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A friend shot a dove yesterday with right barrel on his extractor 12 ga. He removed the empty and replaced it with a loaded round but could not close the gun as firing pin stuck out. After removing the barrels, he snapped the left trigger, so both pins now stick out. He tapped lightly on the pins, but they would not move back from the breech face. He did not try and cock the locks by turning the cocking rods for fear of damaging them. What could cause this problem and what should he do now?

Hal

Can you post this on the LC Collectors site. There are some very good Smith experts over there.

There are images showing how to recock the hammers with the gun disassembled in the LCSCA FAQs
Look under "How can I cock the hammers when my Smith gun has been disassembled?" in the Disassembly and Reassembly section
https://lcsca.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=274&club_id=43784

It is very likely the internals of the action needs a good cleaning, which, done right, requires removal of the stock.
If your friend has not previously reassembled a Smith, it's best to let a gunsmith do so (and while he's at it check the head of the stock for cracks).
There are however images of several reassembly techniques on the FAQ.

Thanks! Will forward message above.

?? Is his Smith an earlier series with the bushed firing pins? RWTF

Yes. He was thinking about making a spanner out of a screwdriver, then maybe a small shot of carb cleaner.

It is hard to get the bushings out without damaging them because they are soft. Plus, they come in at an angle and the face is cut in situ so it is difficult to get them back in just the way they came out. Jerry Andrews and Buck Hamlin are the two best LC Smith guys I have found. Either one can help you out.

It sounds as if the hammers are down on both locks if the firing pins will not move back into the breech face. Your friend does not need to ship the gun across the country at this point, or remove the firing pin bushings either.

In all likelihood, he just needs to manually cock the locks. I made an L.C. Smith cocking tool identical to the one pictured in Brophy's book. But as I recall, they can easily be cocked using a 6" Crescent wrench, lacking the spanner.

Then I would take the time to look into why the right lock did not remain cocked when the gun was opened to remove the fired shell. It could be that your friend simply did not open the barrels fully enough for the trigger sear to fully engage the hammer, i.e., the hammer was not rotated back far enough. Since the left barrel had not been fired, that side remained cocked until he pulled the trigger. Or maybe he accidentally was holding back the right trigger, causing the same issue. On the other hand, it's possible the sear engagement is worn or packed with crud, and the hammer did not stay cocked for that reason. He would have to remove the lock to inspect the sears. If the sear engagement is worn or damaged, the gun could be prone to an accidental discharge. At that point, it would be advisable to employ the services of a good gunsmith.

This all presumes your friend has the correct screwdriver, and the ability to remove the lock without doing more damage.

OK good to know. Have the gun here, so he won't be able to mess with it. Can anything be done to clean the firing pins by merely removing stock and sideplates to clean the rest of the internals? Is de-oiling the stock recommended maintenance?

Yes ,remove stock and clean everthing, soaking stock to remove oil can cause wood shrinkage so go slow