FrankenMauser
New member
Yep.There are two major problem with the guns today. The first is that they were always cheap and have not held up very well. The second is that they all use detachable magazines which got lost, and new ones are scarce. There may be a market for someone to make new magazines, but most owners choose to scrap the gun instead of buying a magazine for two or three times what the whole gun cost way back then.
My 258 was rolled over by a horse or driven over by a truck (and then still fired for what I estimated to be 50-75 rounds!). Absolutely decimated. Some one actually took it to a gunsmith, whom quickly convinced them to go buy a Remington 870 and never fire a bent gun again.
I paid $8-12 at the gunsmith's estate auction.
(Can't remember exactly. I got five "parts guns" at that auction, with all falling between eight and twelve bucks each. --The gunsmith was still kicking, and sharing whatever he could about the lots. He was smart enough to liquidate 70 years' worth of possessions before his wife got stuck with all the "junk" after he died.)
But, of course, me being the stubborn fool that I am... I fixed the receiver; mostly straightened the barrel; glued, screwed, and pinned the stock back together; and paid $40 for a replacement magazine. (The Savage/Stevens magazines are available.)
I'm glad I saved it. It's a fun shotgun.
But loading that magazine requires three and a half hands, two miracles, and alien intervention.
(...) It takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it... you tend to take up fishing as a preferred sport.