Remington Model 31 | |
---|---|
Type | Shotgun |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
Wars | World War II |
Production history | |
Designer | C.C. Loomis John Pedersen |
Designed | 1931 |
Manufacturer | Remington Arms |
Produced | 1931–1949 |
No. built | 196,000 |
Variants | Model 31L |
Specifications | |
Cartridge | 12-Gauge, 16-Gauge, 20-Gauge |
Barrels | Plain, solid rib, or vent rib |
Action | Pump-action |
Feed system | Tubular magazine |
Sights | Bead |
The Remington Model 31 is a pump-action shotgun that competed with the Winchester Model 1912 for the American sporting arms market. [1] Produced from 1931 to 1949, it superseded the John Pedersen-designed Models 10 and 29, and the John Browning-designed Model 17. It was replaced by the less expensive to manufacture Model 870 in 1950. [2]
While the Remington Model 17 enjoyed some success, a solid, 12-gauge featuring side-ejection was needed to compete with Winchester. C.C. Loomis sized up the Model 17 and adapted it for side ejection. The Model 31 was Remington's first side ejecting pump-action shotgun. Stocks were walnut with checkered walnut forend and later changed to a ribbed forend. The Model 31 was made in three gauges with 121,000 12-gauge models made and 75,000 16- and 20-gauge examples also produced. The Federal Bureau of Investigation acquired one Model 31 per office in 1935 in response to the Kansas City Massacre. [3] The model 31L was a lightweight version featuring an aluminum receiver and trigger housing.
During World War II Remington produced a Model 31 riot gun for military use. These were stamped "U.S. Property" on the left side of the receiver and had an approximate serial number range of 51000-63000. Except for a single prototype, no Model 31 trench guns were produced. [4]
Despite being well received, sales still lagged far behind the Winchester. Remington went back to the drawing board and designed the Model 870; this shotgun matched the durability of the Model 12 at a significantly lower cost. Despite the overwhelming success of the 870, many shotgun connoisseurs consider the Model 31 to be the ne plus ultra of pump shotguns with its "ball-bearing" slide action. [5]
The Model 31 was later used as a basis for the Mossberg 500 and related shotguns. The Mossberg is simplified and cheaper to produce. Notable differences are the use of a two-piece bolt with separate locking piece as well as a significantly simplified barrel mounting system. Further, the bolt locks into a barrel extension rather than directly to the receiver.
A shotgun is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, or sometimes a single solid projectile called a slug. Shotguns are most commonly smoothbore firearms, meaning that their gun barrels have no rifling on the inner wall, but rifled barrels for shooting slugs are also available.
The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, or Trench Gun, is a pump-action shotgun with an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Model 1897 was an evolution of the Winchester Model 1893 designed by John Browning. From 1897 until 1957, over one million of these shotguns were produced. The Model 1897 was offered in numerous barrel lengths and grades, chambered in 12 and 16 gauge, and as a solid frame or takedown. The 16-gauge guns had a standard barrel length of 28 inches, while 12-gauge guns were furnished with 30-inch length barrels. Special length barrels could be ordered in lengths as short as 20 inches, and as long as 36 inches. Since the time the Model 1897 was first manufactured it has been used by American soldiers, police officers, and hunters.
The Mossberg 500 (M500) is a series of pump action shotguns manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons. The 500 series comprises widely varying models of hammerless repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver and action, but differ in bore size, barrel length, choke options, magazine capacity, stock and forearm materials. Model numbers included in the 500 series are the 500, 505, 510, 535, and 590. The Revelation 310 and the New Haven 600 were also variations of the 500 series produced by Mossberg under different names. By 2021, 11,000,000 M500s had been produced, making it the most-produced shotgun of all time.
Pump action or slide action is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to cock the hammer/striker, and then pushed forward to load (chamber) a new cartridge into the chamber. Most pump-action firearms use an integral tubular magazine, although some do use detachable box magazines. Pump-action is typically associated with shotguns, although it has been used in rifles, grenade launchers, as well as other types of firearms.
The Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.
The Remington Model 7600 is a series of pump-action centerfire rifles made by Remington Arms. The Model 7600 is a progression from the original Model 760 pump-action rifle which Remington produced from 1952 to 1981. Production of the Model Six began in 1981 and was discontinued in 1987. Production of the Sportsman model 76 began in 1985 and was discontinued in 1987. Production of the model 7600 began in 1987 to present.
