doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Montgomery Ward Long Range Double Top Lever

Hello All,

I have a 1930 MW (Western Arms)that I am trying to do a complete disassembly for a restoring project. I have the receiver apart except for the top lever and the spring loaded lever in the front of the receiver that the barrel pushes down to move the lever left to close it up.

I don't know if it matters but it has automatic ejectors.

Any help would be greatly appreciated because I'm having trouble finding anything about it.

Thanks in advance,
Scott

Thanks for your service- even though you learned how to "waste a few perfectly good airplane rides." The ejector trip rods do not have anything to do with the bolt removal- the ejector hammers, sears and springs are in the forearm iron frame, at the rear-- the "nose"--

The spring and plunger are the barrel "trip" works about like this-- when the shotgun is assembled with the 3 groups: (buttstock & receiver) barrels and forearm, it is said to "be in battery"-- so when you swing the gun open to reload, recock, etc. the hammers are cocked, as are the ejectors- But when you have "field stripped" this into those same 3 groups, you have the receiver in hand, and if you wish to move the top lever to center of the tang (say, for storage in a case--) you push that trip pin with a small drift punch or other similar tool, and it releases the bolt to allow that- same function as when you close the gun, and the lug at the bottom of the barrel contacts the trip pin, and does the same--

I would suggest you go to Numrich Arms, look up your series (LeFever or perhaps under Ithaca) and get a copy of a schematic-
My SWAG here is that you will need to detach the bolt from the cam or rod that connects it to the bolt axle- Not 100% on this, but I'm gonna be close- and we both know how "close" counts in the Military.

My best friend from HS went USA 82nd. A/B at Fort Bragg. I went USMC, when stationed at Jacksonville (Camp LeJeune) we'd get together- visits on week-ends. Remember the local "watering hole" -- On Bragg Blvd. "The Pump"-- the bartender had a pet cocker spaniel nicknamed "Ripcord".. RWTF/ aka- "Old Gunny"..

I stand corrected but on the left barrel it says WESTERN FIELD-DELUXE-. I could not find any schematic for it but the parts I can see really resemble a Nitro Special.

RWTH/Old Gunny-Thank you for your response and also for your service. And "perfectly good airplanes" are overrated.

82nd Trooper

You are welcome-- The Nitro Special should be the same as your shotgun. With ejectors, not commonly found. Ithaca bought out the Le Fever Gun Co. in aprox 1916- brought out the Nitro special somewhere around 1922-23-- very solid and well designed "economy guns" which, I believe, were made until about 1948 or so. RWTF-Old Gunny (and gettin' older day by day)...

Right. Western Arms was essentially a subsidiary company set up by Ithaca to build those guns. They are essentially Lefever Nitro Specials with a few cost saving measures (like no checkering).

He said the gun is marked "WESTERN FIELD", and may indeed be an Ithaca, but all WesternField guns are not Ithacas. Mine is a WesternField New Model, and is a Stevens. Did the "Deluxe" indicate Ithaca?



SRH

Learn something new each day. I agree, Stan- your gun shown, the receiver lines have more "flow" than the rather "boxed" look of a Nitro Special.

My first 20 gauge double was a Nitro Special- 28" barrels- as I recall, it had the same numbered chokes as on my 12 Ithaca NID 2E grade. It had a single non-selective trigger, always firing the right hand barrel first- and I shot a fair amount of grouse and woodcock with it. I used a slip-over stock pad to get the LOP I needed- great gun, and you could use it in the thick cover and briars of good MI grouse cover- and not worry about getting it all marred up. A true "working gun" that I shot rather well.

Looks like this has come up before. From this 2012 thread its a nitro special.

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=258832&page=all

The Montgomery Ward WESTERN FIELD - DELUXE was a "trade branded" version of the Western Arms Corp. Long Range Double.



It sported a bit of rudimentary checkering that the folks at Fall Creek Water Power Lot #6 didn't put on the Western Arms Long Range Double. The Western Arms Long Range Double was rather similar to but not exactly the same as the Lefever Arms Co., Inc. Nitro Special. The Long Range had a malleable iron receiver while the Nitro Special had a forged steel receiver, but there were some internal parts that are a bit different.

For 1935, Ithaca began a policy of not making "trade branded" guns --



so that may be when MW went to J. Stevens for their guns. From back in the 1920s we find Flues Model Ithacas with MW "trade brand" names.

Stan that is a very nice looking sxs.

I believe this more like a Nitro Special only because MW has the cocking lever pin in the front of the receiver and none of my Ithaca Flues do.

I don't know if that differs on how to remove the top lever but I thought I would try to help lessen any confusion.

Thanks for the input thus far.