Savage/Stevens Model 350

It wasn’t the first time Hollywood tempted far too many folks to make a wrong decision. All too soon after Dirty Harry’s final challenge to bad guys of "Go ahead, make my day," was seen and heard by movie goers I began getting beaucoup potential customers asking about .44 Magnum revolvers for home defense. Back then, I was selling guns as well as servicing them and always began the process of such possible sales with a series of questions. Have you ever fired a .44 Magnum revolver? If so, how often and how well?

How thick are the walls of your home? How much distance exists between your house and your next door neighbor? Do your kids sleep or play in the room where you’ll be keeping the gun? What if you miss the intruder? Once I had the prospect’s full attention, the fact that a quality-made .44 Magnum revolver started at about $600 back then usually cooled off his original magnum desires but For complete field stripping this stock must be removed.

It remains quite healthy amongst the small knot of pump shotguns that eject spent hulls downward instead of across the operator’s face. (A) points to the bolt release lever. lessened not a whit their desire for a home defense gun.

My quick response to their plea was "a pump shotgun." After a few assurances the weapon would be easier to control than a magnum handgun, that one doesn’t have to aim but merely point it and that, held properly, would not dislocate or even bruise a shoulder, I’d reach for one of the recommended pieces and racked the action. Once. That sound alone, I explained, would cause many intruders deep concern and likely result in the hostiles making a quick exit of the premises.

A The shotgun deliberately chosen for this little demonstration was aside ejector and served another purpose. Using dummy rounds, I demonstrated how it ejected them in front of one’s face, depending on the model chosen. Left-hand models throw hulls to the left; right hand models to the right. Then I removed my initial deal clincher from the rack. "This one ejects the spent hull straight down. It doesn’t care whether you’re right or left handed." The gun under discussion was designed by John M.

Browning and originally sold as the 20 gauge Remington Model 17. Later, Browning’s design was changed by Remington into aside-ejecting 12 gauge: The Model 31. It became quite popular and provided worthy competition for the Winchester Model 1912. By the time the armistice to end the first world war was signed, the Ithaca Gun Company was casting around for a pump action they could produce to join the competition.

Believing the patents for the bottom eject Model 17 would be expiring in 1933, Ithaca planned to hold off production until that year and introduce a Model 33.

) Surprise! It was discovered one of the Model 17 patents would remain in effect until 1937. And that, class, is how the Ithaca Model 33 was abandoned and the Ithaca Model 1937 shotgun was born. In spite of numerous ownership changes and a total production halt during the Great Depression era, the Model 37 has had considerable success with the military, law enforcement on both coasts, security agencies, and prisons.

Yet another ownership change caused a production Visible is the thin trail left by its detent during hand tightening. Never over tighten the cap. A B Chalt in 2005. Never mind. The Model 37 is again coming off production lines in Ohio. Recently, Chinese copies of it have been imported. That’s all this gun writer has to say regarding clones from the Far East, except "Go Buckeyes!" On occasion, my absolute positive, never-failed sales clincher didn’t happen to be a Model 37.

It was descended from a bottom-eject pumper designed by the same John M. Browning in 1904: The Stevens Model 520. A variant of the shotgun Dsaw action in WWI and afterward gained wide acceptance with law enforcement. Savage Arms acquired Stevens in 1927. Thereafter, the Model 620 was introduced and served in WWII.

Meeting military production demands may have contributed to a decline of the Stevens’ presence with law enforcement but the offspring that became my sales clincher from its place in the shotgun rack was introduced by Savage/Stevens as the Model 350. Available in field and defensive configurations, the all-steel 350 is a cosmetic update of its Model

Savage/Stevens Model 350 (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 1 Firing Pin 2 Firing Pin Spring 3 Bolt 4 Upper Extractor Spring 5 Upper Extractor Spring Plunger 6 Upper Extractor 7 Firing Pin Retaining Pin 8 Bottom Extractor Pin 9 Bottom Extractor Spring 10 Bottom Extractor 11 Bottom Extractor Spring Retaining Pin 12 Slide Pin Pin 13 Slide Pin Spring 14 Slide Pin 15 Slide 16 Butt Plate Screw 17 Butt Plate 18 Stock 19 Stock Bolt 20 Stock Bolt Lock Washer 21 Stock Bolt Washer 22 Carrier Screw Lock Screw 23 Carrier Screw 24 Receiver 25 Trigger Guard Retaining Screw 520/620 heritage and retains all their best operating features.

Yes, it still ejects spent hulls to the feet instead of across the face. 26 Left Cartridge Stop 27 Left Cartridge Stop Pin 28 Carrier 29 Right Cartridge Stop 30 Right And Left Cartridge Stop Spring 31 Right Cartridge Stop Pin 32 Barrel 33 Front Sight Bead 34 Pistol Grip Cap 35 Upper Sling Stud 36 Rear Swivel Stud Nut 37 Magazine Band 38 Magazine Band Screw 39 Barrel Lug 40 Magazine Cap Detent Plunger 41 Magazine Cap Detent Spring 42 Magazine Cap Detent Screw 43 Magazine Tube 45 Magazine Spring 46 Magazine Cap 47 Right Action Bar 48 Left Action Bar 49 Forend Tube 50 Forend 51 Forend Nut 52 Hammer Strut 53 Hammer Strut Pin 54 Hammer 55 Hammer Pin 56 Trigger Guard 57 Action Slide Lock 58 Retaining Pin 59 Action Slide Lock Spring 60 Action Slide Lock Release Spring 61 Safety Spring 62 Safety Spring Plunger 63 Safety 64 Hammer Spring Plunger 65 Hammer Spring 66 Hammer Spring Seat 67 Hammer Spring Seat Pin 68 Trigger Pin 69 Trigger Spring 71 Secondary Sear Pin 72 Secondary Sear Spring 73 Secondary Sear 74 Swivel Stud Yes, it does it whether the shooter is right or left handed.

