doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Holes Near Striker on Hammergun

I have a probably stupid question but I need to ask. I acquired a William Powell & Sons best quality Hammergun manufactured in 1873 and was wondering what the function of the holes in the top of the action as well as the screws on the side. They appear to be gas port holes? I am sure one of you very knowledgeable members has the answer. Also do I need to clean them in some way? See attached.

Thank you in advance.

[img]https://imgur.com/a/Xn4Yhdd[/img]

Steve

The lower screws hold the firing pins in place. If you ever need to remove the firing pins, you'll need to remove those screws.

The upper "hole" is the cross bar or pin that the locking bolt pivots on. It's generally unique to Powell guns with their patented top lifter action.

That is a beautiful example you have.

Powell guns are top notch! Very elegant in the lifter models and the firing pins say, "loaded" on them in gold.

@MattH and @12boreman,
Thank you for the reply. This all makes sense now. Yes the lifter action is very interesting indeed and as the lifter is raised it retracts the firing pins. As you can see the gun has been restored and the barrels were sleeved with London nitro proof. So from a collector perspective not so good. But from a shooting perspective, I love it. BTW whoever did the sleeving did a great job as you cannot hardly even see a seam.