doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Have it checked by a competent gunsmith

This is pretty well a mantra. And while it may be great advice, I've never done it. First, I don't know any competent shotgun gunsmiths in my area, and second, a competent gunsmith would also have to be a metalurgist to uncover flaws that an experienced wouldn't uncover himself.

Most of us know when a gun should be a shooter or a Cracker Barrel gun. Most of us know, I think, when a gun is worth the expense of repairing, which is an expensive proposition.

"Don't shoot damascus barrels" used to be another mantra. If the barrels are pitted, I'd agree, but barrels that in good shape should do just fine with a reasonable load. I think most regular gunsmiths would tell you not to shoot them, regardless. It's a liability thing.

I'm no gunsmith, but I can tell if a gun is on the face, if the barrels ring true, and if anything is broken that would endanger the safety of the shooter. If such conditions exist, I don't buy the shotgun.

I wonder how many of you get your guns checked by a competent gunsmith. Maybe if I were pushing the envelope on a very collectible gun, I'd do it, but generally I think the gunsmith sees what I see, with more experienced eyes, but still.....

I just bought a Grulla/UA pigeon gun that I am taking to a gunmaker tomorrow to have it broken down, inspected, and cleaned. The gun came from an estate sale and it hasn't been shot in many years so a little tune up is in order. Its a 2-hr drive round trip to get to the shop, but I don't trust anyone local. The number of guys out there that call themselves "gunsmiths" never seizes to amaze me.

Adam

You'd be surprised how many guns out there are actually off the face, just because a gun is tight does not mean its on the face. Most real gunsmiths who do pre-buy checks will check things like barrel wall thickness, and the integrity of internal parts, etc. Most gun owners do not have wall thickness gauges either, when buying older guns its nice to know whats happened to those barrels in the past 100+ years. Its nice to know that the internals of a gun you are buying are sound. Most people do not know how to properly take down a A&D boxlock or even what to look for when they have the gun broke down to its bits. And I'm sure you know...just because a guns barrels "ring" true doesnt mean the barrels are 100% good to go. I've seen a few barrels in my time that rang true but had rib problems, I've also seen a few that did not "ring" that were perfectly ok. If you are buying an expensive gun...it pays in the long run to have a competent gunsmith look over it.

Dustin

Great, honest post. For guys that don't want to bother tinkering with and taking aprt old guns, a good smith is a necessity. For the rest of us, we farm out the stuff we can't do and enjoy savoring the rest, like a good cup of coffee.

Every old (1901 too 1930 in my case) Gun I've bought I had sent
from the dealer to Abe Chaber in CT, after questions n good photo's, so I knew I wanted the gun, If Abe said OK.
I found it worthwhile, & good peace of mind to let a good guy look over my purchases.
But if you have the smarts n tools to check min wall thickness,chambers etc, good for you & go for it.
I don't , on both smarts n tools
so found a possessional once over comforting
cheers
franc

Of those of you who send your guns to a smith for evaluation, how many have had guns judged unsafe?

OK, I'll bite. "Tight" might be taken by most of us as synonymous with on the face. What is the distinction, Dustin, and is it such as to make a difference?

jack

Never hurts to check trigger pulls also as there are plenty of old doubles which are "safe" for the shooter and also an AD waiting to happen. The LC site material is very graphic and very definitive about what you need to know about a shotgun which is deemed "safe" to shoot; namely what fodder was it designed to handle.

jack

Yes, "tight" is a term that most of us would associate with a gun being "on the face". It shouldn't be. Lets use a Purdey as an example. You can have a Purdey that is tight as a drum, take the springs out of it and it might rattle. Take a late 1870's hammergun with Jones screw grip, again..tight as a drum, but you can see light between the barrels and breech face...tight as a drum, but technically "off the face". LC Smith or A.H. Fox....gun locks up "tight", lever is in the center position, now take the forend off and the thing rattles around like a jar of marbles and light will show thru the breech face/barrel joint, so again, technically "off the face". Just looked a gun over for a friend, very nice W. Ford, best grade BLE, gun had recentley had the hook dovetailed and re-fitted, gun was tight to open and close, but a small, hardly detectable bit of light shown thru the breech face/barrel fit and when the gun was grabbed by the wrist (forend removed) and shaken side to side...you could feel the barrels wobble (just slightly).

I do think it makes a difference, because its just going to get worse the more you shoot a gun that is off the face, and normally it cost in the neighborhood of $350 to $700 to have a gun properly put back on the face. To some people, like me for example, thats not pocket change.

I have a Lancaster out right now getting put back on the face, it's going to cost me over $500 to have done right, thank goodness I don't have alot of money into the gun itself and I have room to play, not much room, but enough.