Restoration of Browning Stevens 520 shotgun

[Bill Akins]

Recently I picked up two of the old Browning designed, double hump, slide action, 12 Ga, Western Field (Stevens 520) at auction. This first one is marked "Western Field Montgomery Ward & Co" and although not marked, it is known as the model 30. It is full choke, 30" barrel, and has the in the trigger guard safety (called "suicide safety" similar to early Rem model 11 safeties) so it is the oldest model with that safety since later models came with a behind the trigger guard button (crossbolt) safety (as is the other one I'm restoring) and still later with an upper tang safety. It has nice brown patina. No rust hardly at all so its finish won't be touched other than to clean. I fired it and it operates very smoothly. Although I know from the in the trigger guard safety that this is one of the earliest models, there is no way to know the exact date of any of them prior to the early 1920's because Stevens had a fire that destroyed all their production records prior to the early 1920's. We know they were selling them in 1904 though because catalogs exist from that date showing them. Some folks say they were selling them in 1903 too. So all I can know about this one is that it was made sometime between 1903 or 1904 up through til the early 1920's when they changed the in the trigger guard "suicide safety" to the behind the trigger guard crossbolt "button" safety. But because of the fire (I think it was 1922 the fire happened), we only know about production dates of the ones AFTER the fire. Seems Stevens was being accused and investigated for overcharging the government on a WW1 contract and coincidentally they had a very convenient fire destroying all production records before that date. But I'm sure there was no connection of the fire to the investigation (huge eye roll). After all, "what difference at this point does it make?"....except to collectors who today have no idea nor records of when their Stevens 520's were made prior to the 1922 fire.
Here's some pics of it from the auction same as it looks now.







This next one is also a "double hump" receiver style (earliest of the type's receivers) and is marked "Montgomery Wards Western Field model 35". There was also a single hump "flat top" model one (commissioned by the military as a "trench gun"), and a curved standard receiver looking one too called the Steven's 620. They were sold under many brand names like "Sears Ranger", "Wards Western Field", "Stevens 520", "Western Auto", "Savage", "520", 520A", "model 30", "model 35" and several others I can't recall. But they are all the same basic John Browning design easy take down barrel, bolt locking in cutout on upper receiver, that Browning sold his patent to Stevens in 1903. For more info on the different models see these links.....

Threads and disassembly
http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=269484

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/sh...odel-30-a.html

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthre...Stevens-520-30

Parts
http://www.gun-parts.com/savageshotgun/

Military manual for 520/620 Stevens shotguns
http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/car...9_285_1942.pdf

Articles
http://www.guns.com/review/montgomer...western-field/

http://www.gunvaluesboard.com/steven...uide-2617.html

Browning patent
https://www.google.com/patents/US781765?dq=781765

Unlike my first above one, this one has the crossbolt button safety behind the trigger guard. This is the one I am restoring. I picked it up very cheap as a parts gun since the gunshop selling it at auction said it did not operate and was selling it as parts or a wallhanger and called it a "gunsmith special" Lol. I disassembled it and found out why. Broken firing pin and worn out slide action bar notch and loading tube nut had the little protrusion broken off that holds the slide bar in position as it goes into the receiver.. That was all that was mechanically wrong with it and relatively cheap and easy to fix. I already have the parts ordered and on the way from Numrich as well as a new Boyds butt stock since the old one wasn't even the correct butt stock and did not match the tangs and looked like a stock from another model gun entirely and modified to fit....but fit badly and looked like its butt plate had been cut off with a hacksaw. It would work, but looked butt ugly (pun intended). It had a lot of moderate (but not extremely deep) rust all over it and someone had cut the barrel (bead sight on order too) and added a Mossberg heat shield to the barrel in a lame attempt to make it look like the "trench gun" model. Bubba struck again. I originally bought it for parts for my first above one. But after a thorough inspection, I decided it was worth restoring on its own and not to use it for a parts gun. It actually was rusted/pitted a bit more than it looks in the auction photos so I had no qualms about restoring it nor ruining its historical value since that had already been ruined by Bubba. From one of the articles in my links, the author says the model 35 (this one) was made between 1938 to 1939. Here's the pics of what it looked like on the auction.







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[Bill Akins]

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You can see from the last pic that it had a lot of moderately deep rust all over it. She looked pretty sad as a Bubba victim.

Below, how she looks now after a through cleaning, removal of the heat shield (I won't be reinstalling it), and several hours of initial buffing to remove rust and pits. I haven't finished the final polish buffing yet but she looks TONS better. And now it is easy to clearly see all the markings. I'm undecided on the finish to put on it, but I may even keep it "in the white" and just wax it.



If you look closely on below pic you can see the little "keeper" protrusion on the tube locking nut that positions the slide bar as it goes into the receiver has been broken off. You have to be very familiar with the gun to know and notice that. New nut arriving today.


