Unconfigured Ad Widget

Collapse

U.S.A.F. Stevens .22/.410

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • TRAP55
    Calguns Addict
    • Jul 2008
    • 5535

    U.S.A.F. Stevens .22/.410

    After five years of being froze up tight, I finally got into my shotgun safe. This prized possession was buried in the back.
    The Stevens .22/.410 was the grand daddy to the Savage/Stevens Model 24. Introduced in 1938, it was made until 1950 when Savage came out with the Model 24. The first ones made had walnut stocks until the war broke out. Lack of gunstock wood prompted Stevens to develop the plastic stocks called Tenite. The receivers were "real" color case hardened, not the acid washed faux color case of the later Model 24.
    Some of these were bought for the Air Force as survival guns in B-29's. This one, serial number 493104, was issued to my uncle, Col. William L. Evans and his B-29.
    Fast forward to post Korean War, he was ferrying B-29's to the Arizona bone yard, and by coincidence, ended up delivering his old plane. The gun was still in it. He asked if he could buy the still unfired Stevens, and they sold it to him for the whopping scrap price of $5!
    To date, it's had one round of .22LR through it, I checked the crown for accuracy, and it went right in the 10 ring!
    The ones that saw service, will have two distinctive traits.
    Since neither the gun, nor the plane, were made to accommodate each other, the pilots found a spot in the airframe to wedge the gun in. The gun was about 1/2" to long to fit, so the end of the barrels were chop sawed in the maintenance shop, and a crude re-crown done with a hole reamer.
    A distinctive scratch in the wood grain Tenite butt stock, from the airframe rivets, is the other. This has both.
    They were issued with Western Cartridge Co. M35 3" .410 #6 shotshells, made of aluminum, red lacquered cardboard wad under a roll crimp.

    Stevens and period ammo




    Color case, Tenite wood grain, and USAF markings




    Chop sawed muzzle and crown

  • #2
    TRICKSTER
    I need a LIFE!!
    • Mar 2008
    • 12438

    If you happen to be looking for M35/.410 surplus ammo, CMP sells it in their estore.


    Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups

    Comment

    • #3
      TRAP55
      Calguns Addict
      • Jul 2008
      • 5535

      Originally posted by TRICKSTER
      If you happen to be looking for M35/.410 surplus ammo, CMP sells it in their estore.
      http://estore.thecmp.org/store/catal...ogList&cat=AMS
      Thanks, I saw that when they first offered it. All that M3 survival gun .22 Hornet ammo has to be sitting around someplace too.

      Comment

      • #4
        TRICKSTER
        I need a LIFE!!
        • Mar 2008
        • 12438

        Originally posted by TRAP55
        Thanks, I saw that when they first offered it. All that M3 survival gun .22 Hornet ammo has to be sitting around someplace too.
        That gun would look sweet sitting on a wooden case of M35 ammo.


        Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups

        Comment

        • #5
          surplus-addict
          Calguns Addict
          • Jul 2011
          • 6534

          That is absolutely amazing!
          A piece of history, and family heirloom all in one.
          Originally posted by CSACANNONEER
          Originally posted by loophole
          What's a PIN number? Or an ATM?
          You don't watch much porn, do you?
          Hammer
          1. The weapon of Kestryll
          Hammered:
          1. Getting BTFO by Kestryll with the hammer

          Comment

          • #6
            TRAP55
            Calguns Addict
            • Jul 2008
            • 5535

            Originally posted by surplus-addict
            That is absolutely amazing!
            A piece of history, and family heirloom all in one.
            I don't own safe queens (unless the safe is froze up!) so it'll be at the shoot.

            Comment

            • #7
              Dutch3
              I need a LIFE!!
              • Oct 2010
              • 14181

              Originally posted by TRAP55
              I don't own safe queens (unless the safe is froze up!) so it'll be at the shoot.
              Outstanding!
              Just taking up space in (what is no longer) the second-worst small town in California.

