Tightening Break Open Actions

I have a fascination with old side hammer double-barreled shotguns. They mark a brief point in time when the traditional sidelock of the muzzleloading era and the breechloading era met and were blended into one. Some were inexpensive Belgian-made "hardware store" guns, so called because they could be purchased at the local hardware store by farmers and ranchers at a modest price. Others were works of fine art made by some of the prestigious names in the firearms industry.

In short or- You can see the gap between the barrels and the standing breech, and between the barrels and the water table. der, hammers went internal and the external hammer guns faded from the scene but the method of locking the barrels closed remained. To be sure there are other types of barrel locking methods but this one is very common. I have guns in my collection from makers like Dumoulin & Co., T. C. Montgomery, Remington, E.

James & Co., and American Gun Co. that all use this type of lockup and there are many more. The problem with this locking system is that as the parts wear over years of use. So worn barrels can lock close while leaving a gap between the standing breech and the barrels. Fortunately, the mechanics of this locking system are simple, they have few parts, and this problem is not difficult to fix. The first step is to make certain that the gun is not loaded and then disassemble the gun completely.

Most of these guns are old and in need of a detailed cleaning. Many have broken, cracked, or oil-soaked stocks, so complete disassembly is necessary anyway to really clean the gun and repair any damage. The barrels are locked into the receiver by the locking bolt that ex-

The underside of this lug will be thickened by soldering apiece of 0.010 shim stock in place to correct the lockup. Most times the wear will not be this obvious. tends from the receiver to engage the locking lug under the barrel. It is possible to tighten the lockup by simply peening the locking lug, however, this is a very temporary fix and deforms the lug. A more lasting repair can be made by simply soldering apiece of shim stock to the engagement surface of the locking bolt.

The next step is to solder the shim to the surface of the lug. Notice the clear twist pattern of the Damascus barrels. For soldering shim stock for this repair I used 0.010 shim stock from Brownells (#080-544-024 AK) and Hi-Force 44 solder (#080-649-001 AK.) After sweating the shim stock to the locking bolt, allow the part to cool and then trim the shim stock to fit the bolt. You will now need to fit the bolt to the locking lug.

This is done by mating the barrels to the receiver and pushing the locking bolt in place through the receiver. If it slips easily into the locking lug under the barrel, you will have to use thicker shim stock. In most cases the lock-

You can start with plain hardware store guns and work on up to the limits of your budget. Although not Damascus, I only shoot black powder shotshells due to its age. ing lug with the 0.010 shim will not go into place. Thin the shim stock soldered to the locking bolt with a fine cut file. Take only a stroke or two off the shim stock and try again. Work slowly and soon the locking lug can be pushed in place in the locking lug stop. Now the gun can be reassembled.

When closed, the barrels should close completely with no horizontal or vertical wiggle. Collecting old hammer guns is a good place for the new collector James and Co. gun was made in England and shows a modest amount of hand engraving on the lock. C. Montgomery is another English shotgun with Damascus barrels, tigerstriped stock, and modest engraving. Plain or fancy, hammerguns area mix of technology between the muzzleloading and the cartridge eras. on a budget to start.

They are inexpensive and often need quite a bit of work that the hobbyist can do and learn on. Almost all these old guns will need stock repair, from simple cracks to totally shattered or missing stocks. This gives the novice practical experience in stock repair and refinishing or, in the extreme cases, stock making. I bought the Dumoulin pictured here on Gunbroker.com for $35 plus shipping. That is not the norm but I rarely pay more than $200 for one unless it is a Parker or L. C. Smith.

A word of warning is that many of these old guns have Damascus or laminated steel barrels and should be considered dangerous to shoot. If you have an example with good bores they may be safe for use with light blackpowder loads. I have shot all of those I own with no problems but I reload lightly-charged blackpowder loads to use in them. If the barrels are at all questionable use the gun as an inexpensive learning tool.

Fix the problems, repair the stock, learn to checker, learn to reblue and refinish, and hang it on the wall as a decoration. Those old barrels were never made to handle the pressure curve of even the lightest smokeless powder loads. DO NOT USE ANY SMOKE- LESS POWDER LOAD in these guns no matter how mild. It simply is not worth the risk. AG