doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Darne V19

I need to remove the buttstock from a V19. How do you do it. Need a safety for a V19 12 gauge. Any Darne shooters out there with knowledge on how t remove the buttstock.

Do a search for this guy,

Ted Schefelbein,

I'm sure he has posted instruction on this before if not he should be around shortly.

How about a pic?????

I did a search and he covers the R models very well but not the V models which are different.

Indeed, they are different. I've been asked about twice in 30 years how to do this. To be frank, your post leaves me wondering what the hell happened to this gun?

A Darne V is not what one would usually consider an amatuer gunsmithing project. Parts for your V model are almost non-existant in this hemisphere, and it would seem to me that there is a good chance you are going to need the services of either Kirk Merrington, who had, at one time, the carcass of a V model that a customer had had a go at "cleaning her up a bit", and lost some critical parts for the gun, which were never seen again, and abandoned the gun with him, or, Geoffroy Gournet, who has a few parts on hand for repairing the guns (I sent him some of mine, the only V parts I remember were trigger return springs, when he got into the importation of Darne guns, an endeavor which, lasted about a year if I am remembering correctly).
If the gun is going to end up at either shop, why not send it there, now? That would be my very first suggestion. The fact you are asking how to get the stock off a V leads me to believe you might be in over your head working on one. I'm not trying to insult you, just attempting to save you more broken/missing/unsalvagable parts, and some frustration.

But, I will tell you how to do it. Remove the breech and the barrels, and you will see, down in the slot the breech slides in, a screw, which, is for the triggerguard. Remove this, and the screws from the tang of the triggerguard. Unthread the triggerguard and remove it. This will give access to a screw that is underneath the triggerguard, facing up into the action. Remove it also. It is threaded into a wedge that will slide up and out of the action (put a pencil witness mark on the front and top, so you get it back in the same way) and, behind that, will be the screw that holds the wood to the action. A very few pre Bruchet guns had a 10mm bolt under the buttplate, mostly double rifles built in potent calibers. Most of the Bruchet guns have the bolt, rifle or shotgun. You still have to do what I posted, above, before you remove it.
All of these screws have a thin gunsmith slot, and can be easily damaged. There is a good chance the wedge will be seized, and require some time and effort to get out of the gun. The threads of the stock screw are lubricated with lard when you put it together, and, it has to be tight. These guns have been built, by hand, for over a hundred years, and don't be surprised if there are subtle differences between what I say is there, and what is actually on your gun. This will get you started in the right direction, however.

I wish you good luck with your project, but, I really wish you would put it in a box and send it to Kirk. No offense, it just always seems to end better that way.


Best,
Ted

I totally agree with what Ted says. The screw that secures the action to the stock, in the pre Bruchet guns, can be difficult to remove. The stock should be clamped firmly, the screw driver must be perfectly sized so as not to bugger the slot and braced hard against the screw to avoid any tendency to slip. Lots of experience removing difficult screws helps to know when just a little more torque will break the screw head and ruin your day.
nial

This help is invaluable. My V19 is in too poor of shape to spend much money on. It will fire but the buttstock is cracked. The barrels are pitted. I shoot three R models at skeet two times a week. I am a "retired gunsmith" and have a complete machine shop. I rebuilt the stock on one of my R models. I am trying to get the breech block off this V19. I know how to do it but I can not get it to pop up. I am 80 years old and may not have the strength to do it. My V seems to have a few screws missing under the trigger guard but it works just fine. This gun has very high grade wood. The safety is missing and if I could see one I may be able to machine one out.

The reason I ask questions is in 30 years of gun repair I found if I resurched how to make the repair I saved hours of shop time. Many of times I have had parts shoot out and across my shop and had to spend hours looking. This V19 is a candidate for me to take apart and see how they work. I have always thought if somebody put it togeather it can be taken apart and put back togeather again.

Keep at it, old buddy. Don't worry about waning strength. It's the head, the struggle, searching always for answers, better ways, that keeps the spirit alive.

The problem usually isn't with retired gunsmiths that have a beat up V that they understand the limitations of thowing money at, rather, otherwise sane people, who have the ONE example they have ever seen in their hands, and making the decision they are somehow qualified to work on it, with the toolset they got the wife for Christmas, the toolset with the pink handles.
It doesn't seem from this point that you are the latter, but, trust me, I have met them, way more times than I care to remember.
It does take substantial effort to get the key up and out of the sliding breech on a V. Make sure you are straight up in the air with it, and keep tugging. It likely has some crud about the axle, and you are forcing that crud out from between the main spring and it's interference fit with the axle. It will be easier to do, the second time you do it.
Good luck. I'd make an effort to replace any screws that are missing, they all have a job to do on a Darne.

Best,
Ted

Ted, I have repaired a lot guns that people have tried to repair with a Swiss Army knife. But my favorite is the ones I get in a plastic bag and the guy assures me that the parts are all there. There is always one part missing. Thank you for yor help and if I run into a problem I will give you a holler. Thank you George Frazier.