doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 16 gauge Nitro Special cleanup.

Miller,
I went out to the shop and pulled the front wood off the gun, and double checked the screw, tightening it down. Sure enough, it clamped the plunger down tight. I figured I'd take it down one more time and polish things up a little to see if it helped.
On the underside of the plunger was a circular half round chip of steel, compressed and rusted into the plunger. I am sure it was debris from the manufacturing process, and the damn thing was nearly invisible! I scraped it off, and polished and lubed everything and re-assembled. WIthout that chip there, everything is exactly as it should be. Glad I looked a second time, thanks for getting me thinking about it a little harder.

The screw is tight, now. I guess I could do worse on an old grouse gun.



Best,
Ted

Your Nitro cleaned up real nice. They are some tough old birds.

looks like a keeper to me.....

Nice work. Gil

nice job...these guns are prone to break firing pins. so, use snap caps if you dry fire ...otherwise, firing pin may break. need a special tool to fix.

nitros are alotta gon fur not alotta monet.

It looks great Ted. I recall when you bought it and pondered whether to reblue or just clean it up and leave it as is. I think you made the right decision considering the overall condition. Ken61 did a very nice job that looks correct for a Nitro. Very classy of Ken to also give credit to Doug PA24 who has been very generous with us in sharing the knowledge he has acquired.

Ed,
I can't say I've ever seen one with a broken firing pin. I've looked at a bunch of them, and the design is similar to the Western Arms gun, and has things in common with the NID.
I haven't seen any of those with broken firing pins, either.
What, exactly, does "prone" mean in this case? How many have you seen with the alleged broken firing pin? How many have you fixed?
I've seen and been around A LOT of Nitros, the great majority of them had been beat to hell, but, they all, to a one, still worked. The main problem I've seen is a few loose Nitros, which, considering the condition they were in, is to be expected.

Do tell, Ed.

Keith, thanks for the input. Ken did a great job, considering the barrels I sent him were not in good shape at all, due to the external rust. I know you like your guns flawless (this one isn't) but, it will get hunted a bit and used. I will enjoy it.
Absolutely no non-sense about short chambers, low pressure this, or too tight chokes that.
Probably nothing about broken firing pins, either, but, we will see I guess.

Did you ever find a stock for your Nitro?

Best,
Ted

Nitros are pretty solid, for sure. So are Western Long Range, and there was some question about their strength because the receiver is made from malleable iron. Does not seem to have resulted in many failures. Those were the days when you could get good, American-made guns at the local hardware store. Nothing fancy, but a reliable tool.

I shot a 20 with single trigger and factory beavertail way back and never had a problem at all. Bobby

Being worried about the receiver on a Western Arms gun is like being worried about the moon falling out of it's orbit and crashing into the earth. I'd bet there were NO failures of frames on those guns. I used to own a 12 gauge Western Arms, would have kept it, except some depression era soul opted for the single trigger, and I couldn't wrap my head around using it.

I shot a few grouse with the gun.

I wonder what a gun like the Nitro Special would cost today, if some company decided to produce it? $2500?

Doesn't matter, nobody will.

Bobby, your experience seems to be about par. Just solid users that don't cost a fortune.

Best,
Ted