I always have heard good about these guns. I finally nabbed one on gunbroker. Won't get to see it in hand until next week, but it does have checkering on stock and forend. Who has experience with these old guns?

I have one that belonged to my Dad. Its a 31L with aluminum receiver. Very light and kicks like an angry mule. I killed my first 3 deer with it before I got a rifle plus a couple of ducks, some doves, and a squirrel or two when I was a kid. I used to shoot it all the time way back in the day. It has a very smooth action.

Mine is not checkered but has ribs on the forend. I think they quit making them in the 1950's sometime and I assume they were replaced by the 870.

Yes, I think 1949 was their last run. I have seen the ones with the corncob forend and smooth rear stock in photos.

Very nice shotguns... my son restocked one in some fancy maple when he was 10. His wife shoots it a bit and it works beautifully. No smoother action out there. I also got a screaming deal on a 16 a few years ago and gave it to Riley for Christmas that year. IMO, the best of the old pumps, hands down.

The Sportsman 48 was the lead-up to the 870. The 31 is not even close to the same gun. I think the swap to the 48 and end of the 31 was a little earlier and they made the 48 and the 870 together for quite a long time, but the 48 was first. 48 and 870 barrels are interchangeable, too.

I may be showing my ignorance but isn't the model 48 a semi auto? As I remember the story they were just a round receiviered copy of the hump back model 11. They were both long recoil autos IIRC. My above statement may be proof that I don't know Remingtons and should stick with what I know, Winchesters. Back to the subject of the model 31 pump gun. I have had several over the years. These were built in an era when Remington took pride in their work. Except for the lightweight aluminum recievered model, the model 31's were made of milled steel including the trigger group. No mystery metal casings, mim, or stamped parts. These guns were well received and rugged. I read a report somewhere that their use as military training guns for air crews and had few instances of failure or fatigue reported. Remington during the war knew it would not last forever and was in development of new sporting arms for the fighting men when they got home. It was almost universally desired to make the guns lighter and cheaper. Knowing this, the expensive to make model 31 was soon to be scraped for a cheaper to make model. If I wasn't so heavily invested in Winchester model 12's the model 31's would be my main interest. Great guns.

I've had four different twelve gauges, still have two of them. I too think they are the best of the classic pump guns. The screwy thing is that Remington redesigned the guns twice in the eighteen years they made them. It's not obvious what they accomplished by doing that but it certainly didn't make them worse. It's a really well thought out design, not cheap to make as noted, but looks great and works slick.

Very nice handling guns. Turned into the Mossberg 500. They found a way to make it cheap. But not as Smooth !

This one looks like is has some type of finish wearing off on the stock, would you or Riley have some time this winter to take a look at some photos and give me a steer on it?

I love pump guns.. I have half a dozen 870' s , a couple model 12s, a BPS, a 97, a moss 835, and i have had 4 or 5 model 37's.. My model 31 is a 12, with a solid rib 30" full choke.. Typical of pumps from that era... I just love it.. The full choke is not my favorite, but it is a great gun.. It was listed as the pump with a ball bearing action.. That is true...

what's your fave of those pumpguns for sage chickens?

Just saw this... you are absolutely correct. No idea what I was thinking!

The 48 is the semi-auto... It is the Sportsman 12 I was confusing... They are a bit obscure and not the model 12 pump 22lr.

the Mossberg 500 could never be confused with the 31 in hand... They took out the bearings and added coarse sand... They added weight and made it clumsy... the 31 just feels good, the 500, not so much...

The finish on ones i have played with is very, very easy to play with and clean up. No problem to help you with it.

I assume you have a 12?

heck no. I am a sub gauge man of late. a cute little 20 ga.

I can probably lay hands on the old stock from Riley's 31. It is in fine shape IIRC. Yours if you want it. Though the finish on a 31 is a short project to fix.

Thanks!! I will send you mine to play around with. send me a PM yours are always full. (hate mail, maybe? :D)

Yep, a 20 ga with MOD barrel. Beautiful guns. You’ll be impressed, and fall in love with it.

I have two M31's in 12ga, one is a 31-S and the other a 31-H, both with solid rib 30" full choke barrels. They have been death on clay birds and open country dove. I also have a M31 standard in 16ga. It hasn't received a whole lot of play as I have had my 16ga M12 longer and gravitate to it whenever the need arises.

My Dad had a M31 solid rib skeet that I sold for some new fangled mess when I was young and stupid. This model will always have a special place in my heart that no 870 will ever fill.

I just scraped away a little funk from the underside of the barrel and found the date code. it is August 1933!
I can't wait to get this out where I can test fire it.

Remingtons first pump, the model 10, was first sold in 08 and was first called the M-10 in 1911. Next was the M-17, a 20ga pump first sold in 1919; and the M-29, first sold in 1929. All these pumps had bottom eject. The 31 replaced everything and was the first side eject model first sold in 1931. In 1933 they offered them in 16 and 20ga. They were sold from 31 to 1949 when the 870 replaced them. 1941 was when they also offered them as lightweights with a aluminum receiver. The 870 Wingmaster came out in 1950 replacing the M-31. In 18 years 189,243 M-31s were made. I'm getting a little old so I only shoot clay birds. I have a M-10, 31, and 870, a dozen or so Remington SxSs, and only shoot 3/4oz loads, so even with my lightweight 31 recoil is not a problem. The Model 12 Remington is a 22 pump rifle. Mine will chamber 22 short, long, and long rifle. It's recommended not to shoot the new hyper 22 LRs in them. It too is a nice pumping gun. It was made from 09 to 1937 and one of their best selling guns with 831,737 of them made.

