I got a Stevens 311 w/30" M&F barrels and cracked buttplate a couple yrs ago. it was a "pig" to carry and shoot...the slowest handling shotgun "ever". I ended up taking the chop saw with a zip-cut blade installed to it....22" now. After dressing the barrel cuts with a big flat file and fine chain saw file, I unscrewed the bead and reinstalled it on the shortened rib. The plastic buttplate was pulled, the stock shortened about 1/2" on the chop saw and a surplus to my needs 1" thick KickEze pad fitted and ground to a "field" configuration. I did a bit of stock refinishing locally around a couple of dings. The metal was pretty good with a lot of the case coloring still intact.
I shot a couple rounds of skeet with it with the new cylinder choked (no choke) short barrels and the added recoil pad. It handled very quickly! I also carried it on the blood trail of an arrowed black bear with some slugs that came with the gun. Nice to carry and confidence inspiring in the thick. The bear was expired so no drama!
Also carried it when going back for the meat from my second bear...hung up and game bagged the evening before. Again the old Stevens was nice to have in hand as I was in good grizzly country and it was thick. Nothing had touched the meat over-night.
Summary...I turned a $100 shotgun that I'd never use as designed into a decent thick cover defense shotgun...all for a few hours of shop work including the installation of a spare recoil pad. Great project as far as I am concerned.
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