doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Snap action guns

It seems the snap actions are not being made (marketed?). What are the + - of snap action guns compared to similar quality side lock guns?

Thanks

jlb

They work quite similarly, it is simply which system won out with the buying public, though you are quite correct in that very few gunmakers have offered them in the last 125 years or so. I have owned quite a few over the years, several T. Woodward patent guns known as the "Spiral spring Woodward", a sidelock Lang and my most recent acquisition is a Grant, I just love the lines and uninterrupted top profile.



The drawbacks to a snap action gun in my mind are mostly related to the lever spring, it is shaped like a tea drop with the center removed and they tend to break occasionally. A complicated and costly repair but not the end of the world either. If you like them and find a good one I see no reason not to grab it.

A snap action in regards to double guns, is pretty much any action that uses spring tension to forcefully push the bolting into place.
So, ya….theyre still being made & marketed.

Please provide examples. Such are rare in NM.

Browse…


https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...s/shotguns-english-double.c667_p1_o6.cfm

Best,
Ted

Here’s a very simple example….any double gun with a spring powered top lever, side lever, under lever, etc, is a snap action.

I feel snap action guns are push forward underlever guns, just my view.

This gun was sold as a "Snap Action" notice no top leaver just having an opening leaver as part of the trigger guard bow. I suppose the "Snap" comes from just lifting the barrel's to close the gun with the action spring putting the locking bolt in place.

... Snap action is not a phrase that we use much over here...

In the general sense of the phrase it is exactly as Dustin described it, but in the narrower usage it refers to an underlever type that required no manual movement, but was bolted by the spring action of the underlever. This was deemed by many to be an improvement over the Jones type underlever which required the lever to be manually moved rearward, bolting the action without the benefit of any automatic (spring assisted) mechanism. So, in the narrowest usage it is "as opposed to" the Jones underlever. Maybe that is what the OP was referring to. (?)

See "Snap action" in Hallowell's excellent firearms dictionary for a description and diagrams:

https://www.hallowellco.com/abbrevia.htm#S