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Remington Model 31 "Long Range"

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nitro27man

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At the Grand, one of my friends and I were discussing the great Remington Model 31 shotguns. During the conversation he mentioned he had a rare "Long Range" model. In fact he had it with him. Sorry that this is a
"worthless" thread without photos, but out of respect for him I agreed not to take a picture.

We did measure the bore and choke on this 32 inch barrel and the results surprised me! Can't say they were all made like this, but most likely, to be "Long Range" they had to be. I have a Stan Baker bore gauge set so the accuracy is there. Gun has a 5-digit serial number.

Would you believe that the bore was actually "over-bored" to .747"? This dimension ran 18" deep [depth of the gauge] and did not vary more than the width of the markings on the gauge that entire length! For those who don't know, the M31 barrels were bored out from a solid steel bar!! Who says you could not get accuracy in the early 1930's?

The choke started 2-1/4" from the muzzle and was basically a straight taper to .699". A whopping .048" constriction!!

I would love to have a 40 yard pattern on paper just to see how that choke translates to pattern density. My friend used that 31 at turkey shoots as a boy with his father holding the gun while the small son pulled the trigger. He said at 30 yards, it would just hammer the card and he won a lot of meat back in the day with it. You can imagine that it is not for sale!!

Hope you enjoyed the info.

Remington Model 31 Long Range, 32" barrel w/Simmons vent rib added. Bore .747 with .048" choke.

Scott Hanes
 
#2 ·
Scott—thanks for the write up on the Remington 31 Long Range. They are very scarce and sought after collectible shotguns. L.C. Smith also used the term Long Range on their double guns in pre-war days. They were marked Long Range on the frames. They had specially bored barrels and chokes designed to extract optimal performance from the shotshells of that era. Remember they were dealing with paper shells and fiber wads in those days. Fox made some HE Grade guns with similar performance criteria. All of these guns are seldom seen and bring a premium over standard bored guns of the same make. Just a little FYI for your thread!
 
#4 ·
I've commented before about a gentleman (then elderly) back in the early 70's when I was helping run a two trap club. He and his wife were then new to our town and had just moved from North Dakota, a retired banker and they were attending out church. He drove into the club in his Caddilac and just observed for a few nights. I approached him and invited him to stop out some evening and shoot. This guy just looked the part of a waterfowler and trapshooter. Well one night he pulled into the parking lot near the lights and started to open his trunk and I told the guys that I was going over to his car and see what he was going to pull out. His shooting vest was adorned with All American patches including one for the Grand American State Team race winner. He owned 3- model 31s and 3- model 32s. Most were TC's but one of the 31's had a 32" barrel (likely a "Long Range") as that was his waterfowl gun. I often wonder what happened to his priceless guns as I believe they had no children. At this time his eyesight was obviously failing but I sure wish I could of seen him shoot in his hay-day as he still handled the model 32 well on doubles. Yes I do remember his name very well but will refrain from using it here.
 
#5 ·
Scott,

Wow, model 31 Long Range seldom seen these days as so few produced compared to model 12 heavy ducks. I hunted with a 31 20 ga steel receiver back in my younger years, the action was so much faster than the model 12.

Nice stories from the Grand, hope you have more ...................
 
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