I owned a 12 gauge Sportsman 58 for a short while. It is a reliable shotgun, but was replaced by the 1100, which was a quantum leap up in gas operated shotgun evolution. The 58 was Remington's first gas shotgun and used an internal piston in the forward end of the magazine (it was sectioned into two parts, bottom held two shells, then a pinned in place plastic divider, followed by the piston. Piston connected to the action bars using a small, capped stud - on 12 gauge guns these are said to crack - but mine was original and okay. The gold fill on the engraving was aftermarket - it is rolled, but looked pretty decent for it's day - a factory gun would be all blue (receiver and engraving). I like a Polychoke, but it does lower the value of the gun to most buyers. The white diamonds are also an aftermarket installation. Your "instead" purchase of an A-5 for $475.00 was the better decisions (IMO).