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[Bill Akins]

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Don't that Browning receiver with its double hump remind you somewhat of the Browning military BAR receiver? The later single hump "flat top" one the military commissioned as trench guns reminds me of my Browning auto 5 and my Remy 11's. It has been said that Browning made this slide action pump as a cheaper alternative to his auto 5 and the Remy 11 semi autos. Talk about a retro antique looking slide action shotgun huh? I just love the way it looks. Ugly to some, a beautiful retro looking antique to me. Also this was the very first hammerless (non exposed hammer to be exact) slide action shotgun.


See how the bolt locking lug locks in the cutout at the top of the receiver? All the versions of this did, from the earliest Stevens 520 ones to the last Savage model 620 models. They were also all quick take down barrels on all them. Barrel, fore end and loading tube all comes off quickly as a unit.


New Boyds butt stock, loading tube nut and front sight bead (that I will have to drill and thread the barrel for) parts from Numrich will arrive today according to UPS tracking. I still need to get the firing pin and slide bar but already have them located on ebay since Numrich was out of them. I will update this thread as the new parts come in and I finish my final buffing and polishing. Maybe even a vid of it firing later on. All for now.

P.S. Almost forgot....These can be "slam fired" (not correct term but you know what I mean)....trigger held down and pump fore end and it will fire....just like an Ithaca.



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[The Rattler]

Looks like a very interesting project. Let us know how it's going.

[Bill Akins]

The Numrich parts came in. The stock from Numrich is the Boyd's stock and is the same price at Numrich that Boyds charges. The loading tube nut and front sight bead came in too as well as a spare bridge I bought for the bolt carrier/accelerator or whatever the correct term is. The tube nut needs a little jeweler filing done on it on one spot for its keystone part on one side to fit tightly, but I haven't had time to get to filing it yet. I did measure and align and drill the hole for the threaded front sight bead but I didn't have a 3x56 tap for its threads and need to order one to thread the hole. The stock fits pretty well but the wood is about 3/16ths high on one side where it meets the receiver and a little higher than that in a couple of other spots. But I can easily sand that down. Better to have more wood than needed than not enough. Overall I'd say Boyd's did an excellent job on these replacement stocks. Nice grain. Very well machined. I still need to either weld some more metal onto my slide bar's hook so it won't continue to slip off and not bring the bolt forward, or order a new one and I still need a firing pin to replace my broken one. I'll order those next. But here's the pics of what it looks like now so far.

New old stock tube nut from Numrich. Notice the thin vertical projection on its right side? That's what positions and keeps the slide bar aligned as it goes into the receiver. That thin projection was broken off the nut when I got it. New front sight bead present in pic too as is spare bolt carrier/accelerator bridge I picked up just in case I needed one later. Need to get the 3x56 tap to thread the hole I drilled in the barrel for the front sight bead.


New Boyds replacement stock from Numrich. Nice grain.




Nice machining on the Boyds stock. Boyds makes very nice stocks. We selected Boyds to make our original Akins Accelerator wooden bumpfire rifle stocks.






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[Bill Akins]

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[Bill Akins]

From this non operating antique junker listed as a "Gunsmith special wallhanger" on gunbroker that I got for $50.00.....



and this....


and this....



To this....


Just takes some TLC, a little time, buffing, and a few replacement parts to often times turn what others thought was just a junker wall hanger or parts gun back into a beautiful operating antique firearm. I'll update again when I either weld fix my old slide bar hook or order a new one and either weld fix my firing pin or order a new one. Might do a video of it firing eventually too. All for now.



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[FITASC]

The stock fits pretty well but the wood is about 3/16ths high on one side where it meets the receiver and a little higher than that in a couple of other spots. But I can easily sand that down.

That's called "proud" and the wood is like that to allow a refinishing down the road where you will sand it some.

NICE JOB!.

[Bill Akins]

Yes I know FITASC. But the wood is only high on one side. The other side isn't. Also the wood is a little low in the tang area so a little bit of the tang sticks up higher than the wood. But I have to give Boyds some latitude here because it still fits pretty well even though there were numerous design changes to the original Browning designed Stevens 520 so I can see how there would be slight variations in dimensions from one model to another. I can't remember every single model designation, but offhand I can remember Browning/Stevens 520, Sears Ranger, Wards Western Field model 30, Wards Western Field model 35, model 520A, model 620 and I know there were others. So overall I give Boyds credit for their replacement stock fitting as well as it does and I'm grateful it was available for such an old shotgun.


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[Bill Akins]

Update: On Saturday, I mig welded the broken firing pin. First I ground to a chisel point, both sections, then clamped them together, so that there would be a deep weld on both sides giving maximum strength, and so the pieces would not move/bend to the heat of the weld. I didn't take any pics of the chisel points before the weld, but they are there. Here's a few pics of the pieces clamped down and freshly welded on one side. After welding each side, I ground that side back down so I could turn it over, clamp it down, and do the same thing to the other side. I did this twice for each side, filling in voids and pin holes til I was satisfied enough with the strength and finish of the weld even though it will never be seen inside the gun. Actually I left the weld just a teeny bit high in several areas just to give extra strength and it fits fine and slides fine inside the bolt.