The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action sporting rifle. It has an iconic place in American sporting culture and has been held in high regard by shooters since it was introduced in 1936, earning the moniker "The Rifleman's Rifle". The action has some design similarities to Mauser designs and it is a development of the earlier Winchester Model 54, itself being based on a Mauser 98-type action.
The Winchester Model 1887 and Winchester Model 1901 are lever-action shotguns originally designed by famed American gun designer John Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The shotgun has become iconic for its use in the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
The Ithaca 37 is a pump-action shotgun made in large numbers for the civilian, law enforcement and military markets. Based on a 1915 patent by firearms designer John Browning for a shotgun initially marketed as the Remington Model 17, it utilizes a novel combination ejection/loading port on the bottom of the gun which leaves the sides closed to the elements.
The Remington 1100 is a gas-operated semi-automatic shotgun introduced by Remington Arms in 1963.
The Winchester Model 1912 is an internal-hammer pump-action shotgun with an external tube magazine. Popularly named the Perfect Repeater at its introduction, it largely set the standard for pump-action shotguns over its 51-year high-rate production life. From August 1912 until first discontinued by Winchester in May 1964, nearly two million Model 12 shotguns were produced in various grades and barrel lengths. Initially chambered for 20 gauge only, the 12 and 16 gauge versions came out in 1913, and the 28 gauge version came out in 1934. A .410 version was never produced; instead, a scaled-down version of the Model 12 known as the Model 42, directly derived from scaled drawings of the Model 12, was produced in .410.
The Browning Automatic 5, most often Auto-5 or simply A-5, is a recoil-operated semi-automatic shotgun designed by John Browning and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. It was the first successful semi-automatic shotgun design, and remained in production until 1998. The name of the shotgun designates that it is an autoloader with a capacity of five rounds, four in the magazine and one in the chamber. Remington Arms and Savage Arms sold variants called the Remington Model 11 and Savage Model 720 that were nearly identical but lacked the magazine cutoff found on the Browning.
The Remington Model 572Fieldmaster is a manually-operated, slide-action rimfire repeating rifle manufactured by the Remington Arms Company. The 572 is noted for its similarity to the Remington 870 shotgun in design. The 572 is chambered for the .22 Short, .22 Long and .22 Long Rifle cartridges. Ammunition is supplied by a tubular magazine under the barrel which holds 15-22 rounds depending on the cartridge used. The longevity of manufacture speaks well of the popularity and durability of the action, and the overall reliability of this gun. It is popular with "plinkers" and collectors both, along with being a good small game, or "camp" rifle.
The Model 1200 is a pump-action shotgun that was manufactured by the Winchester-Western Division of Olin Corporation, starting 1964. It was redesignated the Model 1300 in 1978 with minimal changes. Production ceased in 2006 when the U.S. Repeating Arms Company, the subsequent manufacturer, went bankrupt. A militarized version of the Model 1200 was acquired by the U.S. Army for use during the Vietnam War. It has seen service with the U.S. military in various conflicts through into the twenty-first century.
The Mossberg 185 is a 20-gauge bolt-action shotgun, produced between 1948 and 1964 by O.F. Mossberg & Sons in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Fabarm FP6 is a pump-action combat shotgun that was manufactured by the Italian firearms company Fabbrica Bresciana Armi S.p.A. (FABARM) and sold by Heckler & Koch. It was intended for civilian and law enforcement use.
The Remington Model 10 is a pump-action shotgun designed in 1908 by John Pedersen for Remington Arms. It has an internal striker within the bolt and a tube magazine which loaded and ejected from a port in the bottom of the receiver. An updated version, the Model 29, was introduced in 1930 with improvements made by C.C. Loomis.
The Remington Model 887 Nitro Mag is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is noted for using a polymer finish called ArmorLokt, which is designed to survive any type of weather condition and leaves no exterior surfaces to rust. This gives the 887 a "space age" look which is one of the gun's more defining features.
The Mossberg 183 is a .410 bore bolt-action shotgun, produced between 1947 and 1986 by O.F. Mossberg & Sons in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Hawk Industries Type 97 is the factory and official Chinese military and police designation of a shotgun design patterned after the Remington Model 870 manufactured by Hawk Industries, a division of the China North Industries Corporation. The Type 97 is the base design of a variety of models with multiple configurations to suit different purposes and applications.