Military trench guns and riot guns were sold or loaned to all sorts of state and municipal agencies and police departments. Original 520-30 military trench and riot guns will have a "military" blue finish (matte blue finish). However, the bayonet adaptor will be a plum color and the adaptor heat shield will have a polish blue finish. One way to tell if the finish is original is by looking at the proof marks on the receiver and barrel. They were applied after finish and should show burnishing around them.

 

Check for all of the above.
If they are reasonable, go for it.
If they are asking "collector" prices then move a bit slower and really check.

FWIW, I think they will only go up in price.
My take

 

Most if not all of those guns including M16s were on "Loan" from DOD, not Given. The departments should not be selling them as they are accountable for them. There was a program under the Drug enforcement agency that loaned the old stuff to departments for use, not for sale . I would be VERY reluctant to buy one, as the Govt may come ask for it back. Several departments have gotten in big trouble when it was found they were selling the guns. This is different than crap they got at a DRMO like gas masks .

 

I don't think the dept's can sell the stuff that was available from .gov in the past few years, but the stuff back in the 60's is fair game,

bought some stuff back in the 80's and 90's from some local police depts, there were no caveats or conditions on the firearms,

if the MG's were loaned, they would be on a form 10, meaning the LGS mentioned would not be able to sell them

 

I took a look at these trench guns a couple days ago and ended up putting the nicest one on layaway. I do have a question that I'm hoping someone can answer though. I've read through Mr Canfield's book several times and these 530-20's have all the markings they're supposed to have and in the proper location except for the S stamp that's supposed to be on all but the earliest bayonet mounts. The bayonet mount also has a gold color instead of the plum color described in Canfield's book. Has anyone seen one this color before? Could these be aftermarket additions? I've included pictures the seller took of one of the 530-20's he already sold, the one I put on layaway is in slightly better condition.

 

My first impression is that the receiver has been lightly polished and reblued. The stamping look washed-out and very faint. I would expect the markings to be as clear and distinct as the flaming bomb and “P” markings on the barrel. But they’re not.

The gold tone of the bayonet mount assembly is also a concern. I have never seen that color/tone before. That doesn’t necessarily make it wrong but it does raise questions especially in conjunction with the receiver issue.

I don’t see this piece as clearly wrong but I also can’t unquestionably declare it right.

For whatever it’s worth I do have some experience with US GI shotguns and have pristine textbook examples of the 520-30 and 620 trench guns along with a couple of M97 trench guns. All purchased back in the ‘80s before the prices exploded and fakes became rampant. I offer this not as braggadocio but rather as some foundation for my observations and opinion.

 

I appreciate your response Richard, I had noticed the shallowness of the receiver markings compared to the barrel markings in the pictures as well as the examples I examined. I guess it comes down to who did the reworking, the military prior to the guns being given or sold to the police department or the department itself. I'm going to attempt to contact the department's armorer and see what if anything he can tell me about their history, all I know currently is that they got them in the 60's and never really used them . I put it on layaway instead of buying it outright to give me a bit more time to do some research without missing out on one.

 

Do all of the samples you had to choose from have this coloration on the bayonet mount?

I agree that the markings on the receiver appear buffed, curiously the barrel marks seem untouched.

I'm wondering if the Golden color is the result of a dip type reblue reacting with what was already there or maybe the type of steel used for the mount.
The heatshield took the blue properly.
Correct me if I'm wrong but were not the originals sometimes plum colored in this area?

In any event (except if you think they are clones) they are obviously not original and should be priced accordingly.
Going forward they might be a tough sell because of these alterations.
Then again, they may not, still if some history could be traced as to when and who did the alterations, it might explain away some of the objections.

Still, nice guns

 

Yes, all 5 of them had the same coloration on the bayonet mount as apposed to the plum color that is the norm. I've looked at pictures of a number of reproduction trench gun bayonet mounts and they are usually flat black, I've yet to find a picture of one with a mount this color. The serial numbers are in the high 50,000's which puts them as late war products I believe and they have the Stevens company logo stamped on the opposite side of the barrel from all other Stevens 530 series shotguns which Canfield states is a sure sign of a legitimate trench gun barrel since they relocated the stamp so it was not covered up by the heatshield. I've considered that the Police department these came from may have added the mounts but I can't imagine why a inner ring suburb police department in Cleveland would want bayonets attached to their shotguns, even during the 1960's.

 

+1, Lyman

I also should think that if done by the government, more examples would have been seen by now.
On the other hand, if done by the locals, maybe these 5 (or however many they had or altered) are all there are.

 

That's a very good point, I'm still deciding what I'm going to do with the layaway. The total cost will be 1500$ which is far less than a legit one would sell for so I'll have to think about it some more.

 

Ouch, are they truly bringing that much these days?

I'll have to revalue my 620.

I agree that obtaining documentation concerning the history on these is a good idea.
Given that no added PD markings are present a photo copy of the inventory page would add provenance to the gun and, possibly, help explain away the odd color.

Good Luck and thanks for sharing.

 

That gun has been refinished. If you look at original examples you will see they have a matte blue finish on the receiver. On an original you can see striations in the metal from the polishing of the receiver. The finish on this one is way too polished. Also, the bayonet adaptor/heat shield is not original. Save you money and look for a nice original one.

And FYI, the S marked bayonet adaptors start showing up around the 65,000 serial number range.