Savage Stevens 320

easy
Shop tier 2
high confidence
Shotgun
pump action
tube magazine
rotary bolt
budget

field strip ~3 min · reassembly ~5 min · detail strip ~25 min

Before you begin Verify this firearm is unloaded. Remove the magazine or empty the cylinder or tube, lock the action open, and check the chamber both by sight and by touch. Keep the muzzle in a safe direction and remove all live ammunition from your work area.

Stevens Arms limits owner disassembly The maker's own procedure goes as far as: Barrel removal, and the magazine plug on field grade models. Savage publishes barrel removal only, and says any further disassembly is not recommended and should be done only by a qualified gunsmith or the Savage Arms service department. (Stevens Model 320 Pump Shotgun Instruction Manual — Savage Arms / Savage Sports Corporation, PDF p. 7 saweb.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com [1])

Specifications

Manufacturer: Stevens Arms
Origin: United States / China
Category: Shotgun
Action: Pump action
Calibers: 12 gauge, 20 gauge
Capacity: 5+1 typical
Production: 2007–present (in-production)
Also known as: Stevens 320, Savage 320 Security

Model-specific safety

The 320 uses a rotary bolt design derived from the Winchester 1300 lineage. The bolt must rotate fully into battery — do not force a partially closed action.
Unloading a tube magazine takes several cycles. Verify both the chamber and the tube.
The crossbolt safety sits in the trigger guard.
This is a budget gun and tolerances vary. Check that the magazine cap is tight and the action runs freely before relying on it.
Savage does not publish a field strip for this shotgun. Their manual says further disassembly, other than removing the barrel, is not recommended and should be done only by a qualified gunsmith or the Savage Arms service department.
Never disassemble the safety mechanism. Savage states it has been designed, fitted and tested as an assembly.
A 20 gauge shell will fit into a 12 gauge chamber and can lodge in the barrel. Only load the gauge stamped on the barrel.
Always wear eye protection when cleaning or disassembling.

If it will not go back together

Common ways this firearm resists reassembly, and what is actually wrong. Forcing a part that will not seat is how firearms get damaged.

The barrel will not seat back into the receiver.

Why The bolt is fully open. Savage's procedure closes it about two inches first.

Fix Push the forend forward roughly two inches to close the bolt partly, then slide the barrel retaining lug over the magazine tube and seat the barrel.

Forcing it Forcing the barrel in against a fully open bolt can damage the breech face and the magazine tube threads.
The locking nut will not thread on, or cross-threads.

Why The barrel is not fully seated in the receiver, so the nut is meeting the magazine tube at an angle.

Fix Back the nut off, seat the barrel completely with the bolt partly closed, then start the nut by hand and tighten it securely.

Forcing it Cross-threading the magazine tube is not a home repair.
The action will not cycle after refitting the barrel.

Why The barrel is seated but the locking nut is not tight against it.

Fix Tighten the locking nut securely against the barrel, then cycle the action by hand before loading.

Under spring tension

Magazine tube spring and follower
Hammer spring

Easily lost parts

Magazine cap · Trigger group pins · Bolt slide

Tools

No tools required for the field strip.

Shop difficulty

Shop tier 2 Tier 2 — moderate among shotguns, for the full job: strip to the parts that get coated and put it back together working. Low-cost pump patterned on the Winchester 1300 rotary-bolt layout; Savage documents only barrel removal and sends everything else to a gunsmith, so a full strip relies on 1300-pattern knowledge (spring-loaded firing pin hook-up, bolt before trigger group). Rated with the 1300.

No sourced part count yet.

Bench time: about 40 min to strip, 60 min to rebuild (estimate). Strip of trigger guard group, bolt/slide arm bridge/firing pin, slide arms, magazine and stock; rebuild longer for the firing-pin hook-up and bolt-before-trigger-group order.

What comes off for coating

Barrel / magazine: magazine cap, barrel, magazine spring and follower
Receiver: trigger guard pin and trigger guard group, slide arms, slide arm bridge and breech bolt assembly, ejector (spring-loaded)
Bolt: firing pin and spring (frees bridge), rotating bolt head and cam pin, extractor
Trigger guard group: hammer, sear, trigger, slide lock and springs (only if coating the guard)
Stock: recoil pad, stock bolt

Special tools

Punch set — Trigger guard pin

Known pain points

Savage does not support disassembly beyond the barrel; anything further is for a gunsmith or the Savage service department. (both)
Source: Stevens Model 320 Pump Shotgun Instruction Manual — Savage Arms / Savage Sports Corporation saweb.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com [1] — “FURTHER DISASSEMBLY (OTHER THAN REMOVING THE BARREL) OF YOUR SHOTGUN IS NOT RECOMMENDED AND SHOULD BE DONE ONLY BY A QUALIFIED GUNSMITH OR SAVAGE ARMS SERVICE”

See also 3 documented reassembly problems and their fixes.

