A friend has a 311 that was purchased new by Grandpa, sometime in the late thirties. It is a 16 gauge, wood stocked gun. Grandpa, father, and now son have all used the gun, hard, and while it shows this use, it has never broken or failed to fire.
Gun actually has a walnut stock. Sometimes, old guns such as these call into question the term "best". One family got a ton of value out of their Grandfather's money, that much is certain.
Best,
Ted