Stevens 511 Series A

Hello, I'm new to this forum and was hoping I could get some info on a shotgun I recently acquired. It is marked "Stevens 511 Series A 12 gauge. It is used so I didn't get an owner's manual for it. My question has to do with how it operates. When I press the lever to the right and open the action the lever then goes all the way to the left and it is necessary to manually move the lever to the right to close the action. Is this normal for this gun? This is different from other doubles I have owned where the lever stays to the right and all that is needed to close the action is just to close the action. Also, I have a shotgun that looks almost identical to this one except it is marked "Sears" and it doesn't require manually moving the lever to close the action. Thanks in advance for any insight. Also, is there a source where I can find out when this gun was made and a place that might have owner's manuals? Thanks. Pete.

I can tell you when it was made with a serial number, I'd kinda like to have a look at it in the catalog as well.

It should by all rights lock itself when it closes, you shouldn't have to do it manually. Take it to a smith and have him look at it. I took my 430 O/U to my smith cause you really have to push it a long ways to the right to open it and he took it apart and said thats just the way it is but it locks up good when I close it.

Also, what model is the Sears, I bet the cross reference on it is a Savage 311.

Thanks for the reply Mad Dog. The serial number is 0165025. As far as the Sears goes, it just says "Sears Double Barrel 12 GA" on the first line. The last line says Sears Roebuck and C0. no 101.512220. Serial number is 0391499. The only real differences I see in the two guns is the Stevens has a case colored receiver and the Sears is black. Also the Sears has a white line spacer on the butt. I'll take the Stevens to my gunsmith after the holidays.

Sure it doesn't start with a letter, never seen a Savage serial number start with a 0 before. I'll dig through the book anyways.

The Sears cross references with the Stevens 5100, 530, and 511.

I checked again and you're right. It's not a 0 it's a D.

I figured something was screwy, now it makes sense. It was made in 1979, found it in the back of the 79 catalog. Pressed checkering, case color receiver,etc. I'd take it to a smith and get him to check out the receiver, probably an easy fix.

Thanks Mad Dog. I'll do that next week.
Pete

Well, I took the gun to my gunsmith today. He says there's nothing wrong with it. According to him, it requires the lever to be moved manually to the right in order to close the gun. He also pointed out that the forearm is removed by removing the screw and then the spring underneath it needs to be compressed to remove the barrels. This is also different from the way the Sears marked gun works, which just has the forearm coming off and snapping back on like on other doubles I've had. Maybe it's just a cheaper version of the one marked Sears?

Remind me not to ever buy a 511 then. Every shotgun I've ever owned snapped into place and locked when the breech was closed all by itself.

Well, guess what? After working that action for a few weeks, it now works like it should. The lever stays to the right when opened and snaps shut when the breech is closed. I guess a lack of use and the old sticky lube prevented it from working when I first got it. Remind me never to visit that gunsmith again.

I have a 511 and the forearm just snaps on and off without removing any screws.
Rev