The Victor Sarasqueta 20 Ga SLE gun is somewhat a different story, built in 1947 it was bought by my father NIB, he seldom used it. For several years it was lent to a friend that did not care it at all; once back home it was given to a brother of mine. Five years ago I purchased it for a token ammount of money on the condition that it could not leave the family. It sported 30" badly pitted barrels, the original stock did not fit me and their locks were not working properly.
This gun needed a backboring work, a careful lock repair as well a new stock and fore-end wood. Being a 7E model it deserved a well figured wood. Barrel blacking was not needed. Considering its seize and weight it was always meant to be a good dove/feral pigeon gun. The repair process took several steps.
Three years ago it went to backboring and lock repair with Sergio Gonzalez. A .615 reamer was not enough to eliminate pitting, a .625 had to be obtained from abroad to deal with pits. The barrels had plenty of wall to work on. In the end bores measure .625" up to the middle and .615" from then to the chokes. A matter that needs to be found if that unusual boring has some influence on choke performance. Lock repair was inconclusive, though they were gold washed. This gun was left iddle for many months with no further progress as it was the only twenty gauge in my stable.
When the AH Fox was bought early this year it made sense to have two 20 Ga guns for different purposes and to begin shell purchasing of a different calibre. The Sarasqueta was shipped to Mario Zavala in Quillota for further lock repair and stock replacement. A good piece of Juglans regia was selected and the restocked gun came out with 15"1/2 LOP, 1"1/2DAC and 2"1/2DAH, checkering was made at 28 lpi and at 20 lpi at the butt-end. It balances 1/4" in front of the hinge pin and has a strong barrel inertia. Chokes are .018 L and .008 R. It tips the balance now at 3000 grams (6lb 10oz), while its trigger pull is 3.5lb and 4lb respectively. Ejector work is one of its drawbacks, they are too weak to expell with authority; most gunsmiths are unwilling to risks their reputation on them.
During this southern winter it was widely used on feral pigeons and doves.
V. Sarasqueta pictures:
Cost Summary:
Difficult to asses along sereval years, some key items are:
Gun US$500
Stock + Wood US$850
Backboring US$250
Travels US$200
Stock finish by JayCee Free (Pending)