I welded each side and top and bottom all around the broken firing pin. I even welded into the notch to make sure I filled in the break there too and later filed the notch back out with a triangular file (but forgot to take pics of the notch filed back out).







All in all it came out very well. I even blued it after I filed the notch back out (but forgot to take final pics of that with it blued).



I took it out today to my shooting berm and fired five rounds through it and it functioned perfectly. I just had to keep upward tension on the slide action bar or else it would slide off the bolt. That's the next thing I have to do a weld on to add a little material to what's worn off the hook on the action bar that grabs the bolt as well as epoxy the action bar around its rivets and micro cracks on the thin tube under the fore end wood to strengthen and tighten that area up. Then install the front sight. I already drilled the hole just need to get a tap for the screw in front sight. All for now, will update later as I do more. But at least at this point it fires.



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[Hawg]

Looks good. I have one of those and a single hump.

[Bill Akins]

Hawg wrote:
Looks good. I have one of those and a single hump.

They really are fine quality shotguns aren't they Hawg?
All good quality steel and wood. No plastic. Incredible machining,
take down barrel shotguns. In this age of plastic trigger guards and
manufacturers cutting corners on machining and quality, these old school
quality shotguns would cost $2000.00 (or more) if made today. They really are "sleepers" on the market going for low dollars, except for the single hump "Trench gun" with bayonet lug and barrel shroud versions with military markings that go for higher dollars, but even those are still incredible deals compared to what it would cost for the quality steel and machining today that are in these fine John Browning designed shotguns.


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[Bill DeShivs]

Beautiful polish job!

[Bill Akins]

Bill DeShivs wrote:

Beautiful polish job!

Thanks Bill, glad you like it. Yes there are more than a few hours on the buffer on it.


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[Bill Akins]

Here's an update to my restoration of my Browning/Stevens 520/Wards model 35 antique slide action shotgun.

As you all know, the hook of my slide bar was sliding off the bolt and frequently not bringing the bolt back forward. As discussed in this thread, the slide bar is riveted to a tube that goes under the wooden fore end and sometimes those rivets get loose and also small stress fractures occur in that thin tube that in addition to loose rivets, also cause the slide bar to get loose and move upward and downward when it shouldn't and thus make the slide bar's hook not engage correctly on the bolt and it slips off the bolt when you slide the fore end forward.

A couple of days ago I disassembled the forearm and slide action and epoxied (JB Weld epoxy) the stress fractures and also epoxied the sides of the slide bar to the thin tube. I had thought previously that I might also have to mig weld a little extension onto the slide bar's hook. But as it turned out, that wasn't necessary. The epoxy took care of all unwanted vertical movement in the slide bar and now the slide bar's hook deeply engages the bolt and no longer slips off. Super. Mission accomplished. Now all I need to do to complete the restoration is to get a 3x56 tap to install my front bead sight that I have already drilled the hole for.

When I get the front sight on, I'll try to get some video of me firing it and post it here. Here's the pics of me epoxying the slide bar to the fore end tube which is NOT the mag tube but is the thin tube that goes OVER the mag tube and that is inside the wooden fore end.

In this pic, notice the stress fracture to the right of the slot in the tube where the action bar goes into the tube (but not beyond the thickness of the tube) where the action bar is riveted to the tube.


And here's a pic of the OTHER 2nd stress fracture on the other side of the slot. What that does is causes the thin tube in that area to flex at the stress fracture point when stress is exerted on the slide bar, thus making the thin tube itself flex which moves the slide bar vertically and makes it's hook slide off the bolt. There were several stress fractures on both sides of the slot.


After applying JB weld epoxy over the stress fractures and also onto the slide bar epoxying it to the thin tube instead of just relying on the rivets to hold the bar to the thin tube.


Another pic of epoxying over the OTHER stress fracture. Also on this side of the action bar I also epoxied the bar to the thin tube. So not only did I epoxy the stress fractures in the thin fore end tube (not the mag tube), but I also epoxied the action bar itself to the thin tube rather than relying just on ancient rivets to hold the bar tightly to the tube. The rivets were a little loose and coupled with the stress fractures on each side of the slot on the tube, that is what was causing the vertical movement that made the action bar's hook slide off the bolt when cycling the action.


And here's a pic of the action bar's hook deeply and properly engaging in the recess on the bolt and not being loose anymore. I have cycled it dozens of times now to check it and it hasn't slipped off the bolt.


I'll post again when I get the front sight installed and hopefully a video of it firing.


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[kozak6]

What a wonderful project!

Did you end up bluing it? What kind of method did you use?

[Bill Akins]

Thanks Kozak6. Glad you liked it. No I haven't blued it. Not sure if I'm going to. I kind of like the polished bare metal look. Almost looks like it's nickel plated. May keep it that way and just keep it waxed. What would be cool though would be for me to find someone to case harden the receiver in a heavy rainbow color like on some old Winchesters and then find someone that could put a deep beautiful blue on the rest of it like a fine Colt Python has. That would be pretty. Otherwise I think I'll keep it as is and just wax it.


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