Win. mod.97. The first word I learned to spell, at three, was Gun, that I proclaimed "shotgun". My uncle told me that when I became 21 yrs. old, the 97 would be mine. something I anticipated, until I finally received it in 1972, at 41 years old. During it's long hard life the 97 was dropped in the snow by another uncle using it while hunting, and shot with snow in the bbl. which caused a bulge. the 97 was sent to the Simmons Co. to have the bbl. cut off, at the bulge, and a Polly Choke added. That old, hard used gun, void of any bluing, is still as tight as new, shoots like it, and enabled me to shoot a 25 in skeet, in one of the few rounds that I tried it in. It's not pretty, but it's one of my most prized guns. Excuse the long winded story.
Chubbo

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1947 model 12 16 ga.

I love your model 12!

Very nice. Sometimes the stars line up just right.

My one and only 16 gauge is a Model 12 that I got for $200.00 about 2 years ago at the LGS. It matches my 20 gauge that I bought in 1963, all I need is a 12 gauge. No photos available, need to take some.

Have a blessed time,

Leon

16 has been my favorite since high school. I had access to 12 and 20, but taking the 16 afield put an end to everybody wanting to Borrow a few shells. It was my grandpas Ithaca 37 featherweight. Wish I still had that one. A druggie cousin traded it and several other of grandpas guns for dope.

Started bird hunting with a Remington 48 in 16. Shot a pile of chukar and quail with it. Have been wanting another 16 for the last 10 years but cannot find the right gun. Foolishly passed on an Ithaca NID about two years ago. If I weren’t stuck on double guns the search would probably be over by now

16 Gauge Guns are terrific (I really like the Belgium Sweet Sixteen) but the one gripe I have is finding a descent selection of 16 Gauge Shells. I guess if I still owned one I'd stock up when I found the rare store or shop that had a good selection. When the local discount stores run their sales they almost never have any 16's - just 12's and 20's. If you can deal with the ammo situation then I agree, they are great!

Have my dad's Winchester 37 that I'll never sell. Also have a Stevens 311 & a Browning Sweet Sixteen. Have been on the lookout for a Remington 870 & a Browning Citori. As you can tell I am a 16 Guage fan.

"16 Gauge Guns are terrific (I really like the Belgium Sweet Sixteen) but the one gripe I have is finding a descent selection of 16 Gauge Shells."

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