Here's my predicament.

When I was a kid, I had a Stevens 311A 16 gauge double bbl. w. 26" bbls. (Improved cylinder/modified chokes). It was a bird gun extraordinaire! No $10K over and under could have taken more birds etc. I even took a bear with it once.

Well the kicker is that maybe 35 years ago, I sold it. Young and foolish... I know.

Over the past few years,I occasionally replace what I had back then when the model etc. presents itself.

Now, my search for a duplicate for the Stevens is ongoing. I found a few that were the wrong bbl length or choke or both. However, I just came across a Savage- Fox Model B in exactly the correct configuration which it is a nicer shotgun in fit and finish. It is about $100 more than one of the Stevens guns I've been seeing. Some of the Stevens shotguns are basically the same price or even a little more expensive.

I realize that "my" gun is gone forever. So, should hold out for an exact Stevens duplicate or get the nicer gun in the correct configuration for more or less the same price??

Any advice appreciated!!

Best,
Charles

You're the only one that will know that it's not the same. How does that make you feel? Will you get the same satisfaction from shooting it? Do you want to look for the rest of your life is hopes of finding the exact model knowing you might not?

I say buy it if it will fill the void.

__________________
Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I'd get this one... if it has taken this long to find one this close... who knows if the other ever will appear. If it does show up for a good price, pick it up & decide which shoots better for you NOW.....& keep that one.

__________________
be safe,enjoylife,journey well

Charles,

I'm very fond of double side by sides, and I have found that there is not a lot of choice to be had these days. Occasionally a good used one will be found, but as you say, you take what you get in those examples as far as choke and barrel length is concerned. First, whatever you get, you need to be satisfied with it for yourself. It needs to fit you and feel good in your hands and you need to feel like you can still whack those birds with it!

But as far as the choice between the two brands, if you can find what you are looking for in the Savage/Fox, and it meets the criteria above, I say get it, because I don't think there will be any real difference in quality. And the truth is, as you say, "Your" gun is gone forever, so all you can likely find now will be a reasonable facimile.

This is my opinion, what I would likely decide, and you have to decide for yourself. But I'd guess that you would likely be pleased with this replacement. You will still remember and see that original and smile when you look at this one and use it, but if you can still get the birds with the new one, it'll likely be just fine. Good luck with your choice!

__________________
So long ... Ken

Buy it and keep an eye out for the Stevens.

If it feels right, buy it!

The Sevens, in that configuration, is uncommon.

I haven't seen one in many years.

If I had, I'd have bought it.

Buy it. I sold a Series 80 Colt Combat Elite many years ago, and have been wanting to replace it since; blued slide on stainless frame. Have seen many new issue Combat Elites, but not one in the style and condition of the one I sold. I recently found a similarly done two-toned Cold Gold Cup and I decided to go with that as my substitute for the long-gone one I sold. A little different but a slight upgrade and a good replacement for the gun I had sold years ago. That's my story and that's my recommendation: Go with the upgrade you found.

__________________
NICK-SWCA-NRA BENEFACTOR LIFE

They are out there.Found one a while back on GB.Still had the original rubber grips ( which I changed) and SS Extractor.Keep looking!

You know what they say about a bird in the hand.

Get the Savage, enjoy it, and if you do come across a Stevens that is perfect after all, buy that and sell the Savage. Or not.

If you lose a few bucks in the buying/re-selling, who cares? You only live once .

I've got a Ward's Triumph 16 gauge side by side I inherited from my maternal grandfather. It had a broken stock that I replaced with a butt stock and forearm from the old Fagen Stock Co.

I love that shotgun and would never sell it. Grab the gun that's close to your old shotgun and keep looking for the old gun's twin. Thanks for reminding me of my old 16 gauge, I need to get it out and throw some clay pigeons.

__________________
Join the NRA today

Keep looking. The quest is a big part of the fun.

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

I will tell you this, in order to convince you to buy the Fox-b.

The middle class in England has discovered Sporting Clays, but they cannot afford English or Scottish shotguns, nor can they afford the maintenance and repair of those guns. So the few that have inherited the field grade guns are selling them, and along with many newer shooters, they are buying nice condition Stevens, Savage ,and Fox-b SxS's.

