Stevens Model 301

First reviewed in the July 2017 issue of American Rifleman, the Stevens Model 310 shotgun first debuted with a black synthetic stock and is now available in several Mossy Oak patterns. This model was designed for Federal Premium’s Heavyweight Tungsten Super Shot .410 3" ammunition for turkeys. I read a review online by someone using .410 handgun loads and complaining about the bad performance.

Right from the Savage website, this shotgun was optimized for the TSS payload and it should have been apparent that putting a slug through a non-rifled barrel with a choke is a recipe for disaster. The 301 ships standard with a modified choke and is threaded for Win-Choke tubes. When the gun first came out there were no chokes available from Savage but now there are five available from their online store. The gun is made in China by Sun City Machinery Co. and imported by Savage under the Stevens brand.

The Stevens 320 pump shotgun is also made in the same factory. In addition to .410, the Model 301 is also available in 12 and 20 gauge. The gun used in this article is a .410 with Mossy Oak Bottomland draping. The action is very similar to Brazilian-made break-action shotguns from Rossi and Brazitech as well as the H&R Topper. There is a safety lever on the left side of the receiver just like the Rossi guns.

My first experience with this gun was from having a customer who dropped off a "box of gun." The receiver had all the pins out with loose parts in a plastic bag. The barrel assembly had not been messed with, making things a little easier to figure out. The safety lever was still in the receiver, as was the trigger extension. After looking through my library and online, I could not find any drawings of this gun. I did figure out the main parts but had a spring that didn’t make sense.

The closest gun I found was the H&R Topper. Using its drawing, all of the parts seemed to be there plus this spring. The parts list and diagram shown here is not from the factory; if they ever publish one, it probably won’t match this. What follows is how I learned to disassemble this gun properly and put it back together without all the drama of where each part goes. Disassembly always starts with making sure the firearm is unloaded.

Remove the forend by pushing the release lever and pulling it away from the barrel. Once the forend is off, the barrel assembly is released by opening the action and lifting out of the receiver. This will be good enough for general cleaning. Continuing on, the stock is removed by unscrewing the two

screws in the buttplate. Using a 13mm socket on a 9" or longer extension, unscrew the stock bolt. It is metric, however, a 1/2" socket will also work. The receiver is disassembled by starting with the safety lever. The first step is to unscrew the safety lever screw from the top of the receiver. Once this small screw is out, the safety lever can be twisted off the safety lever spring and pulled out of the receiver. All pins are pushed out right to left. There are serrations on the pins.

Look closely and you’ll see them on the left side of the receiver. Push out the two This will prevent it from interfering with the release lever. pins holding the trigger and trigger guard, then pull them down and out of the receiver. There will be a spring for the trigger and another for the locking block. The trigger extension can also be removed. If the safety lever has not been removed, the trigger extension cannot be pulled out. The pin for the hammer is next.

This will release the hammer spring when the pin is pulled free. The next pin is the one that holds the locking latch and hammer block. Once this is pulled, the hammer, safety lever spring, locking latch, hammer block spring, and ham- Far Polish these as needed. Above center: Frame pins after smoothing. 185" diameter by 0.600" long. mer block will come out the bottom. The last pin is the one for the release lever and firing pin. Once pushed out, the firing pin can be pulled out and the firing pin spring removed.

This leaves the receiver completely stripped. The barrel assembly is disassembled by removing the ejector spring stop pin in the front of the barrel block. The spring is under heavy pressure; be sure to contain it when removing the pin. Remove the ejector spring from the front. The ejector latch pin can then be removed, allowing removal of the ejector latch spring and ejector latch as well. The ejector stop pin has a collar and has to be pushed out from the right side. This gun,

however, had it installed from the right. When the ejector latch is removed the ejector can be pulled out the rear of the barrel lug. The barrel reassembly goes back together in the reverse of the disassembly. Be sure to drive the ejector stop pin in from the correct (left) side. Forend disassembly is fairly easy. Remove the nut on the sling swivel. Once this is removed, all the parts can be pulled out. The forend reassembles in reverse order as well.

The pins that came with the gun were very rough and still had machining marks and ridges where the parts rotated on. If you have this same problem, chuck them in a drill and sand them smooth with 320, 400, and 600 grit paper, just enough to remove the ridges left in the pins. Lightly grease the pins before reinstalling. Reassembly of the receiver starts by reinstalling the barrel latch and hammer striker. This will require a slave pin of 0.185" diameter and 0.600" long.

Two of these are nice as the trigger group uses the same one. If you already have slave pins for the H&R Topper, these are the same size. Make sure the spring is properly located and the assembly held together with the slave pin. Also make sure of the relationship of the release lever, striker, and block lever. When inserting back into the receiver, keep it horizontal so that the pin doesn’t slip out and jam in the receiver. Once in place, use the pin to push out the slave pin and secure in the receiver.

Pins go in from the left side of the receiver. Do not drive into place until all other pins are in. American Gunsmith Reader Services 1.

Now the fun part, the safety lever spring. Pay attention to the orientation of the spring once it is in the receiver. Using a small needle nose pliers, hook the spring on the pin inside the receiver. Push down on the spring with a finger 1 Receiver 2 Hammer 3 Hammer Spring 4, 5, 6 Frame Pins 7 Release Lever 8 Lifter Spring 9 Firing Pin Spring 10 Firing Pin 11 Barrel Latch and insert the safety lever.

When doing this, keep your hand over the receiver opening to trap the spring if it slips out before the lever is in place. I personally launched this spring 10 feet away and into a curtain, not finding it until two days later, so be careful to hold it in place. Install the hammer and hammer spring.

Once in place, the hammer spring is pushed 12 Striker Lifter 13 Safety Lever Spring 14 Safety Lever 15 Safety Lever Stop Screw 16 Trigger Guard 17 Trigger 18 Trigger Extension 19 Trigger Spring 20 Barrel Latch Spring Stevens Model 301 (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 21, 22 Trigger Guard Pins 23 Barrel 24 Ejector 25 Ejector Spring 26 Ejector Latch 27 Ejector Latch Spring 28 Ejector Stop Pin 29, 30 Ejector Pins Far Left Trigger group reassembled with slave pin, ready to install. down and to one side to clear the back of the receiver, securing it in place.

Rotate the safety lever so that it is pointing up and remove from the receiver. This has to be out in order to install the trigger group. The spring is held in place by the hammer pin and the spring can be seen through the safety lever hole in the side of receiver. Put in the firing pin and firing pin spring, push in a pin to hold them in place, then install the release lever. When installing, make sure the orientation is correct. Reassemble the trigger group with a slave pin.

When reinstalling, take care to put back the barrel latch spring without catching in the receiver and bending it. Pull the release lever up and install the trigger group. The trigger extension has to clear the safety lever spring and hold it against the receiver. Push in both pins and secure the trigger group. Reinstall the safety lever and then install the safety lever screw.

The safety lever screw was not secured in the receiver on this gun so I used a small screwdriver tip and put a drop of blue thread lock in the receiver before reinstalling the screw. Cycle the hammer and dry fire to ensure all is correctly installed. The safety can only be put on when the hammer is cocked. If the trigger is pulled with the hammer cocked and safety is on, it will drop to a halfway position. It must be recocked again to put the safety to the off position.

Once satisfied all is working correctly, drive all the pins in. Test fire the gun before returning to the customer. AG