Fit or check on rebuild

Trigger guard group fits flush without force, hammer cocked, safety on — Forcing it damages the gun; the forearm may need moving to let it seat.
Source: Winchester Model 1300 Owner's Manual (web) — Winchester Repeating Arms winchesterguns.com [3] — “When properly installed it will fit easily and the pin will slide in without excessive force.”
Function check: safety, trigger/sear release, disconnector and feeding with dummy rounds — Standard after any detail strip; a mis-assembled sear or disconnector can double or fail to fire.

This is Pew-Takedown's rating, not the manufacturer's. How tiers are rated. Forum reports are owners' experience, not specifications.

Procedures

Clear and Make Safe

Clear & Make Safe

Point the muzzle in a safe direction and keep your finger off the trigger.
Engage the crossbolt safety in the trigger guard.
Press the action release and pull the forend rearward to open the action.
Removed at this step: Chambered shell, if present
Cycle the action repeatedly, catching each shell, until no more feed from the magazine tube.
With the action open, inspect the chamber and look up the magazine tube with a light.
WarningThe chamber AND the tube.
Physically confirm the chamber is empty and remove all live ammunition from the work area.

Barrel Removal — the only disassembly Savage publishes

Field Strip

Place the safety button in the FULL SAFE position by pushing it all the way to the right.
Pull the forend fully rearward, opening the bolt and exposing the chamber. If the forend is locked, depress the slide lock first.
Carefully examine the chamber opening and the magazine to be sure both are empty.
With the muzzle pointing away from you, unscrew the locking nut by turning it counterclockwise.
Remove the locking nut completely and pull the barrel forward, separating it from the receiver.
Removed at this step: Barrel Locking nut
Clean the bore and chamber, and wipe the exposed surfaces of the bolt face with a clean dry rag.
WarningBe careful not to leave lint or pieces of rag behind.
Stop here.
WarningSavage's instruction is explicit: further disassembly, other than removing the barrel, is not recommended and should be done only by a qualified gunsmith or the Savage Arms service department.

Refitting the Barrel

Reassembly

Check the bore from both ends and confirm you can see clearly all the way through.
WarningEven a small amount of mud, snow or excess oil in the bore can raise pressure enough to bulge or burst the barrel.
Place the safety button in the FULL SAFE position.
Put a fingertip on the spring-loaded end of the magazine and push slightly inward to confirm it moves and there is no shell in the magazine tube.
Close the bolt slightly by pushing the forend forward approximately two inches.
WarningThis is the step that makes the barrel go in. With the bolt fully open the barrel will not seat.
Slide the barrel retaining lug over the magazine tube and position the barrel with the receiver opening.
WarningTake care not to damage the receiver, barrel, breech face or magazine tube threads.
Seat the barrel completely into the receiver, aligning it as the manual shows.
Screw the locking nut onto the end of the magazine tube and tighten it securely.
Cycle the action several times and perform the function check.

Removing the Magazine Plug (field grade models)

Field Strip

Remove the barrel as described above.
WarningAlways wear eye protection.
Locate the magazine plug inside the white magazine spring retaining cap.
Tilt the action downward to begin sliding the magazine plug out of the retaining cap.
Grasp the magazine plug with your fingers and remove it completely.
TipThe plug restricts magazine capacity to two shells instead of five. Field grade models only.
Removed at this step: Magazine plug

Torque specifications

No sourced torque values from the manufacturer are recorded for this firearm. Where a fastener has a specified torque — action screws, scope bases, muzzle devices, barrel nuts — get it from the manufacturer or a gunsmith rather than estimating it.

What the manufacturer does say: The manufacturer's documents give no torque value. They say: "Screw the LOCKING NUT on to the end of the MAGAZINE TUBE (see FIGURE 7), tightening it securely against the BARREL RETAINING LUG. HAND TIGHT IS SUFFICIENT." (Stevens Model 320 Pump Shotgun Instruction Manual, PDF p. 9) "ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE CHOKE IS FIRMLY SCREWED INTO THE BARREL, BUT DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN." (Stevens Model 320 Pump Shotgun Instruction Manual, PDF p. 9)

Materials and factory finish

As stated by Stevens Arms. Prep, masking and cure depend on these; a polymer or aluminium part, a nitrided or anodised finish, and a blued steel part are each a different job. Variants with other finishes may exist — check the maker's page for the exact SKU on the bench.

