POTD: The Lesser Known Trench Gun – The Stevens 520 Trench Gun
Sam.S 09.01.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The Stevens 520 was a sweet pump-action shotgun that came from John Browning’s design bench back in 1909. It had a tubular mag under the barrel holding 5 rounds. You could “slam fire” it by holding the trigger down while pumping to shoot real fast. After Stevens got sold to focus on war production in 1916, the 520 kept going under Savage until 1939 when the 520A took over, ending in 1948. Stevens also made the similar Model 620 from 1927 to 1939, replaced by the 620A until 1955. When WWII hit, Stevens tooled up the 520 and 620 as trench guns and riot guns for the military, marked “Model 520-30” and “Model 620.” Those classic models saw action through Korea and Vietnam before finally fading away. The 520 was a groundbreaking yet underrated pump shotgun back in its day.
“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. Checked back into the arsenals at the end of the war, many were sent back into the field for Korea and Vietnam. A combination bayonet lug and 6-hole heat shield is mounted on the matching numbered barrel, with a plum tone and “S” stamp on the lug. It has a three-line address on the right side of the barrel and two-line gauge marking on the left, “P/(ordnance bomb)” proofs, cylinder choke and a 2 3/4 inch chamber. The frame is marked “P/(ordnance bomb)”, “MOD. 520-30” and “U.S.” and has the post-1920 upper tang safety switch and the locking block in the top of the frame. Smooth metal jacketed forearm and pistol grip stock with a green canvas sling, serrated plastic buttplate, and a 13 7/8 inch length of pull. Includes “1917” dated Remington bayonet, leather sheath, and leather sling.”
Lot 1478: U.S. Stevens 520 Slide Action Trench Shotgun with Bayon – World War II U.S. Stevens 520-30 Slide Action Trench Shotgun with Bayonet. (n.d.-c). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/77/1478/us-stevens-model-52030-slide-action-trench-shotgun-with-bayon.
