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Baden Powell
PostPosted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 2:52 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 18 Aug 2007
Posts: 211
Location: Alamogordo, New Mexico

For some time now, the only 16 I had was my late father's Winchester Model 37 single shot, which he had purchased new about 1940 with money earned on a paper route. That changed today. We had a gun show this weekend here in south-central New Mexico and I found a Remington Model 31 in 16 gauge for a reasonable price. The metal is in good condition, with bluing 85-90 percent and a mint bore. Barrel is 28 inches and choked full. The butt stock cracked where the wrist meets the receiver and was repaired long ago. It needs refinishing. The original buttplate is in nice shape. A little Break Free and bronze wool and the old pump is as silky smooth as ever. Weight is a hair under seven pounds and frankly, the stock fits me better than any stock I have encountered on a Model 12. I may replace the butt at some point, but I am in no hurry. I will, however, look into having the beefy barrel cut to 26 inches and threaded for screw-in chokes. This is a plain-vanilla Model 31 with date codes suggesting it was manufactured in April of 1947, near the end of the production run. My first shotgun was an early Model 12 in 16, and it feels kind of like "coming home" to have a classic American 16-gauge pump in the rack again.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/23bxha7] [/url]fullsizeoutput_b06 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/93930283@N08/]


Last edited by Baden Powell on Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
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skeettx
PostPosted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 2:58 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: Amarillo, Texas

Well done!!
and
Thank You for the posting

What Joy, What Joy

Where in NM? Portales? Las Cruces?

Mike

P.S.
See below

ALAMOGORDO??
Interesting place
I go through there each October on my way to Juarez for a mission trip

Canadian River flowage is AWESOME


Last edited by skeettx on Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:02 pm; edited 4 times in total

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Baden Powell
PostPosted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 2:59 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 18 Aug 2007
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Location: Alamogordo, New Mexico

Mike, thanks. Just updated my profile. I moved from Oregon to Alamogordo last fall. Hey, back in the late 1800s my great-grandfather had a ranch on the Canadian just upstream from Billy and Olive Dixon's place.
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Gil S
PostPosted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:34 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 04 Mar 2008
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Location: Lowcountry Ga.

The 31 has the reputation for having the slickest action ever made in a pump. I've never handled one. You sure it weighs that much? I thought those guns were in the 6 lb. or better range. Check for lead in the stock. Wink Gil
PS I just did some googling and it was the models with the alloy receiver that were the lightweights.
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UncleDanFan
PostPosted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:06 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: The Great Northwet

Nice! Congrats. I've always liked those 31's. If I was going to get a pump, it would be a 31L converted to straight grip. What a fun little gun that would be.

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Square Load
PostPosted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 8:30 pm  Reply with quote
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My standard mod 31 w/ 28" tube weighs 6# 14oz.

If you have ever had the trigger assembly out of one of those it is easy to see why they weigh that much, that is a big chunk of iron.

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Current 16ga. Stable

Browning Citori Gr I
Browning Belgium Sweet 16
A.H. Fox Sterlingworth
Remington 11-48
Remington 31
Remington 870
Geco/J.P. Sauer BLNE
Winchester Mod 12
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Baden Powell
PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 7:03 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 18 Aug 2007
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Location: Alamogordo, New Mexico

Gil, the action is every bit as slick as all the hype about it. I briefly owned the predecessor -- John Browning's Model 17, which became the Ithaca 37. I can see the family resemblance, but much prefer side ejection over bottom ejection.
Square Load, if I had a better scale I would bet mine was 6 pounds, 14 ounces as well.
Uncle Dan, I like the feel of the factory stock, but would love to handle a 31 with straight grip side by side to see if one is better than the other. Interesting idea. Have you handled one?
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UncleDanFan
PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 7:35 am  Reply with quote
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Baden Powell wrote:
Gil, the action is every bit as slick as all the hype about it. I briefly owned the predecessor -- John Browning's Model 17, which became the Ithaca 37. I can see the family resemblance, but much prefer side ejection over bottom ejection.
Square Load, if I had a better scale I would bet mine was 6 pounds, 14 ounces as well.
Uncle Dan, I like the feel of the factory stock, but would love to handle a 31 with straight grip side by side to see if one is better than the other. Interesting idea. Have you handled one?


No I haven't handled one. I just really like straight grips and can just imagine it being lightning quick.

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Flues16
PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 8:54 am  Reply with quote
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The Model 31s were advertised as "the gun with the ball-bearing action." While there weren't any actual ball-bearings anywhere in the gun, they were indeed very smooth operating.

As for weight, the standard steel models weren't especially light. I have two 16s with 28" barrels made in the late 1930s. One weighs 6 pounds 12 ounces and the other weighs an ounce over 7 pounds. But the balance is good and the stocks fit me well.

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kgb
PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:26 am  Reply with quote
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I'm a much bigger fan of the M12 than the M31 but have found the stocks on 31s have each seemed to fit me. Some M12 stocks, especially the earliest ones I've handled, are far from ideal.

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Savage16
PostPosted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 6:53 am  Reply with quote
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I remembered someone here already posting about doing a straight grip conversion on a 31. Caleb,are you still around?http://16ga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14752&highlight=model

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Baden Powell
PostPosted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:41 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Alamogordo, New Mexico

Kgb, I start out with an early nickel steel Model 12 in 16 with the short chamber. I am a Model 12 fan to this day as well, but boy those early stocks were a disastrous fit for my frame.
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kgb
PostPosted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:11 pm  Reply with quote
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Baden, I bought a short chambered M12 16ga first and have come full circle to a different one, this time with a rib. At some point with that first one I bought a replacement stock from Shuman's Gun Shop and it has been on most of the M12 16s through the years to today. I made a straight grip stock a couple years ago but it doesn't feel as good as that Fajen replacement I've been using since the late 80s.

Kirk

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