Weird Pump - kinda neat though

[Steve McCarty]

Okay all of you gun gurus out there, what is this pump shotgun? I think I've seen pictures of them before. It has two markings, Western Field, which I think is Sears on the left side of the receiver and a nicely engraved dog. On the left side of the tube near the breach is marked "Browning Patient 12 GA Proof Tested". Looks like 2.5 and no choke markings. A pawn shop find that was so cheap and so interesting that I had to buy it just a few hours ago.

Safety is just in front of the trigger. Action feels very smooth and the steel, which has been cleaned to white overall looks excellent. Quality appears to be excellent too. Very nice wood. Gun would look very nice if browned.

Kind of interesting how it comes apart. Locking lug is on the top of the receiver.

What is this beast?

Thanks in advance.
SM

[Steve McCarty]

I bought this strange Browning because I trust Browning designs and it looks like a turn of the 19th Century gun and with a little work it'll clean up to be very nice. The machining is spectacular which is what drives many of us wild about 19th Century guns.

I removed the barrel and cleaned the tube and she is nice and shinny inside. Very little rust. It still has some white buffing paste here and there. Someone obviously wanted to gussy the gun up and then pawned it instead.

I also found a very faint WW (Winchester Western?) PAT mark inside in between the barrel lugs.

[Andros Theophanous]

Steve, I believe that is an ole' Stevens browning model 520, most people called it the hump-back model due to its unusual reciver, I am familiar with the gun because my Grampa owns a model 620. And I would like to inform you it is a takedown, all you do is turn the mag tube slightly pull the barrel down and forward the pump than slide it off the reciver.

[Drew Hause]

Western Field was a Wards tradename

[Steve McCarty]

Thanks gents. I discovered that Wards sold these too, apparently in the 30s. It does not save Stevens anywere on the gun. I discovered that it is a take down when I took it apart, doing it backwards however. Unscrewed the magazine plug screw and off she popped and the long magazine spring flew across the room along with the plug! Found'em though.

It is a very nice gun. I read that most are 16s and 20s and that 12s are rare, but I don't know it that is true or not.

My guns looks like the one picture posted above. Nice engraved solid rib and machining galore. I discovered how to unscrew the magazine tube a bit and jerk the gun apart. I like the balance, but the gun is heavy.

Anyway a neat, weird shotgun find! She cycles quickly and very smooth. I'll bet no one at the club has ever seen one. Should be fun when I break it out of the case!

[Steve McCarty]

My guns is very like a Stevens 520 "double hump back". Later ones had a straight topped receiver. They were sold by Wards and Sears. Sears guns were usually called "Ranger" and are so marked. Some were used as riot guns by the military during WWII.

Apparently it will slam fire like early Model 12s. The safety is a lever right front of the trigger inside the trigger guard. Different, but easy to find!

Anyway, thanks gents for all of your help. Oh, it's a 2 3/4 gun and all of them were. Stevens made a highly engraved $100 model. They also made 28, 30 and 32 inch tubes, mine is a 30 which is what they all came in unless a special order.

[Drew Hause]

[charlie cleveland]

i have a 20 ga in this type old gun..mine was sold through mongomory wards..well made guns and point and shoot well... charlie

[Steve McCarty]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

i have a 20 ga in this type old gun..mine was sold through mongomory wards..well made guns and point and shoot well... charlie

Charlie, have you shot your 20? It feels very smooth to me, no hitches or jerks when working the action. Gun nuts know of Stevens but we don't hear of them much today. I think they hooked up with Savage, which, of course, is still going strong. So I guess one can think of a Savage as also being a sorta Stevens.

[Steve McCarty]

It is interesting how this gun breaks in two. I've never seen anything like it. You unscrew the magazine, it has finger groves on it to help with your grip. First you jack the action back, then grab the magazine where you see the grip place and unscrew it a little. This draws a lock back and allows you to push the barrel up a series of slots and out of the top of the receiver. It comes apart with the barrel and magazine group. It doesn't happen easily though. I have to tap the bottom of the barrel behind the magazine with a mallet. When I removed the barrel it didn't look like it had been removed for a long time, so it sticks.

The massive amount of machining required to make this gun is just amazing. It feels "quality" and the wood is very nice. All told, the Stevens model 520 just might be one of those "sleepers". You'll never pay over $150 for one. A model 12 of similar age will cost you $500 to $600.