doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Looking for shotgun gunsmith recommendation

This gun does have Siemen-Martin steel barrels.

Bad plan. Period.

The gun is 100 plus years old, and, I�m guessing has NEVER been apart for a strip and clean, or, had fresh lubrication, in the correct amount, applied to the internals. Looking at the head of the stock, from an internet picture, for chrissakes, it appears dark, and in need of some oil removal.
Dell Whitman. Paul Hodges. Kirk Merrington. James Flynn. Get the gun in for it�s 100 year service. Any one of these guys could work on the buttplate, or, might have a nearly identical one, in far better shape, removed from a gun that got a pad, or, they likely know where to get one. A better horn buttplate doesn�t have to mean new. Even the rusty looking spots will look better with a strip and clean.

That is a good gun, far above the grade and value of amature gunsmithing, and worth the investment of a craftsman doing some maintenance. I doubt these guys would attempt to drive a 100 year old car without looking, hard, to see if it was in need of some upkeep, but, they are telling you to do the same with a very valuable gun.

Good luck.

Best,
Ted

I think you mean Steve Bertram, SKB on here. Steve Barnett is the owner of Steve Barnett Fine Guns, in Mississippi.

SRH

Lots of us, including I suspect many on this board, have tried to improve/clean up guns similar to yours--and have later regretted it. I would suggest you send it out for a strip and clean and leave it as is. Just use it and enjoy it. Many guns of that vintage have horn buttplates with that condition. It only adds to the mistique. Sometimes the screws are damaged when trying to remove them (they get rusted into the buttstock) and then you have diminished the piece. Gil

Lovely gun...well done!

yes a steal for 650...great buy mate
cheers
franc

If the gun has shootable dimensions for you, You got a great buy! I, too love Francottes. If it is marked Siemens Martin steel, it is a Grade 3 A.

I have a Grade 2 Damascus 30" gun weighing 6-3/4# I have for sale if anyone is interested...

Pity. I was just a couple miles away from that auction house today. Could have taken out for a good workout Skeet, Trap and 5-Stand workout. Gems are where you find them and better when others fail to see them for what they are. Gems in the rough.

I agree with Ted on the importance of the 100 year servicing by a qualified double gunsmith. And I don't think John Roberts was wrong either. The first part of a physicians Hippocratic Oath is "First- Do no harm." That should apply here as well. Doug Mann's advice to the OP to do a little amateur freshening and refinishing was also probably well intended, and based upon the assumption that everyone is as talented and capable of doing a good and proper job as he is.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of gun owners are not anywhere near that level, and would spend far less allowing a professional to do the work versus the hit in value they would take from improper sanding and refinishing by their own hand. Ted named some double gunsmith's names because simply being a graduate of Billy Bob's Gunsmith Academy isn't enough to be qualified to work on this gun. Anyone who wishes to undertake gun repair and restoration should never start by practicing on a high quality collectible gun. There are plenty of high production machine made guns that would be a much better place to hone their skills and learn.

And no Tea Tree Oil or neatsfoot should be applied to that horn buttplate until after any epoxy repairs to fill worm damage is complete.

I�m going to disagree with you, as well, Keith. Putting a 100 plus year old implement, be it a fly reel, fishing reel, sewing machine, or fine quality firearm, back into service, sans maintenance, is just plain wrong. He was advised to � just shoot it�, and that might be the worst advice I�ve ever seen posted here.

That, my friend, is saying something.

The OP pretty much summed it up when he posted looking for names who could do it. GOD BLESS HIM, this guy had it figured out before he got here.
Kirk Merrington would be inside the stock with a 15x loupe, looking for problems with the wood. He would do the same with the mechanism. Nipping developing problems at the bud is something that is hugely important with an old piece like this. The more I look at the head of that stock, the more I want a pro having a nice session of de-oiling it. I would bet this one will spend a few weeks at a good shop, assuming nothing major is wrong, and when it comes back, it will be most of a human lifetime before it needs to be seen again. If the gun has a rib that is starting to come loose, NOW is the time to address that, not after it has broken free or taken the fore end loop with it. Ditto a set of beat up strikers. Weak opening lever spring? Do it now. You aren�t going to see the internals without a strip and clean.
A name I missed would be Dewey Vicknair. Another pro on the circuit, quietly saving guns from bad gunsmiths and bad advice.

Best,
Ted