Apr. 20, 1915, refers to the patent date of Patent No. 1,136,247 granted to G.S. Lewis and assigned to the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. of Chicopee Falls, Mass. This patent covers a hammerless double with coil-spring driven strikers, rather than internal hammers rotating about an axle. From the time of the patent until WW-II this action was used on a number of different Stevens, Riverside and Springfield doubles as well as many marked with a variety of "trade names." The gun of this design was introduced in 12- and 16-gauge as the Riverside No. 315 in the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. Catalogue No. 54, with a list price of $16.50. The plants of the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. were taken over by, as I recall, New England Westinghouse for wartime production during WW-I. After The Great War they were sold off to Savage Arms Corp. and became J. Stevens Arms Co. J. Stevens Arms Co. continued to make this gun during the 1920s as the Riverside No. 315. By 1925 the 20-gauge and .410-bore were added to the No. 315. The same action was also introduced as the Stevens No. 330 with a capped pistol grip walnut stock, while the Riverside had a half-pistol grip walnut stock. My Mother's double marked "Ranger" was one of these. By 1930 they dropped the Riverside name and the gun was the Springfield No. 315. For 1931 they introduced the Springfield No. 311 which was a similar gun but with an uncheckered "walnut finish" stock. These guns remained in the line up to WW-II.
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