Is Restoration Worth It?

We gunsmiths sometimes come across guns with previously-attempted repairs that make us scratch our heads and wonder why. I recently had a case like that. I met with a customer bringing in a shotgun in need of further repairs after a questionable attempt by another gunsmith. I won’t name the particular make and model but it was not an inexpensive shotgun. After listening to my customer’s concerns about being "afraid to shoot it" since the attempted repair, I took a look.

The gun was an over/under 12 gauge with a vent rib from a quality manufacturer. My eyes were immediately drawn to a large bulge in the top barrel about six inches down from the face of the chamber. I then saw two weld spots on the rib where the bridges of the rib met the top barrel just ahead of that nasty bulge. As I looked more closely at the gun, the only damage I found was the bulge in the barrel itself and the rib areas that apparently had separated from the barrel when the bulge formed in the barrel.

My suspicions were that a squib load had been fired, leaving a wad in the bore just before the next round was fired into it. The shooter was very lucky that the gun did not come apart and cause injury. I inspected the forend and found it was not damaged and that the action was still tight. Given what had happened to the gun because of this mishap made me wonder if a restoration was worth it and if the gun could be put back into a safe, usable condition.

There was already one attempt at repairing the damage, apparently at the lowest possible cost. This is where we gunsmiths really need to think beyond, "I bet I can fix it." I am not sure who did the previous work or why and I am in no position to claim someone else’s work inadequate. My goal here is to examine what had occurred and articulate why I feel the repairs were better approached by taking a more informed course of action. Despite our best efforts and knowledge, some repairs are, unfortunately, costly.

I fully support and applaud all gunsmiths because of their "can do" attitude with a constructive thought process that allows making creative, permanent repairs or services. There is no better feeling than successfully repairing a broken gun using alternative techniques or methodologies that result in a fine looking, fine working, permanent repair on a gun that otherwise would no longer be serviceable.

However, in some cases, including this one, I wonder if the work performed is worth the trouble, let alone the associated costs and liability. The "Repair" This shotgun had two 20 gauge chamber sleeve tubes installed in the barrels. The sleeves were measured to be 5 1/4" long and appeared to have been professionally installed with the extractors operating correctly. Neither sleeve tube moved when I tried to remove them.

It seemed that the top barrel appeared to have heavy dirt or powder residue in the bore but I was surprised to find it wasn’t dirt. Looking at the rib area where the bridges of the rib seat on top of the top barrel, I found two welds had been made on two of the rib bridges. I suspect these were the two spots that the rib had separated from the barrel when the incident occurred. It was apparent the rib had

been welded back on the barrel with either a MIG or TIG welder and that both of the welds had gone so deep they burned through the top barrel. What I first identified as dirt was actually two weld beads/drips inside of the top barrel. Turns out the "repair" was installing two 20 gauge 5 1/4" chamber sleeves in the bore and some welding of the rib. Of course, the gun is just as useless as it had been when damaged. Now I understood why he was scared to shoot it. What do you do in this type of situation?

I called the customer and reported my findings. Since the forend and receiver seemed to be in great condition and the fact that the gun was a quality, somewhat-expensive make and otherwise fairly new, I suggested that we either find a used 12 gauge barrel set to install on the gun or, preferably, install a brand new barrel set on the receiver. He immediately agreed with me and asked that I order anew barrel set for the gun.

I felt the need to write about this particular situation not to criticize a repair gone sour (I’ve certainly made mistakes in attempted fixes) but to illustrate that it’s sometimes best rule out a restoration or repair based on the set of circumstances at hand. Turning a gun like this back over to the customer after questionable "repairs" would have given me nightmares about anyone trying to shoot it.

It may be hard to admit you can’t make a great fix, just tell a customer that the barrels were damaged beyond repair, and suggest a replacement barrel set be fitted to the action. Cost is a factor, but what is the total cost if the gun is fired and the repair fails? And if cost is the main issue, why not just clean the gun up and use it as a wall hanger or put it away until the proper fix can be paid for?

Considering the installation of the 20 gauge chamber sleeves, I am still not convinced that sleeving alone Problem is, the 5 1/4" long sleeves stopped in the middle of the bulge area formed in the barrel and the rib welding finalized the death of this barrel set. would have done the trick. In this case, the chamber sleeves were only long enough to meet the area of the bulge and not go past it. Even so, they were found to be fairly thin.

Given the large size of the bulge, I suspect there would be a dangerous weak spot just ahead of the chamber sleeve where it aligned with the bulge in the bore. Regardless of whether the welds to the rib had been done properly, I would not have installed chamber sleeves in the barrels at all. Better to replace rather than restore. Perhaps this particular situation isn’t common but it’s important to fully consider taking on and making certain types of gun repairs.

We all want to save our customers some money on repairs but we also have to think about what might happen with that repaired gun. To me, it is not sufficient to make a repair that only I would be "sorta OK" with shooting for my customer. I am not one to condemn others and admit to mistakes but I seek to minimize those mistakes and fully consider coming to terms with what really needs to be done rather than what might work.

This customer did the right thing by asking more questions and following his gut feelings after the "repairs" had been made. Thank goodness for that! We should set aside the notion of how much we can make from a repair or how much we can save a customer on a repair compared to the overall best solution. Especially when the potential costs of the outcome could be irreversible injury or even death. AG