doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Definition of "off face"

Is any gap between the barrels and the reciever considered off face or is some gap considered acceptable?

This is a question of semantics. The real question is at what point does the gun become unsafe to shoot? I have shot guns that have some play between the action and bbls without incident, and any gun that is loose has by definition been shot in that condition (they don't get that way from old age). I would say when the brass heads on the shells start to deform it's too loose and is about to give you a nasty surprise. But it's a good idea to fix play as soon as it's noticeable because I think it accelerates due to a "hammer" effect. Most practical way is to tig weld and then dress the front bbl hook.

I have several SxS's that I can slip a 0.003"-0.005" feeler gauge between the breech face and the barrels when the action is closed. But there is no play between the barrels and the action when closed. Some gap is OK, but looseness is a sign of bad things to come.

Mike Doerner

I have an old AYA Yeoman that is off face - you know when its getting bad when the forend drops off when you fire it!!! Then its time to do something about it-----------------------


like wrap tape around the forend and barrel to stop it dropping off.
Next project is a shim - she isn't worth spending money on for a re-joint !

Jonty

Gents,

Thank you for the responses. The gun in question is not loose whatsoever but I've noticed that when held up to a light a small gap can be seen. I'll need to check it with a feeler gage.

If it gets really bad I guess I'll need to pick up a roll of duct tape...... :-)

Phil

Here's an interesting and informative discussion of this topic:

http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat....;o=&fpart=1

Curl

Being on face & tight to the action bar are of course two entirely different things. One is in an axial direction while the other is rotational. On certain types of bolting mechanisms the gun can be off face to the point you could throw a cat between the bbls & breech, but would still bolt down tight to the action bar. I realize many will take this as sacrilege but the old Jones Underlever comes to mind.

Thanks, Curl. Very interesting article. I guess I can conclude that although the action is tight (and doesn't seem to have been peened) it is slightly off-face. This gun has a doll's head extension so the repair may be more involved. I think I'll just live with it and shoot it sparingly.

Phil