Ironlip,
Checkered wood on a Stevens 520-30 trench gun at s/n 65000 is NOT common.
Stevens 520-30 wartime production began in the spring of 1942 and the contract was complete by June of 1944. At that time, and until the end of the war, there was still a prohibition on the production and sale of civilian firearms. The majority of the Stevens facilities in Chicopee Falls, MA were involved with the production of 1,000,000 Lee-Enfield No 4 Mk I rifles for the British until August 1945.
520-30 production is heavy on long-barreled training guns to begin with (31000-38000) followed by riot guns (39000-57000) with some trench guns mixed in and finally almost all trench guns (58000-70000) every one in this range I have recorded had smooth stocks. Checkered stocks and mixed stocks are common below 50000, the highest mixed gun I've recorded (before now) is 57935 (checkered fore end). It is possible it's original but not at all common at 65000. Who knows what happened during its lifetime (unit armory/arsenal repair, post war swap, etc). I wouldn't let it disturb me too much on a nice 520-30 trench I was looking at buying. Smooth fore ends can be had on Gun Broker and eBay from time to time if it bothers you.
After the war Stevens went back to selling the 520-30 (520A) as JC Higgins 102.25s, Western Field Model 30 SB562As, and Riverside Arms 520s. They're one of the very few guns that appear in the fall 1946 Sears catalog (with "Sorry Not Available" stamped across the ad). Stevens used up lots of left over 520-30 parts to make these post war guns. Many have wartime reproof "P" stamps and Brinell hardness test marks and some have left over smooth wood.
All the fore ends for the Model 520, 520A, 620, and 620As are interchangeable, as long as they're 12 or 16 gauge, along with many other common parts. In fact, the only difference on 12 and 16 gauges from the same year, other than the barrel, is that the 16 gauge bolt is machined so the ejectors are closer together. The 20 gauge is the only odd ball.
Last edited by Keydet92; 07-02-2016 at 04:36.
James,
I'm a collector and researcher of Stevens 520/620 shotguns.