Mis-Matched Trench and Riot Guns

[bigskybound]

Didn't want to step on another thread. I find it interesting that there are alot of Stevens 520-30 trench and riot guns with mis-matched receivers and barrels. In another old thread someone opined that this is common. Is it common with other takedown models such as Winchester model 12 and 97? If mixing up the parts during arsenal refurbishing was common, would not these guns be similar to mixed parts Garands? Some posters have stated that a mixed parts trench gun is worth less than half of an all matching one. But while all matching is most desirable, does it necessarily make the arsenal assembled mix masters worthless to collectors?

[scosgt]

A mismatched gun is not collectible.

The difference with a Garand is that the parts are NOT serial numbered. People are referring to later replacement parts. Original Garands with all the correct as-built parts are quite rare, as most of those parts wore out in service and were replaced.

Mis matched Ithacas are unsafe to shoot. Rem 11 is the most common military shotgun, and are only worth anything if matching and mint. In general, I would not buy a mismatched shotgun unless it was so rare that it was the only thing available. I had a US PROPERTY marked Rem 11, one of the very rarest guns, with a MM barrel. But I only paid $250 for it.