Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors J. Stevens Model 200 20 GA

There wasn't a Stevens collectors forum, so I will try this here.

I have a J-Stevens Model 200 20 ga Shotgun manufactured 1912. From what I have read this is was one of the first, if not the first hammerless pump shotgun.

Any of you know how much this might be worth? Now I would put it in fair to good condition, as it is missing the barrel wrench, that supposedly came with it, and the barrel is a little loose.

Any help would be great.

Thanks

Not real uppity on Stevens shotguns but are you sure it's not a model 520?

The model 200 was far from the first hammerless - Spensor, Union 24's & 50, Remington model 10 and the Stevens 520 all came out earlier; the Winchester 1912 and Meriden No 200 came out at about the same time.

They were only made in 20 gauge so it might have been the first in 20 gauge. They had 3" chambers - which surprised me, I didn't realize the 20 gauge 3" went back that far. (I have been warned against shooting them - definatly would not shoot 3" if I ever did!!!!).

Here is a link that has some more info on them - Stevens model 200

Are you sure the spanner wrench is missing? It's attached to the cap on the magazine tube which just screws out, part 86.

Ok, I'll bite. Why should one be warned not to fire one?

A parts dealer said that when he sold a friend parts for one so I am passing on second hand info that was passed to me - he has seen a few and considers them to be of marginal strength for modern loads - he did not elaborate any farther. I don't think they would be a problem if one did not shoot modern 3" loads in them. It is a very complicted action and it may have been more because parts could break than as a saftey issue, parts seem to be hard to find.

I probably should have questioned the reason further but the original source has dealt gun parts for many years in the midwest and I have found his information to be a very reliable.

There is no reason not to shoot the shotgun with 3 in shells it was made for them. if it is loose or has a lock up problem then it needs repaired like any other shotgun with problems.

Just someones opnion does not count unless they have written proof of it. old wives tales have caused more false opnions than any real problems..

send it to me I will hunt with it.

All well and good, but remember 3" shells from back when that gun was made (either 20 or 12 gauge) weren't the high velocity rip-snorters that we enjoy(?) today. The payloads those early 3" shells threw was equivalent to the standard 2 3/4" "high brass" shells of today. A lot of people make the mistake of firing modern 3" magnums in 20's-era guns that were never intended for all that commotion, and then they wonder why things break and/or get loose quickly. And God forbid an unsuspecting soul fires a diet of 3" magnum steel shot through one and in addition to early failure of the mechanism he wonders why his muzzle is slightly mis-shapen from trying to make that unforgiving shot column of steel compress through the choke. I know of a guy who out of ignorance ruined a perfectly good L.C.Smith Longrange Gun, 3" chambers, vintage 1926, by doing those very tricks.

nobody said anything about using steel shot in it. also even the three inch mags has the same chamber pressure it just has more powder that burns slower to keep the pressure up longer..

What is the guys name that ruined a LC Smith 3in by shooting 3 in shells in it..I would like to talk to him as to what shell he was using.

Didn't say you did. Re-read my posting. Pressures of modern 3" shells are indeed loaded to SAAMI specs (which weren't in existence in the 20's by the way), but as you alluded the pressure impulse is much longer and hence has a much longer time to exert its force on the action. Simple fact: if one subjects these old shotguns to a steady diet of modern 3" shells things wear out quicker and they will get loose quicker.

The guys name is moot. He died 11 years ago. He goose hunted hunted with us for years, shooting whatever 3" magnum steel loads were on sale. We advised him repeatedly that he was subjecting that poor gun to a lot more abuse than it was ever intended for. When his widow offered that gun to us (our private little hunting club) as a token of friendship, it was so far off face that you could slide a business card between the barrels and the standing breech, plus the bottom rib was loose over half its length and the chokes (which had the standard factory boring Hunter Arms used on these models- full and full) were out of round, the right one was visibly bulged, and the bores were visibly scored. On top of that there were two fresh tang cracks due to the incessant beating it took.

My personal waterfowl gun is also an Ideal grade Smith Longrange model which I have been using exclusively for six years now. Even though it is chambered for 3" shells, not a one has gone down the pipes. Hand loads in 2 3/4" hulls using 1 1/8-1 1/4 ounce loads of either Bismuth or Nice Shot at 1200 fps keep my freezer full of Mallards and Canada Geese, and my gun has no tang cracks and is as tight as the day it left the factory in 1924 (one of the very first of that model they made).