Anyone have/ shot a Stevens 320?

[whauburger]

Here's the deal. So I do not own a "tactical/ home defense" style shotgun. I used to always have a pistol handy i.e. Bed stand or something of that nature at night. Now with my kids it is usually not out for a quick grab at night time. I figured maybe I should look into a shotgun for night time god forbid scenario.

I usually like to invest in higher end firearms when possible and am not a fan of Chinese made but I can grab one new from dicks for a rediculously low price. It comes with pistol grip and ghost ring sights which are what I'd prefer on that style gun.

So does anyone have one or have shot one? Any input?

 

[dsdmmat]

Guy on the Ruger forum absolutely hated his.

Do not buy savage/stevens pump gun - Ruger Forum

 

[Criticalt]

Go back to the "higer end firearms" and get a Benelli M4. I love mine, its very solid and very reliable.
Of course I also love my $180 Mossberg 500 A, which is also very reliable.

 

[dsdmmat]

The maverick Model 88 I bought 22 years ago seems to be working just fine.

 

[whauburger]

Only reason I am debating on going for it is I can. It it for like $140

 

[dsdmmat]

Only reason I am debating on going for it is I can. It it for like $140

Spend the 140 on ammo for your other guns. Save up and get a 500, an 870 or the 88.

 

[Phauxtoe]

my friend in PA has one.
I hate the pistol grip, but the thing runs flawlessly.
sure you can short stroke it like any other pump, but we have shot 1000s of rounds with it.

 

[Glenn B]

I bought one at an auction, it was new in the box. Mine was the Savage-Stevens Security Model 320, SKU: 19496, MSRP: $276. At the time, the one I got had the highest MSRP out of all the variations of this model. It came with a bead front sight (no rear sight), a rear sight/scope/accessory rail, pistol grip (as integral part of overall stock), and a heat shield over the barrel.

I fired about 100 rounds through it. It shot okay but the action was not smooth nor was the heavy trigger pull either smooth or crisp. I will admit, that did not matter much to me and I would consider those things to be acceptable and they probably would have smoothed out some with more shooting. On the other hand, the pistol grip was a pain in the wrist. Each time I fired this model my right wrist was in a lot of pain and I was only shooting 2 3/4" slugs out of it (it also accepts 3" shells). That is partly me I suppose since I am in my sixties and have a friend named Arthur I. Tis. However, I fire other heavy recoil guns, some with pistol grips, that do not hurt my wrist as did that one - even when Arthur is being a pain. This is not just an issue for me, I have linked a video below from YouTube in which both young shooters complain about the over abundance of recoil from this gun. In my estimation, it has terrible recoil much worse than a Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 with a similar stock.

That recoil and my aching wrist were enough to make me decide to sell it. I took pics and offered it for sale. Then after awhile of no offers, I thought better of not having cleaned it first and decided to clean it and take new pics. Cleaning it meant at least a field strip. So I decided to disassemble it. It was not an easy task but when I tried to take it apart I learned the following:

1) In order to remove the slide to be able to remove the bolt, you had to remove the trigger group. That is a poor design in a gun made today as I see it.

2) That is not all though because in order to be able to remove the trigger group you first had to remove the stock. The stock (the one with the pistol grip) was designed in such a manner that the top forward portion of the pistol grip essentially wraps around the rear of the trigger guard and thus blocks it from being removed. That is, I think, truly piss poor planning as far as design goes! I do not think that to be an issue with non-pistol grip stocks for the Model 320 and some versions do not have a pistol grip. More on this in a linked video below (the one on disassembly). Now think about situations in which you might have to clean the thing that could ruin your day if you did not have tools available at hand. For instance if hunting and you fall and drop it in the mud, would you be able to disassemble it as far as you could a Remington 870 without tools? You would have to lose a day or most of it going home to get the tools to fix it. I would not even want to waste the time in routine maintenance that it takes to disassemble the Stevens as compared to a Remington 870. It is a pain not only in the wrist but in the neck as well. But I digress...

3) The slide release is very poorly positioned for a self defense shotgun in my view. In order to operate it you either have to drastically change and or lose your grip on the pistol grip or use your other hand. It is located on the left side of the receiver at near rear of the trigger guard / leading edge of the pistol grip. It is also relatively small and is not easy to access and difficult to engage as far as I am concerned.

