Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters identify my stevens 311

stevens 311 12 ga
30 in barrel
left side of receiver-Stevens modell 311,savage arms corp,chicopee Falls,mass.
right side of receiver -modell 311A
bottom of receiver-18B inside a small circle
underside of forearm
Stamped T & X-- A inside circle -- C inside circle


What do I have-anyone's thoughts welcome

You have a double trigger w/extractors, Stevens 311A, with most likely full chokes (or Mod/Full) - Savage's plain vanilla/utility SxS shotgun, made under various brand names until about 1989.

Unless they've been replaced, the stocks should be a non-walnut hardwood - usually a blond Birch, with a walnut stain.

It was probably the most widely produced SxS ever made.

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you seem to be right on,but what do all the stamp marks mean??

Probably proof marks, proving it's safe to shoot, and the amount of choking in the barrels. The rest means that Savage had bought Stevens by that time. That's just an educated guess, though. The info from Rangr44 is completely right on the mark.

Depending on exactly what they look like to an experienced examiner, and where on the gun they're located, the marks could be assembly numbers or a date code.

You should find a date code stamped on every double-barrel shotgun in the Stevens brands, produced between March 1949 and December 1968.
Usually, it is behind the hinge pin or ahead of the trigger guard on the bottom of the frame.
It will appear as a small circle containing a number and a letter.
The letters correspond to the years shown in the following table.

A 1949 B 1950 C 1951 D 1952 E 1953 F 1954

G 1955 H 1956 I 1957 J 1958 K 1959 L 1960

M 1961 N 1962 P 1963 R 1964 S 1965 T 1966

U 1967 V 1968 W 1969 X1970

Without actually seeing pics, or examining your shotgun, I would make a WAG that it's from 1950.

As long as the condition is good,those are seriously rugged workhorse shotguns.They also marketed a "Fox B" ,which was essentially the same shotgun,with a slightly gussied up beavertail forend stock.
I had a 311 in 20guage with 26" modified and full barrels which I let go in a weak moment some years ago.I still have a Fox B 16 guage with 28" barrels ,also choked modified and full.

I got a Model B brand new in the mid 70's for a hair over $100.00

I'll double your money if your interested

Thanks for the information. I just today received a 311 made for Sears under the JC Higgins name. I took it apart and found a "D" in the circle on the inside of the receiver and the underside of the chamber end of the barrels.

If I understood your post correctly, that would make this shotgun a 1952 model?

Hey guys, I got a Stevens model 311a 12 guage and its date code stamp says K8 so I take that as 1959 but on the receiver when you break it down its got N U and an A in a circle and a B in a circle. Im wondering what that means, from the previous messages I gather that's the barrels classification of the choke?

Nope, the date code will be a letter and number, inside a circle, stamped on the outside of the receiver. I have a 16 gauge 311A made in 1949. It has an American walnut stock and forend {original equipment on early production 311A's} and the date code is stamped on the bottom of the receiver just ahead of the trigger guard.

I've got a 311, don't know the date, but it tends to misfire. I've replaced the firing pins, I guess the springs are next. Looks like light strikes on the primers.