Stevens 520-30??

Does anyone know if the Stevens 520-30 had a civilian equivalent? I saw a Sears Ranger something or other at a show recently that looked exactly like it. I'm looking for some parts and was wondering if they were interchangeable.

All the old time military shotguns were derived from civilian models . About the only differences are applied markings and add ons like heat shields . So yes , except for the odd part , they are the same as a rule.
Chris

Thanks but it doesn't appear to be that simple. I know that is the case with, oh say EVERY other shotgun out there but this Stevens is proving to be a little more complicated. I don't know, maybe I'm missing something. Here's what I know thus far:

The Stevens 520 has two models within itself. One with a safety in front of the trigger (older model) and one push button safety (later model). Both models have a hump back receiver. Then there's the 520A, I have no idea what that is. That "may" be the civilian equivalent of the military version, which is the 520-30. I have never seen a 520-30 that was not military marked. The 520-30 is a squared off receiver but not the hump back and it also has a tang safety. The 620 then came along with a rounded receiver and went back to a push button safety. I have read that the receivers were different lengths as well between some of the models. As I stated before the only gun that I have ever seen that looked identicle the 520-30 was a Ranger (Sears) but I have no idea what the model number is.

I'm looking for internals for one of my 520-30's and I refuse to cannibalize another military gun. I was hoping to find something else that the parts are interchangeable with. Basically what I have is a stripped receiver, the butt stock and everything forward of the receiver. It's a personal project for myself and I have to admit that this has come to a bit of a stalemate because this whole "which, witch is which?" situation has me afraid to spend any more money on the wrong parts.

Quite a few parts do interchange between the models including the 620s, HOWEVER not all parts of the exact same model, gauge, and vintage will interchange (even after fitting, sometimes).
Kinda confusing/frustrating!

Just what parts do you require?

The 520 was introduced in 1904 with the button safety. It was upgraded and at that time the safety was moved up to the tang. The upgrade is the 520-30 and all the shotguns bought by the US are 520-30s ( except for maybe a few commercial guns under the blanket order ) . The 520-30s had been obsoleted in 1932-ish , but was put back in production for the US.
The 620 was produced starting in 1927 , and it too was improved and called the 620A. Again , all US bought guns are 620As , even though the later ones were stamped M620 rather than the earlier M620A stamping.
Because these are civilian guns pressed into military service on a very small scale ( compared to 4 million Garands and 6-ish million carbines ) and from many different companies in even more different variations , interchangable parts was not a requirement as it was with the main line weapons . Hand fitting was and remains the rule for replacement parts. Also , all the US guns were 12 Ga. , so any parts specific to 16ga or 20ga or any other ga would be wrong as it would be on any other model.
Also some models of shotguns used in WW2 were produced for years afterward , and any changes made in these later models would not be expected to fit or work or look right.
HTH , Chris

jmoore, I responded to your inquiry regarding what parts I need but for some reason it didn't post. To recap: basically I have everything forward of the receiver, all the furniture, and a completely stripped receiver with the exception of the actual safety switch on the tang. So I would need the complete bolt assembly, complete trigger assembly including the housing, and all of the related screws, springs, and buttons (release). The problem is that I don't want to spend money on parts that are for a different "520" and not fit in my gun. I can find stuff for the old 520 all day long but have no idea if it will work in my 520-30. I don't believe so because from what I understand the older one had an elongated receiver. Maybe that didn't matter, I don't know. So that's where I'm at.
I would like to try and find as much of the complete sets as possible instead of building them piece by piece. Like a "complete trigger group" and "complete bolt assembly". It just cuts down on the chance that the pieces won't quite work as well together. I have seen with older guns that due to wear, sometimes each assembly becomes its own little jigsaw puzzle with pieces that don't interchange very well, or at all, with the same parts from another gun. If anybody knows where I can find the correct parts for this gun I would be greatly appreciative if you could point me in the right direction. Thanks again everyone.