4) As I recall, the ejector was held in place by a screw or screws (I am about 99% positive that was the Stevens 320). That, again in my opinion, is a design flaw - potentially a major one. The ejector takes a repeated pounding. Sooner or later, it is quite possible that screws securing an ejector would come lose and or fall out and the ejector would fail.

4) The finish was cheap, again in my opinion but I could live with that on a gun as inexpensive as this one.

There may have been other things that I noticed but these remain in memory. As I recall, I did not do the disassembly then but did it later. It was proving to be that much of a pain so, I cleaned it as best I could without disassembling it which was essentially the bore, outside of the gun and spritzing the action with oil from a spray can and got to disassembling it sometime before selling it and when in a better mood.

I suppose you cannot expect much from a gun made "...in a remote region of China" (source of quote). Now, if you click on the link I just gave as the source of that quote, you will see an article that praises this gun. I usually do not depend on reviews by folks whose company depends on advertising from gun manufacturers as I believe is the case with Shooting Illustrated. Besides that highly praiseful article, you can also watch the first video I linked to below. In it, two young shooters give a more favorable review than me but if you listen carefully you will hear some of my criticisms repeated by them but some of them somewhat sugar coated. I do not know if they get there guns for free from the industry for testing; I bought mine with my money and am uninhibited in saying I was unhappy because I felt I wasted my money on it. Despite all that, I may have kept it except for the fact of its recoil. I could have used it solely as a range gun or plinker but not when it had as much wallop with which it recoiled.


Don't just watch that video though, watch this one too. The first one only covers operating and shooting it, the second one below is a disassembly video. It goes over some of the things I thought to be design flaws.


As far as a gun for defense goes: I used shotguns for 32 years of my LE career and have used them for home / self defense and hunting for that same amount of time plus the years I have been retired. I also was, and remain, certified LE firearms instructor (including shotgun) and had collateral duties as such for about 15-16 years when in LE. Based upon my experience with shotguns, I think it barely sufficient for those mentioned purposes and would be concerned about design issues and potential failings of the gun or the operator based upon those issues. That is based solely on my opinion. Of course, some of those things in the design could have been changed by now, I do not know. Me though - for myself I still would rather bet my life on a Remington 870 (personal preference) or a Mossberg pump gun than the Stevens Security Model 320.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

[Glenn B]

I watched a few more videos about the Savage Security 320, after I wrote my above post, and present another here for you. Both my little gray cells abilities in recalling the design of the ejector and my my opinion of that being a potential design flaw have been vindicated. The screw mounted ejector indeed can prove, has proven in fact as per this video, to be a major failing point of this shotgun. As you can see in the video, someone else had the exact problem I anticipated even before I saw the potential flaw with my gun:


And the irony is that the same guy who tested it - in the first video in my previous post above, and more or less was happy with it then - is the same one who had the failure (that I noted as a potential major flaw) with it as shown in this video.

Buy it if you want but you have been warned.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

[4excal]

My H & R Pardner Pump never fails, years upon years, dozens of times to the range, every version of shell shot through it..everything except barrel interchangeable with Rem 870..130$. The "B $$$$" shotguns may be good for...idk what..but many others on non richman budgets work perfectly.

 

[Phauxtoe]

Bottom line
especially in shotgun
Is you get what you pay for !

 

[whauburger]

Thanks for the responses. I will hold off on it, was just figuring maybe for that low of a price point it wouldn't be bad to grab.

 

[Glenn B]

My H & R Pardner Pump never fails, years upon years, dozens of times to the range, every version of shell shot through it..everything except barrel interchangeable with Rem 870..130$. The "B $$$$" shotguns may be good for...idk what..but many others on non richman budgets work perfectly.

I certainly am not on a rich man's budget, I am on a retiree's budget. Since I came from a broken family and we did not own a pot to piss in, the window to throw it out of nor the ground to catch it I decided to have a good work ethic early on. So, I worked my arse off for 32 years to earn my pension. I usually try not to squander it to wildly even though it is a good one. Thus, when I buy something, I usually look to purchase something I believe to be of better quality that will last longer than something of not as good a quality although I have been known to buy budget end too because as you in essence say I am not a rich man. I have had my Remington 870 since 1987. I have used it extensively both at work and afield hunting and at the range practicing and having fun. I have no clue exactly how many rounds have been fired through it but my educated guess would be at least 10,000 if not thousands more. I have the slightly torn right rotator cuff and a friend named Arthur I. Tis who likes getting into my right shoulder that attest to me shooting it a lot. Free practice ammo will allow one to do that, those were the days. My son has shot it quite a good amount too.

