doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Stevens 311 16 Ga. on a 16 Ga. frame?

About 20 years ago I bought a Eastern Arms 101-7/511 made by J. Stevens and I believe it to be a 1940 vintage. The gun is my wife's and has seen very little use. Case colors are bright and the gun is very close to new in appearance. I don't know what the value is, but probably more than the $125 that I paid for it.
I think that my eyes are deceiving me because the gun appears to be built on a smaller frame than others that I remember seeing. Has Stevens ever built a 311 16 Ga. on a 16 Ga. frame?

Not sure, but it seems to me that they just had two frame sizes; 12ga and everything else. The 12s are clunky in my hand and the 20s are too. The 16, like Goldilocks's porridge is 'just right'...Geo

I have one sitting here in front of me..like Geo. N says not sure what the frame size is, but except for being a tad heavy, feels pretty good....Nice piece of wood too...Gift from the Mother in Law's spring cleaning...Son already claimed it..

I have one in 16 as well ,and the frame seem's to be the exact same as the the 20 gauge,but the 16 is by far one of the nicest pointing/handleing shotgun's one could ever wish for...everyone to a person who hold's it can't put it down..no kidding!

A regret and a lesson learned was at the expense of a Steven 16ga, 5100, forerunner of the 311.

I bought one 20 years ago , I had to take a bunch of guns from a seller, an all or none proposition. The Stevens had 28" barrels and was in about 90% condition, lot's of color left also. It cost me $100.

I was new to doubles and this was in one of the periods that short barrels were coming into favor. A friend took me woodcock hunting just before the acquisition, I used a 12ga Browning pump had a tough go of it. I then started doing some reading and found out that for the tough cover and short shots that most woodcock hunting is done in a double with all the choke cut out is the ideal gun.

I will say in my defense I did a very nice job of butchering that little gun, it's now 24", CYL/CYL, patterns well and I even filled in the space between the muzzles.

Never used it again, it sits on the rack as a reminder that when in need, get another gun.

It's good to hear such kind remarks about the 16 gauge Stevens. One of my best shooting memories involved a 16 gauge Stevens that I purchased years ago (around 1980)for $35. It was a cosmetic mess, pieces of the stock were cracked off on both sides of the receiver from shooting it with a loose stock bolt. The barrels were all mottled from an abandoned bluing stripping project. It looked terrible, but it was tight on face and the barrels were in good condition as was the action. Before I had a chance to do any more then tighten the stock bolt I took it to a trap range to check it out. I was teamed with two guys shooting some extremely nice 12 gauge O/U's. They looked at my gun and then at me like I was something stuck to the bottom of their shoe. I then nervously blurted out that I hadn't fired a shotgun in about 15 years, their contempt was almost unbearable. The first round I shot a 20/25 with the 16 guage, the two guys shot an 8/25 and 9/25. This was Texas and most people shoot skeet. The second round I shot a 21/25 and their scores remained the same. After I took my last shot I turned around and both guys had disappeared. It is true that success is the sweetest revenge. Like a fool I sold the gun several years later, I sure wish I hadn't.
Steve

I had a 16 ga 5100 and a 12. The 12 was about 1/16" wider across the fence; didn't measure across the bottom of the receiver.

How does everyone here determine what is a different frame & what is the same frame.
My personal take on this is to be considered a different frame the entire frame has to be proportioned to the gauge. If only the "Balls" are varied in height & width to mate up with different gauge bbls but the entire rest of the frame; bar, basic action etc remains constant I pesonally consider this as being built on the same frame.

My 5100 16ga w/ 28" barrels is a hair under 7 pounds. Nice to see these guns getting a little appreciation!

Rob, I have a 5100 in 20 ga. Restocked with a straight grip, had two inches cut off the barrels, and it is my woodcock gun. With no choking, it is also better on the skeet field then I am. Last year I bought a 311a 16 ga that needs something done with the barrels to open them up.

I saved the stock of the 5100 and cut it down for youth; when grandson comes up to shoot, I switch stocks and he is ready to burn thru some shells.

Some may say I butchered the gun, I think I modified to get maximum use out of it.