doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Meriden 20 ga SxS

It's a matching number gun that as you can see needs some work. All the parts in the receiver look pretty good to me. The mainspring in the top lockplate isn't fully contained on the end and the lockplate seems to have a slight curve to it on the end. It also appears that the mainspring lock screw was lost and a makeshift repair was done.







The barrel and receiver aren't completely tight but from what I read it should be fixable.

The barrel hasn't been cut and has two small dings. Sorry for the one blurry pic but the ding is the fuzzy black dot in the middle of the picture. I'm going to take it to a local gunsmith to get his opinion.

Maybe the biggest issue will be the stock which is pretty roached. I do some carving and my uncle gave me a stock blank and I thought I could at least take a shot at carving it. Worse thing that can happen is that I have some good firewood or some handle blanks for carving knives I make. Pete (hope you're reading this), a question on the stock wood. I was reading an old ad on ebay and it said the stock was black walnut. Think it was a 1915 model with extensive engraving. Do you or anyone else know if this was the normal wood used then or just for this higher grade gun?







Well, that's all I have for now. Any comments, opinions, suggestions, recommendations are welcome. Any other pictures or information wanted let me know.

Kirk

As far as I have seen all grades used the Black Walnut stocks.
Thanks for the pictures.

Pete

Pete,
Any thoughts on a path forward?
Kirk

Have you looked at seeing if a 16 ga stock will work? I don't know if the 20 was a different size receiver than the 16 but many low grade guns share common stock sizes.

You will need a new stock. Before I did that, I would take it to a smith have it cleaned and make sure it works....

Keep the broken stock. You may need it if you have a new stock made up.

Pete

KY Jon, Not a bad idea if a person could even find anything.

Pete, ultimately that's what I'll do. Think I might strip the paint off first. I had the good fortune of winning a Ebay auction that has all the missing parts I need for my gun. Only thing missing is the firing pin spring.

Does anyone have an example of what that spring would look like or what could be used as a substitute?

Kirk

Kirk, I've yet to see a 20ga Meriden. Nice find. Probably not worth what it may take to put it right, but it is nice to at least see one.

The "stock doctor" types can put any cigar box full of broken wood back together stronger than it originally was as long as it all comes from the same gun. Try one before you give up on the original wood.

It will be cheaper than making a new stock. I did not believe that until I saw it myself...Geo

Thanks for the reply Geo. From what I have gleaned from the forum, putting it right can be very expensive. I'd at least like to clean it up a bit, maybe do some cosmetics and get it shooting. Hopefully that won't be too extreme. As I indicated, I "THINK" I have sourced all the parts I'm missing. I think I'll start with stripping the paint, cleaning it up and see if I can figure out how the parts get assembled.

I'm curious how this gun was originally finished. I've stripped the paint off the lockplates and they appear as if they are blued. Is that correct? What about the receiver? Also, how would the barrels have been finished?

Thanks
Kirk