I picked up a Stevens model 87A rust bucket recently for less than $30 as a cheap dime-store .22 auto to tinker with. As far as I can tell, it has no serial number anywhere; Just a bunch of patent numbers on the reciever. Online searching has told me that finding an exact date of manufacture is impossible.
I detail stripped it, acid washed everything, applied some Oxpho Blue, and replaced the guide spring to get it looking and feedind pretty sharp. Last night when I started to work on the wood refinish, I noticed the buttplate had "Iver Johnson" molded into it, with the owl head emblem. I'm not familiar with that manufacturer or if they farm out parts to other manufacturers, but I have seen Johnson shotguns before. Can anyone tell what the story is behind that and if it's just a well-fitting bubba-job?
Thank you,
Hedley
here she is the day I brought her home
I detail stripped it, acid washed everything, applied some Oxpho Blue, and replaced the guide spring to get it looking and feedind pretty sharp. Last night when I started to work on the wood refinish, I noticed the buttplate had "Iver Johnson" molded into it, with the owl head emblem. I'm not familiar with that manufacturer or if they farm out parts to other manufacturers, but I have seen Johnson shotguns before. Can anyone tell what the story is behind that and if it's just a well-fitting bubba-job?
Thank you,
Hedley
here she is the day I brought her home