It is still one hell of a great shooter and most definitely not a rich man's gun. I would prefer it to the H&R Pardner if for no other reason than it is American made but there are indeed other reasons. The H&R Pardner is a cheap knockoff of the 870, made in China wherein quality control has been and remains a major issue. China is also a country run by a tyrannical communist regime in general I prefer not to buy things made there, although that is almost an impossibility nowadays. Yet, when I have a reasonable choice, within my budget, I buy made in the US or from one of our allies (that does not necessarily stand with C&R guns). That said, I must admit I was very surprised to discover that the Stevens 320 I bought was made in China. Had I known that in advance, I probably would never have bid on it. I had figured the country of manufacture as Canada as with Savage rifles with which I am familiar and since Stevens is part of Savage.

As for your H&R Pardner Pump, my guess is that a H&R Pardner Pump will not stand up as long as a Remington 870. I am not sure, that is just my guess based on experience with other things made by the Chinese. If it does last as long as an 870, good for you and whoever else bought one. One of the main things it has going for it, as I understand, is that it is a copy of the 870. Still though, at least to me, 870s seem to be of better quality, based on what I have read and heard about them, than the Pardner Pump or Stevens 320. I will admit, I owned another H&R shotgun, a Pardner single barrel. It was okay, in fact pretty decent for a low budget gun. I do not know where that one was made but think it was probably in North America as it still had the case hardened receiver. Of course, the irony of all this is that H&R is now part of Marlin Firearms and guess who has owned Marlin since 2007. Yes, it's been owned by Remington since then. I may have to check one of the Pardner Pumps out if I get the opportunity but my guess is I will never own one as long as my 870s (I have three right now) are alive and kicking.

All the best,
GB

 

[Shelton]

Here's the deal. So I do not own a "tactical/ home defense" style shotgun. I used to always have a pistol handy i.e. Bed stand or something of that nature at night. Now with my kids it is usually not out for a quick grab at night time. I figured maybe I should look into a shotgun for night time god forbid scenario.

I usually like to invest in higher end firearms when possible and am not a fan of Chinese made but I can grab one new from dicks for a rediculously low price. It comes with pistol grip and ghost ring sights which are what I'd prefer on that style gun.

So does anyone have one or have shot one? Any input?

Hey Whauburger,

I personally have had my Stevenson for over a year now and haven't had any problems with it so far I have a review on my site if you want to check it out. Hope it helps.

Stevens 320 Shotgun – 1 year review | Range Swag

 

[Glenn B]

Hey Whauburger,

I personally have had my Stevenson for over a year now and haven't had any problems with it so far I have a review on my site if you want to check it out. Hope it helps.

Stevens 320 Shotgun – 1 year review | Range Swag

Have you actually detail stripped it for a complete cleaning and found no problem with the process? I know your review said it resembles a Remington 870 and to that all I can say is looks are deceiving because it certainly was not anything like an 870 in operation or quality. In fact the process of disassembly was so convoluted as to be one of the reasons I decided to sell it. More here on that.

 

[Shelton]

Have you actually detail stripped it for a complete cleaning and found no problem with the process? I know your review said it resembles a Remington 870 and to that all I can say is looks are deceiving because it certainly was not anything like an 870 in operation or quality. In fact the process of disassembly was so convoluted as to be one of the reasons I decided to sell it. More here on that.

Glenn B.

I have disassembled it and had no issues I do a detail after a hard day. I'm just not too picky. The process is a bit more complicated as an 870 is smoother with dissassmbly. The 870s I use at work are pieces of junk due to the fact of how many users there are may have been the reason I wanted to try something similar. Would love a new Remington. You get good enough with any weapon you can strip it fast and easy just need to learn tricks along the way.

Thanks for the reply man.

 

[Exonautic]

Bought one, hated it. at least so for an 870 or 590 Tac.

 

[Vapor]

If you must have a Chinese pump, please get an h and r pardner. They are built much better. Comparable in quality to any of the less expensive american shotguns. I think about $188.