311's and their predecessors the 310 are maintainable with a good set of screwdrivers and parts Fed-EXed from the U.S., whereas most English guns require springs and parts to be custom made or at least hand fit.

Buy the nice replacement. Then you can decide if the quest has been fulfilled. Questing is a form of therapy all its own, but like most therapies there are costly in time and money. Maybe the Fox-b will allow you quit questing (at least for your SxS) and move on.

I have a Nice Fox-b, 12 gauge 28" Mod/full choked. If fills the gap nicely of an inexpensive SxS I had years ago, to the point I thinking of sell my German side-lock. I'll have to open either gun's chokes to accept steel shot if I resume water fowl hunting. It is the one I 'brung", so I'll dance with her.

Ivan

I think you will find that the Savage-Fox and the Stevens 311 are the
same gun mechanically if you look at the exploded views. The
differences are in the details, wood, finish and maybe triggers. You may
have a long search if you let the Savage-Fox get away.

I own a 311 with 28" M/F barrels and a Fox B with 26" IC/M barrels, both in 20 gauge. I like the wider forearm on the B model. I suggest you buy the Fox you found.

Charles, always buy the nicest gun, or anything else, you can afford.

__________________
Always Stay Strong!

I agree w/ Crazyphil: Go over in your mind the fun you are having searching for that part of your youth.

The Journey
The Memories
The Excitement when you get a lead
YES, even the disappointment when that lead does not pan out
SO, you keep trying.

Enjoy!

I have the same Stevens in a 20ga I bought it used in about 1961, I am still using it, I also had a Fox Sterlingworth A grade that I bought a few years later in 12ga also used, I sold it a few years back a guy saw it and offered me 3 K for it, if I were you I would buy the Fox.

__________________
Don

I believe we all see the much loved guns of our youth through a rosy haze of memories...memories of places and dogs and people who are often no longer with us. We connect the gun memories to those people and things, and when we remember them, it's often like an old home movie running through our brains. The images might be a bit faded and jerky, but they're still there.

An ordinary old workhorse field gun like your 311A can assume an almost mythical status...and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Yes, your original Stevens is gone and you'll most likely never see it again in this life.

Advice? If you aren't in a big hurry, why not keep looking for a Stevens 311A in 16-gauge? I think if you buy the Fox, you'll always be thinking something like, "Well, this is a good ol' shotgun, but I sure wish I had an old Stevens 311A like I used to have when I was younger."

One other thing...the 311s in any gauge are going for a premium around here. It isn't at all unusual to see a $600 price tag on one. I'd say if you want one like you had, get it when you find it.

Good luck in your search.

The Fox Model B actually precedes the Stevens 311.
Fox Model B came out in 1940,, the Springfield 311 in 1947, then the Stevens 311 in 1948.

The Fox Mod B is a 'Fox' shotgun in name only, all of the above being mfg by Savage Arms who had bought out both Stevens and AH Fox Gun Co and used the names. The Fox Model B and the original AH Fox shotguns share no mechanical or parts similaritys.\
That doesn't mean that the Fox B isn't a decent gun, nor are the thousands of 311's still going strong.

The Fox B is often called a dolled up 311,,more properly the 311 is a plain jane version of the former having come out in production 7 or 8 years after.

Very simple boxlocks with minimal fitting required of the internal parts upon assembly to make them work. Perfect for a production line affordable SxS in the post war not so cheap labor era.

Fox Model B and 311 shotguns in small bore (16,20 and 410) are starting to command some $$ when found in high condition. The early casecolored frames and minimal handcheckering on the walnut stocks draws the old guys back into daydreams of their youth,,and at still affordable prices.
The later production Model B with vent rib, ejectors and single triggers from the late 60's, and 70's, satin gray finished frames, ect don't bring quite the same interest.
But I'm starting to see more than a few early Model B Fox guns being handled with love and care at vintage shoots. Some early 311's in high condition and small bore going for good money too.

The first SxS I really shot well was a Fox B in 16. I got plenty of grief and looks from the old man crowd with their 12g autoloaders (a real man shot only a 12ga w/ 2 3/4" magnum ammo,,and only a pump or semi after all).
But after I downed my share of birds, I was satisfied.
My previous SxS was a field grade LCS 12ga that knocked all 4"11" of me all over the place with the 2 3/4" baby magnums provided as hunting ammo. A sure miss proposition,,,but you had to have a 12 after all and those Peters HV mags #4's were the best!