              Comment

              • #8
                echo1
                Veteran Member
                • Apr 2010
                • 3714

                Super-Boss-O-Cool. I wonder if there could have been more of those left in the ships? That soo cool, in the family to boot. Does your Unks have any unit fotos he could share? PAX
                You need a crew

                "A free people should be armed and disciplined" (George Washington),

                Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.~John Adams 1798

                Comment

                • #9
                  TRAP55
                  Calguns Addict
                  • Jul 2008
                  • 5535

                  echo, he just turned 91 a week ago, and he's in real bad health.
                  I know he has some, just not sure where they are. The only one I have, is the one of him and his crew in front of the B-47 I posted.
                  The Hill AFB Museum built a special wing to hold his military flight gear collection, and I remember seeing some in there. I'll ask my cousin if she has any, or can scan some to her PC. He's never used a computer, never will. Still types on an old Underwood typewriter.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Enfield47
                    Calguns Addict
                    • Sep 2012
                    • 6385

                    What a great story and a beautiful gun to show for it. I'm amazed at how nice the condition is considering it was just stashed in a plane all those years.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      16in50calNavalRifle
                      Senior Member
                      • May 2009
                      • 544

                      Fantastic, thanks for sharing all this, Trap.

                      So Hill AFB has a museum? Open to the public, I assume? One more damn (!) military museum I have to visit in the southwest ..... a lengthening list.

                      If you're not familiar with the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, check it out (loc.gov/vets).

                      Sorry to hear he's in poor health. The LoC project is quite good, you can open a file for him and any original documents or photos or first-hand accounts (written, or interviews) go in it. I've done several of these interviews and am always looking for WWII vets to talk to.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Rozzi
                        Member
                        • Nov 2009
                        • 241

                        Thanks for sharing this. I have a Savage Model 24C (camper) that I love. Nice to see it's dad!
                        "Sometimes the bravest meet death with their deeds known only to heaven." --S.L.A. Marshall

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          joefrank64k
                          @ the Dark End of the Bar
                          CGN Contributor - Lifetime
                          • Mar 2009
                          • 10124

                          Now that's a cool piece! Thanks for sharing.
                          You will never, in your life, have a chance like this again.
                          If I were you, I would not pass this up. I would not let this go by...this is rare.
                          Come on...what harm??

                          joefrank64k 251/251 100% iTrader?

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Capybara
                            CGSSA Coordinator
                            CGN Contributor
                            • Feb 2012
                            • 14319

                            Amazing story, it is so cool that you have that gun. It doesn't look like a survival gun, looks like an HR single shot shotgun but I am sure that it is what you say it is. I guess I am used to the metal framed stock versions, the folders. Thanks for sharing the pics, very interesting gun.
                            NRA Certified Metallic Cartridge Reloading Instructor, Shotgun Instructor and Range Safety Officer

                            sigpic

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              TRAP55
                              Calguns Addict
                              • Jul 2008
                              • 5535

                              Originally posted by 16in50calNavalRifle
                              Fantastic, thanks for sharing all this, Trap.

                              So Hill AFB has a museum? Open to the public, I assume? One more damn (!) military museum I have to visit in the southwest ..... a lengthening list.

                              If you're not familiar with the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, check it out (loc.gov/vets).

                              Sorry to hear he's in poor health. The LoC project is quite good, you can open a file for him and any original documents or photos or first-hand accounts (written, or interviews) go in it. I've done several of these interviews and am always looking for WWII vets to talk to.
                              He confides more to me than anyone else in the family, and other than what he flew, when and where, he's never told me anything else about his wartime service. I asked him about it once, his answer was that the history and details of his entire service are written down in a journal, and the family can see it when he's gone. I can wait.
                              He did say, that a lot of what he did in the cold war years, is still classified, but he put it in the journal anyhow. He said "screw em, they can't take my pension after I'm gone".
                              The Hill AFB Museum is a must see, and yes, open to the public.
                              He was a docent there until his health declined. He was 85 and just recovered from a car accident that broke his pelvis. Walked over to the B-17 on display there, and swung himself up into the hatch entry. The museum staff were all about to stroke out. Stuck his head out the hatch laughing at them and said "I just wanted to see if I could still do it".
                              I think I still have some pics of the museum and some of his collection that didn't get lost on the toasted hard drive. I can post em if you want to see em.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              UA-8071174-1