Component	Material	Factory finish	Where it comes from
Stock 320 Security Bead Sight, 12 GA, SKU 19486	Synthetic	Black	320 Security Bead Sight \| Pump Action Shotgun \| Savage Arms — Savage Arms savagearms.com [2] “STOCK: Synthetic … STOCK COLOR: Black”
Receiver 320 Security Bead Sight, 12 GA, SKU 19486	—	Black	320 Security Bead Sight \| Pump Action Shotgun \| Savage Arms — Savage Arms savagearms.com [2] “REC. COLOR: Black”
Whole firearm 320 Security Bead Sight, 12 GA, SKU 19486	—	Matte black The maker states this for the firearm as a whole, not for a named part.	320 Security Bead Sight \| Pump Action Shotgun \| Savage Arms — Savage Arms savagearms.com [2] “Matte black finish”

Function check

After every reassemblyPerform these checks on a verified-unloaded firearm. If any check fails, the firearm is not safe to fire — stop and see a licensed gunsmith.

Verify the shotgun is unloaded — chamber and magazine tube — before each step.
Cycle the action fully and confirm it locks closed.
With the hammer cocked, engage the safety and press the trigger. The hammer must not fall.
Disengage the safety and press the trigger. The hammer should fall.
With the hammer down, confirm the action will not open until the action release is pressed.
Load two dummy shells into the magazine and confirm they feed and eject one at a time.
Confirm the magazine cap is tight.

Maintenance

Lubrication points

Action bars in their receiver grooves
Bolt body and locking lug
Magazine tube exterior
Hammer and sear pivots

Cleaning notes

Keep the magazine tube interior clean and dry rather than oiled — oil there collects plastic wad residue and slows the follower.

Suggested inspection interval: roughly every 1000 rounds. This is a general guideline, not a manufacturer specification.

Wear parts to inspect

Extractor · Shell latches · Magazine spring · Action bars

Common issues

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
Action will not close fully	Rotary bolt not rotating into battery, often from fouling in the barrel extension	Clean the bolt lugs and barrel extension. Do not force it.
Short-stroking	Not running the forend fully to the rear	Work the action hard and completely.

Also covers

The procedures above are reported to apply to: Savage Stevens 320 Security, Field, and Turkey configurations. Verify against the manual for your specific model.

Similar manual of arms

Sourcing

Confidence: high — Cross-checked against a primary source such as the manufacturer's manual or an issuing military technical manual.
Verification: Checked against the manufacturer manual
Last updated: 2026-10-29

References

Every source this page draws on, with its web address so you can read it yourself. Numbers in brackets elsewhere on the page point here.

[1] Stevens Model 320 Pump Shotgun Instruction Manual — Savage Arms / Savage Sports Corporation manufacturer manual primary source
https://saweb.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/manuals/manual_shotgun_320.pdf (checked 2026-09-15)
[2] 320 Security Bead Sight | Pump Action Shotgun | Savage Arms — Savage Arms website primary source
https://savagearms.com/firearms/model/320-security-bead-sight (checked 2026-10-03)
[3] Winchester Model 1300 Owner's Manual (web) — Winchester Repeating Arms manufacturer manual primary source
https://www.winchesterguns.com/support/owners-manuals/model-1300.html (checked 2026-10-29)

Notes: Verified against Savage's Stevens Model 320 manual, section 3 "Removing And Inserting The Barrel" and the cleaning section. The previous entry was rated low because its trigger-group pin procedure had never been checked against a factory manual. It has now been checked, and Savage publishes no such procedure: their manual states that further disassembly other than removing the barrel is not recommended and should be done only by a qualified gunsmith or the Savage Arms service department. The unsanctioned procedure has therefore been removed rather than confirmed, and Savage's own barrel removal, refitting and magazine plug instructions are given in its place. This is the fourth manufacturer in this database — with Smith & Wesson, Browning and Colt — that documents no owner field strip for a design people routinely strip anyway. The reassembly detail worth knowing is that the bolt must be closed about two inches before the barrel will seat.

Found something wrong? Corrections are the most valuable contribution to this project. Open an issue with the model, the step, and a source.