The Remington "Sportsman 12" is an 870 variation designated so with engraved name that does not include "870" anywhere on it.

there is a beat up Model 10 on GB now, starting at $150 with no bids yet.
I thought the Model 17 started production in 1921 due to war delay, but could be 1919. Mine is 4 digits S/N under 5,000.

I took out model 31 Christmas morning and it shoots and cycles fine, I can't wait to kill something with it. Needs a plug but I can handle that easily.

I have two, 12 gauge vent rib skeet gun with a factory cutts and a 16 gauge 28 inch modified with a extra 26 inch skeet barrel also cutts. Very smooth action, easy to take down and clean. I find that they are stocked a little low for me and I tend to lift my head on wild birds to see the bird clearly. On the skeet field that is not a problem since I have my head firmly planted. I shoot pheasants better with my Model 12 Winchester since it fits me better, however it is not even close to the smooth action of the 31. I also look for them at gun shops and shows. Nice guns with very precise machining on the inside of the receiver. Old school quality from the 30's and 40's. No plastic and no stamped parts.

The 31's don't bring the big prices that the Model 12 Winchesters do, but I actually prefer them. For a gun to shoot and not just collect, I even prefer the 870 over the Model 12. I have a couple nice Model 12's back in the safe, but I prefer the Remingtons for actual use.

+1

When this topic comes up, and I wish to stir the pot, I opine that if the Model 31 had had a 19 year head start, and the Model 12 was introduced in the depths of the Depression, there wouldn't be six people around who even knew what a Model 12 was.

laughing, but probably right...

Gotta agree! I just couldn't fall in love with a model 12 and it showed in results.

Wasnt the model 12 introduced in 1912?

Well, for sure it wasn't from any fault of the Model 12...


.

You have one of the best engineered pump guns ever made in the U.S. Remington was fighting an uphill battle against the ever popular model 97 Winchester in the early 1900's. They started out with the Model 10, a no exposed hammer gun, that was unique as it ejected spent rounds out the bottom of the receiver. It flapped out the fired round, and brought one up for the chamber. My dad had one in the early 50's and he took his share of ducks with it. Next was JM Browning Model 17 Remington. It was a 20 gauge only and with an IC bird barrel dad made it awful hard on quail. Later on Remington sold or the patent expired and Ithaca copied and sold it as the model 37. It too had bottom ejection. I still have dad's model 17 and the memories of hunts gone by. Remington made some modifications to the model 10, and called it the Model 29. I think the 10 and 29 were 12ga only and the 29 had the safety behind the trigger guard, instead of inside the front of the tg. It too ejected out the bottom of the receiver. Next comes the model 31. It was an easy take down gun like the 17 Remington. One of my uncles was a gun smith in the little town of Beebe, AR. and I remember him discussing how well made the steel version of the 31 was. With the 31 Remington broke with tradition and shells were ejected out the right side of the receiver. It was made in 12 and 20ga, there may have been a 16ga, but I don't remember ever seeing one. It was also made in standard grade solid steel, and also in an aluminum LT version. It may have have been the first American made shotgun to use an alloy receiver. Keep in mind that pump guns were steady losing ground to the autoloaders coming along. I know that Remington 10 along with the model 97 Winchester went to Europe as"trench guns", as did the model 1912 Winchester in "The Great War". Somewhere in the late 50's or early 60's the Remington Wingmaster came out with great fan fair. It may have been called the 870 but I just remember people calling it a Wingmaster. It had something new in the pump gun world, and that was two flat forend guides that kept the block sliding straight. It may have helped some in that regard, and Remington used it a lot in it's promotion campaigns. I had used a 16ga Field Grade L.C. Smith on birds during my teen years, but when I was discharged from the Marines in 1970 I just had to have a new Light 12 Browning, and sold my L.C. to one of my cousins, he used the hell out of it and now belongs to a second cousin. That 12 ga Browning cost me many comments from dad, who would make some kind of comment about ruining birds, and comments like, " did you get enough shot in that one", as feathers were still floating down. Those are some of the things I remember about pump guns, and days I wish I could bring back. I am great full to God for giving me the man I called dad, and those hunts we shared long ago. They were without a doubt the GREATEST GENERATION.

Yes. The model 12 just didn't work for me. But I was already an established 870 guy.

The Model 12 12gauges made their reputation on the trap field and in the duck blinds because they are on the heavy side. In addition to being able to take a beating and come out working. The smaller gauges on the skeet fields, when pumps were still being used regularly. The 20 and 16 Gauges still make great field guns, although most today can't work a pump, since they were weaned on autos.

As most gun guys know, the first model 12 Winchesters were known as Model 1912's. If in original condition you can tell the older 1912 by just looking at it. They had a more elongated grip area , and had the small corn cob forend. Also the barrel was made of nickel steel, this was later made of Win Prof steel. Don't ask me the difference in the steel, but I do know that the bluing stayed on the newer steel much better.

Yes it did, but the nickel steel shed water like a Duck. You had to work at it to have them rust.

I've been looking for a 31 online and noticed some appear to have a raised rib on the receiver (some higher than others). Do all models have the rib on the receiver or just all of the models that originally had solid rib barrels?

I used to have a factory solid rib 31 and I don't recall there being anything extra on top of the receiver, but I'd have to dig up some old pics to be certain.