Stevens Model 520/620

Stevens Model 520/620
Stevens Model 520
TypeShotgun
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1909 - Present
Used byUS Military (M520-30, M620)
WarsWorld War II, Korean War, Vietnam War
Production history
DesignerJohn Browning
ManufacturerJ. Stevens Arms & Tool Co (1909–1916), J. Stevens Arms Co/Savage Arms Co (1916–1955)
ProducedModel 520 (1909–1939), Model 620 (1927–1939), Model 520A (1940–1947), Model 620A (1940–1955)
No. built191,000+
VariantsModels 522, 525, 530, 535, 621 Ranger 30, 31, 102.25 JC Higgins 102.25 Western Field 30, 35, 60
Specifications

The Stevens Model 520 was a pump-action shotgun developed by John Browning and originally manufactured by the J Stevens Arms & Tool Company between 1909 and 1916.[1] Stevens was sold to New England Westinghouse on 28 May 1915 and production of civilian firearms was greatly reduced.[1] The company was renamed the "J Stevens Arms Company" on 1 July 1916 and New England Westinghouse used their manufacturing facility in Chicopee Falls, MA to produce Mosin-Nagant rifles under contract for the Russian Czar during World War I.[2] After the war, Stevens was sold to Savage Arms on 1 April 1920 and full production of civilian firearms resumed.[3] Under Savage ownership, Model 520 production continued until 1939[1] when it was replaced by the Model 520A which ended production in 1948.[4] Stevens also further modified the design when they introduced the streamlined Model 620 in 1927.[5] The Model 620 was internally similar to the Model 520 and was produced until 1939[6] when it was replaced by the Model 620A which ended production in 1955.[7] This shotgun is a hammerless, pump action, take-down design with a tubular magazine which holds 5 shells. All models can also be slam fired: the shotgun has no trigger disconnector and shells can be fired one after the other simply by working the slide if the trigger is held down.

  1. ^ a b c Vorisek, Joseph (1992). A Short Illustrated History of the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company. Cornell Publications. pp. 3–7, 67, 90–91.
  2. ^ Lapin, Terence. "The American Mosin Nagants". Mosin-Nagant.net. Archived from the original on 24 May 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  3. ^ Vorisek, Joseph (1994). A Short Illustrated History of the Savage Arms Company 1895 to 1945. Cornell Publications. p. 4.
  4. ^ Sears & Roebuck Catalog. Sears & Roebuck. 1909–1947. pp. Multiple pages spanning 38 years and 76 editions (Spring/Fall).
  5. ^ Stevens No. 57. J. Stevens Arms Company. 1928. p. 29.
  6. ^ Stevens Rifles and Shotguns. J. Stevens Arms Company. 1940. p. 7.
  7. ^ Savage, Stevens and Fox, Shotguns and Rifles. Savage Arms Corporation. 1955. p. 11.