I'm asking for a friend with a 16 gauge LC sidelock gun that has a 3-position safety that is unpredictably nonfunctional. It will work perfectly for days or weeks at a time, and then suddenly become stuck in the Safe position for days at a time and then it may decide to work again, or not. Last year, it did well until it became unfunctional on two occasions. This year, he has killed 9 pheasants in MN and SD before the gun became stuck again after cleaning. I cannot imagine anything about cleaning that would cause this problem. He did unjoin the barrels from the action but that is all.
What could possibly cause this? I am somewhat familiar with the internals of this particular gun, but not enough that I relish tearing one down to find an intermittent problem like this. I would love to hear from anyone that has an idea of what may be causing this. The owner is a recent double gun convert of mine and I feel somewhat responsible for getting him high-centered on this gun.
