As if I didn’t have enough projects, I was at one of my favorite gunshops this afternoon.
This is one of those Old shops that has stuff they haven’t seen for 20 years and, they are good to work with.
While looking around, I ran across an old hammer double with those classic European lines I love.
It had a note on it that said Black Powder only..$200.00
I looked it over and the barrels were Damascus and it was marked Belgium Twist on the rib. I’d give the bore a high fair mark.
The right lock was working fine but the left has some issues. First the hammer was loose. That means someone has rounded it some or the spindle has rounded a bit. Easy fix. The hammer was twisted to the right too far and I suspect that’s the cause of the loosness. Last, while it will cock and the trigger will release, something is keeping it from making the full travel to the firing pin. I’ll need to pull the lock to see about that.
The rib is good on the barrels . Belgium are tougher than English because they were brazed instead of soldered.
The stock is in good condition with no cracks or looseness. Someone tried to refinish it many years ago…(It has a patina) and sanded over some checkering.
Firing pins are good and the lockup is tight.
I love Black powder shotguns and this is in good enough shape to be really fun, and cheap enough to use.
I paid $150.00 for it including a box of Federal 209A primers (Which is why I went in there)
Someone rechambered the rlght barrel because it measures 3″ and the right
2 3/4.
It’s marked J Reynolds and under the forend, has a crown. as well as JR and a 9 on the rib. The forend has an 8 and a crown and the barrel lug has an 8 and crown.
I don’t know enough about antiques to know what all that means, but I’ll figure it out. First order is pull the lock and see what’s going on.
Day 1
Pulled the locks off and like I thought, the right lock is OK.
Both locks have been rebuilt and as far as it went, a pretty good job. It looks like whoever did it, got tired and didn’t finish the left. There are some other problems with the left also.
Click to enlarge
Problem number one is that the hammer retaining screw is stripped and it looks like the hole in the tumbler is also.
Click to enlarge
There are a couple ways to fix that including making a new tumbler . I expect I’ll just reweld it and rethread since I don’t know if the rebuilder hardened the parts anyway.
The next problem is the hammer is bent. That’s an easy fix. It’s turned slightly inward and back. I’ll just heat it and realign it, then bend it down far enough to hit the firing pin.
Click to enlarge
The left firing pin has been replaced also and it wasn’t fitted correctly. That shouldn’t be a problem after I get it out. I’ve never taken one of these old pins out before. I suppose there is a special tool to remove it.
The only other problem I found was the screw that holds the extractor in place is sheared. that’s just a drill and tap job.
Anyone with suggestions on anything, please jump in.
It is a Damascus barrel, but contrary to what they teach in Hunter Safety classes, they are perfectly safe to use with black powder loads. That is assuming they are in good condition. This one looks fine except for the rechamber on the left side. He may have only been cleaning up the forcing cone instead of rechambering.
These are the proof marks on the barrel. I don’t have a clue about what most mean, but it is interesting.