Yes, its MSRP is half the price or less than a name brand .44 Magnum revolver. No, it’s American Gunsmith Reader Services 1.

not tricky to dismantle or service, so let’s get on with it. Field Stripping The bolt has to be half open with the muzzle facing away from you and your eye protection. With a good many side ejecting shot guns, field stripping frequently begins by drifting out a couple of receiver pins and removing the trigger assembly. With the Model 350 it’s always the magazine cap (46). Loosen it. The barrel (32) is screwed in clockwise. It gets loosened for withdrawal after a quarter turn counter clockwise.

With the barrel removed, take a minute or so to do a little exploring. There are threads and slots inside the receiver. The low lugs at the rear of the barrel fit in the slots. Remove the butt plate (17) and its screws (16). Backing out the stock bolt (19) will require an extension wearing a 13mm socket. Follow this with removal of the stock bolt lock washer (20) and bolt washer (21), the carrier screw lock screw (22), the carrier screw (23), and the trigger guard screw (25). Pull out the butt stock (18).

You have no choice. It’s either that or forget about totally field stripping a Model 350. How so? Almost everything else from here on is removed via the back end of the receiver (24). The stock blocks that exit. The factory guys use thin, needle nose pliers to separate the carrier (28) from the action bars (47 and 48). A pair of hefty tweezers can be substituted for the needle nose. If you’re familiar with the carrier of a Model 37 you’ll notice right away how closely it resembles the carrier of a Model 350.

Was John M. Browning being lazy? Not even on a bad day. He must have realized he had a good thing going when he deigned the 350 in 1904 and opted to take an "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" approach with his bottom-eject designs. The bolt (3) glides to the rear to be separated from its slide (15). Inserting a small tool behind the left cartridge stop (26) will free up the entire trigger guard assembly (56). Withdraw it to the rear and clear of the receiver. So much for field stripping.

Some additional disassembly guidance will follow along with a few, very important, reassembly tips. How far can you go from here? A pretty large socket and long extension, to put both mildly, are used at the factory to extract the magazine follower (44). A photo is included here.

Being unable to conceive of possible uses other than retrieving Model 350 followers, I shunned any tooling expenditure by reaching for one of the oldest hanging from hooks extending from the heavily-populated, perforated pegboards mounted above my bench. I’d purchased the specialized grasper probably 35 years ago from Brownells. It has smooth jaws and opens wide. It has been removing caps from shotgun mag tubes starting the day after it arrived from Montezuma, Iowa.

With the 350, I fed spent hulls into the mag from the rear until the follower showed itself and seized it. The tool appears here in all its naked simplicity but I admit to putting a couple of wraps of duct tape around its jaws as extra assurance against my dinging up any pristine magazine tube caps or components. Last time I looked, Brownells still offers it. Loosen the upper sling swivel stud (37) and magazine band screw (38). Backing out the magazine cap all the way at this point allows removal of the magazine.

Watch it. Taking off the cap prompts the magazine spring (45) to demonstrate its best imitation of a striking cobra. The forend (50) comes next. Remove the forend nut, then the forend. The right action bar (47) and left action bar (48) will hitch a ride with it. Ready for the bolt? The Model 350 has an upper extractor (6) and a bottom extractor (10). Both have springs (4 and 9). All pins associated with the extractors drift right to left.

When and if removal of the firing pin (1) is necessary, orient the retaining pin (7) upward and extract the firing pin to the rear. The pin drifts in either direction but look to see if it’s a roll pin. If so, use a roll pin punch and drift only enough to free up the firing pin. This little trick leaves enough of the pin in the bolt to eliminate troublesome false starts in reassembly. Parts List While there are no restrictions beyond the receiver, a shortage may exist.

If you take in a Model 350, check in with Savage/Stevens on availability. You may need a copy of Gun Parts Source List from Brownells to check if the needed component is out of stock. Reassembly Tips When reattaching the bolt slide to the action bars, move the forend as far forward as you can to make reinstalling #12, #13, and #14 less of a headache. When reinstalling the barrel, reach into the receiver and push the bolt to its half open position.

This assists greatly in achieving positive alignment with the receiver and avoids damage to its internal threads and barrel lug channels. By now, you may have noticed the 350 bolt has two extractors, with one at the top and the other at the bottom. There are two extractor relief cuts in the barrel. The larger of the two is at the bottom. In reassembly that large cut must be facing upwards and slightly to the left. Same for the locating seat.

Rotate the barrel a quarter turn clockwise to barely engage the locking seat. Turn the locking nut clockwise to fully engage the seat. Hand tighten the nut and make certain to not over tighten it. When properly reinstalled, the barreled shoulder must be flush all around with the receiver. No threads showing. You have every right to ask how my advisory on legal, short barrel, bottom-eject pump guns affected my business. It was better than good.

I sold ten defensive pumps for every .44 Magnum that made it out the door. One final question. Do you think this fellow John M. Browning will ever make it as a gun designer? AG