Another new old gun project

[peternap]

As if I didn't have enough projects, I was at one of my favorite gunshops this afternoon.
This is one of those Old shops that has stuff they haven't seen for 20 years and, they are good to work with.

While looking around, I ran across an old hammer double with those classic European lines I love.

It had a note on it that said Black Powder only..$200.00

I looked it over and the barrels were Damascus and it was marked Belgium Twist on the rib. I'd give the bore a high fair mark.

The right lock was working fine but the left has some issues. First the hammer was loose. That means someone has rounded it some or the spindle has rounded a bit. Easy fix. The hammer was twisted to the right too far and I suspect that's the cause of the loosness. Last, while it will cock and the trigger will release, something is keeping it from making the full travel to the firing pin. I'll need to pull the lock to see about that.

The rib is good on the barrels . Belgium are tougher than English because they were brazed instead of soldered.

The stock is in good condition with no cracks or looseness. Someone tried to refinish it many years ago...(It has a patina) and sanded over some checkering.

Firing pins are good and the lockup is tight.

I love Black powder shotguns and this is in good enough shape to be really fun, and cheap enough to use.
I paid $150.00 for it including a box of Federal 209A primers (Which is why I went in there)

Someone rechambered the rlght barrel because it measures 3" and the right
2 3/4.

It's marked J Reynolds and under the forend, has a crown. as well as JR and a 9 on the rib. The forend has an 8 and a crown and the barrel lug has an 8 and crown.

I don't know enough about antiques to know what all that means, but I'll figure it out. First order is pull the lock and see what's going on.

Pulled the locks off and like I thought, the right lock is OK.

Both locks have been rebuilt and as far as it went, a pretty good job. It looks like whoever did it, got tired and didn't finish the left. There are some other problems with the left also.



Problem number one is that the hammer retaining screw is stripped and it looks like the hole in the tumbler is also.



There are a couple ways to fix that including making a new tumbler . I expect I'll just reweld it and rethread since I don't know if the rebuilder hardened the parts anyway.

The next problem is the hammer is bent. That's an easy fix. It's turned slightly inward and back. I'll just heat it and realign it, then bend it down far enough to hit the firing pin.




The left firing pin has been replaced also and it wasn't fitted correctly. That shouldn't be a problem after I get it out. I've never taken one of these old pins out before. I suppose there is a special tool to remove it.

The only other problem I found was the screw that holds the extractor in place is sheared. that's just a drill and tap job.

Anyone with suggestions on anything, please jump in.

It is a Damascus barrel, but contrary to what they teach in Hunter Safety classes, they are perfectly safe to use with black powder loads. That is assuming they are in good condition. This one looks fine except for the rechamber on the left side. He maay have only been cleaning up the forcing cone instead of rechambering.

[MountainDon]

Peter, you posted that just before we took off for the cabin. I love old stuff like that! I hope you will keep us apprised of what you run into and how this works out.

There's a shop in town that has a shelf row of old long guns. The last time I looked there were a number of double barreled blackpowder shotguns in assorted gauges; IIRC there were a few 20 gauges. Every so often I get a hankering to take one home, but hold off. Some are very pretty to look at; good wall dressing for a cabin. But I'd like to be able to fire it. I'm not certain enough of what it will take to make one operational and even more more importantly, how to ensure that it will not be a bomb waiting to explode. Any hints... you can email or PM me if you don't want to comment publicly.

[peternap]

No problem posting it Don. As  matter of fact, I added a page to OVN called the country shop. This is the first project in there and I will take it all the way through firing it in there.

I didn't feel well today so I really didn't do anything on it.

Looking for a shooter just takes some hard looking. If there is a shop with some BP shotfuns, you're well on the way, especially if he has good prices.
A lot of the old ones have Damascus barrels. Don't let them scare you. They're fine to shoot with Black powder.

First look at the stock. I it tight, are there cracks and a lot will be cracked at the tang. If it's a bad crack, leave it unless you want to make a stock.

Grab the shotgun around the hinge pin and shake it. Do you feel any loosness in the action. If it isn't really bad, a little loosness can be fixed easily and I'll be telling how to do that. This one needs a little tightening,

There are going to be some typos in this post Don, I'm not seeing well tonight and going by squint and feel.

Anyway...hold the action up to the light. Can you see daylight between the breech face and receiver. A small gap can be adjusted.

Look at the barrel. Any rust/ Surface rust is fine. Deep pitting makes a wallhanger. Dents are hard to fix.

Liik for markings. The lower grade shotguns were Belgium. The Belgium barrels were also the better cconstructed and to me, more desirable.

Work the locks and make suer springs and notches hold well. Check the firing pins and make sure they move greely. The pins are eaasy to make and if you need new ones, don't leave it just becuse of that.
Work the leaver and make sure it has a strong, positive feel yo it.

Those are the basics. I'll post more tomorrow.