Dang it, Charles - I think I have your old gun.



Somehow it made its way to Albuquerque, where it languished at Ron Peterson's for about 20 minutes before I scarfed it up.



I'd trade you out of one of your sweet revolvers, but I got this to also replace a long lost childhood gun, so I think I'll hang on to it.



My favorite thing about the great 16 gauge? Purple shells, of course.



I'd say buy that fancy Fox, but keep looking for the gun of your youth.

__________________
“What you got, ain’t new.”

When the question is "which gun to buy", my go to answer is always BOTH!

Any side by side in a gauge smaller than 12 is commanding a premium, especially if it is choked improved cyl/modified. I have been looking for a long time and would love to have a 16 gauge double trigger gun with straight english grip and open chockes.

Oh my!!!

Brad ...... We really need to talk!! Who says it has to be ONE of my "sweet" revolvers???

My aunt gave me a couple shotguns that had been in her side of the family since the 1920's. One was a old TRIUMPH 12ga single shot and the other was not model marked but it is marked Springfield over J. Stevens Arms Co. on the left side. No other marks on the receiver other than a 22 in a circle on the bottom near the forearm. Definitely of the 311 family. It is 16ga and was in rough shape when I got it. The home of the original family member was near a arroyo in the Rio Grande Valley down in south Texas. There was a flash flood and the garage flooded about 8 inches deep. The shotgun was sitting butt down in a corner. The moisture wicked up the stock screw channel and got into the chambers. Lots of surface rust but thankfully very little pitting. I cleaned it up and worked most of the rust out, then stripped the finish off the receiver and wood. Someone did some "trigger work" on it and occasionally the front trigger will slip past the stop and hang up. I have a front and rear trigger on order from Numrich.

The early Stevens SxS's are a somewhat confusing bunch.
I think what you have is a version of the early coil spring striker fired action SxS. This was the G.E.Lewis designed shotgun that was pat in April/1915 and usually carries that pat date somewhere on the frame.
They made several versions.
Riverside Model 315,,half pistol grip w/ checkered stock(came out before WW1)
Stevens Model 330,,full pistol grip (w/grip cap I think) and checkered stocks. (came out early 1920's)
Springfield Model 311,,plain pistol grip stock with no checkering.(It came on the market in the late 1920's.)

They are all Model '315' actions,,coil spring striker fired.
The Springfield 311 is completely different from the later hammer fired Model 311 most everyone is familiar with. Just a recycling of the model # by the manufacturer.
The 315 action has the side pins on the frame wider spaced and in a different arrangement on the frame than the later hammer fired 311 action. Also a large screw head is visable on top of the top of lever of the 315 style action, not there on the later hammer fired 311.
(careful tightening/loosening of that screw can be used to adjust the 315 to lock and unlock smoothly)

This earlier Springfield Model 311 built on the 315 coil spring striker fired action is what I believe you have.
12,16,20 and 410
All 2 3/4" chambered xcept 410 which was 2 1/2".
Made and marked as all sorts of different brand and retailer names also.

Excellent job 'bringing it back'!

This is my advice as well....
You have'nt shouldered that original gun in over 30 years
so it might not even "fit" you now of you found one.
Get what feels best on your arm.


Chuck

__________________
They hold no Quarter

My Dad had a Stevens 311 in 16. I used it more than he did after quail went missing. He traded it in on a Fox Model B thinking it was a Philadelphia Fox. I used to see one in an LGS and considered getting the gun of my youth, but never did, I thought it would just sit. No comparison to the Westey Richards or Parkers or AH Foxes I had and used then.

Starting about 10 years ago I went on a rampage of buying guns I used to own and loved, a Colt SAA, 4 Pythons, 3 in 4' and 1 in 6", a model 29-2, Colt 1911's, a Model 100 Win in 308, a Marlin 1895 and more.

