Fud Gun Of the Week

[rci2950]

I will start it off with this cheap but reliable old shotgun. It was given to me after a family friend passed away some time ago. This man did a lot of pheasant hunting and really liked this shotgun. I am saving it in my collection and use it occasionally to hunt pheasant and shoot pigeons. Yes real pigeons from a barn not clay ones from a box.

The Stevens 124 (Manufactured 1947-1952)

Action: It is a straight pull bolt action repeater in 12 gauge. The magazine holds two rounds and with one in the chamber it gives you the legal limit of three for hunting. There is no magazine plug to remove, it is what it is. The action is operated by pulling the bolt handle straight out and then straight back. With a loaded magazine you would then push the bolt forward and then push the bolt handle back in to lock it in place. It feels very solid as the bolt handle locks into a hole on the other side of the receiver.


Stock: During the timeframe this shotgun was produced, because of WWII, Hardwood for gunstocks was increasingly expensive so this less expensive model was furnished with a stock made of a material called Tenite which is a form of cellulose plastic invented in 1929, It is made of Cellulose Acetate and is very light and strong. This light weight actually causes this shotgun to kick like a mule with heavier loads or buckshot.


The barrel is a standard 28" with full choke. (No removable choke tubes)

Performance is as you would expect from a single shot with 28 inch barrel. It is on par for any upland game if you are satisfied with slow follow up shots as the bolt action is not very fast and requires bringing the shotgun down from the shoulder to chamber the next round.

I have not seen any others in my travels so I would assume they are pretty scarce as to the short time produced and the low price tag probably caused this model to be treated as with little care and lots of neglect. My particular one is in very good shape all over and I plan on keeping it as it has sentimental value being previously owned and enjoyed by one of my early hunting partners and family friend.



Here it is with the bolt closed and locked ready to fire



Pulling the handle out getting ready to pull the bolt back



Here we have the bolt pulled back



See the hole where the bolt comes through to lock closed. Pretty secure.



Here you can see the Make and model information


Here we have a view of the open chamber



Lastly the underside where you can load the magazine



I found an ad online for the shotgun selling in 1949

[jojo]

Interesting shotgun no doubt. A friend of mine inherited one from an uncle that passed away.

[ltorlo64]

Very interesting. I remember bolt action shotguns but not one like this. Looks like a semi-auto without the guts, so you have to do the cycling.

[Helen Keller]

cool, im a stickler for old shotguns.


Found a JC higgins tube-fed bolt action 16ga that's really intriguing.

[Schuetzenman]

I'd have to say that I was not aware of this type of shotgun. I have handled bolt action shotguns but they are like Mausers with a bolt you lift to rotate the lugs and then pull back on the bolt to eject, shove forward to seat the next round. All I've seen were tube or box magazine fed, never seen a single shot like that before. Good post.

[Penguin]

I don't think I have ever seen one like that. I must say that looks like a very simple and practical method of locking the bolt.