09/04/2024 - A martial variant of a John Browning designed sport gun, the 520 Trench Gun was originally developed in response to a World War I request for new fighting shotguns for the American Expeditionary Force. It made a strong impression on the evaluators but did not make it into the field before the armistice was signed. Seeing potential for the gun on the police market, Stevens kept production going to 1932, and at the outbreak of World War II, the U.S. government bought every 520 that was still in the warehouse. There were ~33,000 Stevens 520-30s produced for the war, with a mix of trench guns, riot guns and long-barreled training guns among those 33,000. This one is marked with the 'U.S.' military proof and flaming bomb. It has a very nice blued finish with minor edge wear. Excellent wood with a couple minor scratches. The plum colored bayonet lug is marked and the heat shield is missing, but there are marks of where the heat shield was. Excellent bore. Smooth action.