Oddly they did not have the lure of my youth. They sat, they collected dust. When I looked at them I did not know them. They were not my first deer rifle, nor the early post war K-22 that had built in lazer sighting, nor my NIB 4" Nickle Python duty weapon I bought, nor my 1st 29-2 and on and on. Other than I later sold all for exactly what I paid for them, Mr IRS guy I realized I could not buy my youth back. When I had those guns I usually had one deer rifle, a 22 of sorts and a shotgun. I ran the woods using them, they became an extension of me.

The guns were the same, I had changed. I no longer had 3 or 4 guns to use, I also no longer run the woods like a turpentined deer, more like a terrapin.

I sold 4 or so K-22's keeping the best shooting one and as a bonus it has the original box.

yes, It is I who has changed. Finding my Dad's 311 in 16 won't help. I do have a bunch of Dad's guns and my Bro has the other half. I use his old deer rifle. Others just sit.

I have narrowed my collection by many after retirement, sold some to buy cows. But I often wonder if all the Model 12's were reduced to a 12 and a 16 and the Benellis went down the road and I kept the rescue M-37 Ithaca I rebuilt if I could sneak by on shotguns or if I sold all my 22's except Dad's old Ruger and a Marlin M-25 I glass bedded and used Dad's old M-70 in 270 Win for deer and Varmints like I used to if it would be enough or real enough to make some more special.

My first Lab got to be pretty famous, all since him have paled as a hunter, even though they hunted well and were my 24x7 friend. My 2nd or third horse was super special, those since him are just horses. This may illustrate how frustrating it can be to recapture a slice of time that has moved on.

I ran across a Parker 16 gauge in the "O" frame and and looked at it, I mounted it and remembered flying feathers and retrieves when I had one. Having another might make me sad that I can't fly over ridges and run fields like a turpentined deer.

Today I look for guns I have not had, models and brands that do not have the baggage of my youth strapped to thier backs.

I hope the 16s aren't as high as the .410, man those things are expensive now.

__________________
Wayne
Torn & Frayed

I thought I was the only one with this problem. For me my first shotgun was a Winchester 410 Model 37, with the "red letter" Winchester on the bottom of the receiver. I hunted and shot with this gun from the time that I was about 10 or 11 until I went into the military. Later I sold it.... I've regretted it ever since.

It was not an uncommon gun when I was growing up, but as I browse the gun shows now, the "red letter" versions, especially in that gauge are now expensive collectors items. I have yet to find one in the nice condition that mine was in, at a price that seems reasonable. And they are rare in almost any condition.

But one day I will replace it, just to have one of the companions of my youth!

Best Regards, Les

__________________
SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I have always wanted a 410 double if I was still into rabbit hunting I would buy one, a few years ago I was in a high end gun shop, they had a pair of 410's, I don't know what kind they were, asking price was 30K

__________________
Don

Well, my problem solved itself.
By the time I got back to the guy with the Fox B, it was sold. The guy asked if I'd be interested in this other 16 gauge SxS. It is a Stevens 311(not "A") 28" Modified/Full made in 1959 by date code. It was $290 shipped and as you might guess has a new home!!! !!!!! Pics will follow when it gets here (bought it online).

Best,
Charles

I like the Savage/Stevens SxS shotguns, owned a bunch over the years. They are not hand fitted like some of the finer guns out there but are very strong and total workhorses that hold up well for those that hunt a lot. I have a 20 ga 311 that was fired little and stored wrong, it has a lot of rust on it. I use it for a rainy day back up hunting gun to save the Beretta. The last Saturday we hunted Pheasants it rained and turned to heavy snow, the 311 was with me.

Glad it worked out for you finding the replacement. Did it have the barrel length you wanted? Still time to hunt with it, have fun. Larry

Wow what luck, you should buy a lottery ticket.

__________________
Don

Man!! I like a story with a good ending!!! Good luck and enjoy. As for me, I am a pitiful sort. I have never owned anything that was as good as the "want" that went with it.

I hope you went out and bought a lottery ticket too. Ya dun gud!

__________________
Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

It arrived today!!! It "fits" & feels just I like I remember my old one did!







It is a 311A & dates by date code to 1959. It is marked 311 on the left and 311A on the right in a much smaller font.

Best,
Charles

The good thing is there is still time to go hunting with it, nothing like a good old Stevens. It has walnut for the stock, found a nice gun. Larry

Brad,
Now, we need to get together and throw some clays!!! JohnRippert is invited too!!

Charles