A weird shotgun

[Jim]

Anybody ever seen a STEVENS MODEL 124 (http://fgsp.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/a-most-unusual-shotgun/)? This is a weird gun!

[Frosty Boolit]

Somebody gave one to my buddy whilst he was down in New Orleans. Functioned great when shooting clays but a bit tough for doubles!

[starmac]

Easy to see why they wern't very popular, and are not on the classic list.

[oldhickory]

A neighbor had one years ago, I didn't like it then either.

[Geraldo]

Jim,

Apparently Stevens liked this system back in the day. I had a Stevens 87A in .22 that worked basically the same way, and could be fired in either of two ways. Bolt in locked it battery and the action could be worked manually. Bolt out it fired as a semi-auto. Do you think the shotgun can be fired in either mode?

[Jim]

No Sir. If the bolt handle is out, it will not fire. Furthermore, there is no spring to return the bolt to battery. It is truly a manually operated shotgun.
I think I like it just because it IS weird. "Like father, like son"?:bigsmyl2:

[cheese1566]

I have one in the locker. In OK shape, but the stock is cracked from use over the years. I looked it up and see that Numrich has some parts and stocks for them, but a little pricey.

[Bret4207]

Yup, there's one sitting in a shop near here last I knew. Been there for years.

[Taylor]

I like it.

[steg]

I like it too, I tend to like the odd ball guns.......

[Geraldo]

Well, Jim, it is weird. Makes you wonder what exactly they were aiming at, since pumps and semi-autos had been available for decades. I think the coolest part is that it represents a time when firearms companies would still take a flyer on a certain model and see what happened, rather than the current fad of "make what everybody else is making".

[gnoahhh]

My dad had one, but only because he collected Savage/Stevens. That was the only gun I quickly got rid of when I inherited his collection. Steven's answer to a question that didn't exist.

[Trey45]

Do you think that it could have been marketed to areas where semi auto shotguns were not allowed for hunting? I'm just speculating here.

[Farmall]

There has been one of these in a gunshop near me for years....I am 37, and I remember looking at it when I wasn't old enough to buy a gun legally.

It took me a few years to figure out that it wasn't an automatic!

I suppose these may have been a way for Stevens to share parts common to pump and autoloading shotguns, in an effort to control costs.

I too like oddbal guns, and just might have to take that one home someday.

Andy

[starmac]

I have an idea it was cheaper to build than a pump or an auto, and like said in one of the above post might have used some of the parts from them to keep tooling cost down. It was probably marketed as a cheap alternative for a repeater.

[Olevern]

Nope, think I'll pass.

[pjh421]

Kinda reminds me of the Ross rifle. Interesting shotgun but I'd rather have a nice Browning double.

Paul

[woody1]

I have an idea it was cheaper to build than a pump or an auto, and like said in one of the above post might have used some of the parts from them to keep tooling cost down. It was probably marketed as a cheap alternative for a repeater.

In the 1949 Shooters Bible the Stevens 124 was listed at about half the price of the Stevens 620, the lowest priced pump shotgun. At $32.45, it was a little over a third the price of a Model 12. The New-Low Cost Repeating Shotgun
"Now you can be the proud owner of a modern, fast handling, 12 gauge repeating shotgun at a sensationally low price"...... and on and on.. Regards, Woody