doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Help with a loose Win. 101

Hi all,
My father-in-law surprised my son with a nice little 101 20 gauge this
X-Mas. I was inspecting it last night and noticed the barrels had some side
to side play with the forend removed (there's a little wiggle there).
I have a couple of questions about this condition.
Is it safe to shoot if it's a little loose?
Can this looseness be tightened up?
What can I expect to pay to have this fixed?
Any good g-smiths in the upper midwest you would recommend (Twin Cities)?
Aside from the looseness, this is a beautiful little gun. A great first gun for my son.
Thanks in advance for your responses.

TP,
Midwest Gun Works seems to be the biggest supporter of the 101 in parts and service. I've bought numerous parts from them, but never had work done there. Possibly, some other members here can give firsthand experience on their 'smithing.

http://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgwi

How loose is loose. These guns were very slightly loose even when new - only when the forend was removed - unlike many other doubles. If the movement is significant then something needs to be done. I suggest you try and trap a feeler gauge between the breech and barrels.A thou would be ok, much more would need consideration. If you can measure it post it here, and I will examine my wife's 20 gauge 101 which is almost mint and we can use that as a datum if you wish to compare.

Every single 101 I have examined new and secondhand had slight movement in the joint when the f/e was removed - this drives English gunsmiths nuts - but doesn't seem to affect the use of the gun.

Jonty

Yup, if it doesn't wiggle with the forend on, don't shoot it without the forend on. End of story. The 101 breaks in a little fast for my taste, but then, so does the Browning Superposed. It's just the nature of the beast. They're both great guns.

I hate to disagree with a few of you on a Win. 101 being even slightly loose. Have owned my 20 ga. when they first came out in 1966 or 67, I know it was June. Have shot many rounds of skeet and quite a few state released and gun club pheasants over the years and this one is very tight.
When I first read Twister'sPa post, I went and took the forend off and could not get it to move in the slightest. So, yes I think it will have to be tightened, and as far as shooting it, I would not tell you to do so after checking mine.

Also as Jonty has suggested using a feeler guage. Many people don't have them, use a dollar bill, .004, if it grabs, good, slips out I'd have it looked at.

Kolar arms also does this work. Racine WI.

http://www.kolararms.com/

Thanks for the responses. I looked at the gun again.
I would guess the wiggle is somewhere between 1/32 and 1/64 of an inch
when I move the barrels left/right with the fore end off.
Not a lot, but much more than my SKB which is as tight as a safe.
I can't budge a dollar bill (couldn't find my feeler gauge, Jonty) from
between the barrels and the breech.
There's still a bit of pheasant season left here and I'd like to test
it, but I don't want to exacerbate a problem if there is one.
Thanks for the referrals guys, I can follow up with these.
Any Minnesota folks know of any local 'smiths capable of this type of work?
Anyone use Ahlman's? They're listed as Winchester certified.

It sounds like all it needs is a hinge pin. Any good local gunsmith should be able to put one in in a hour or so- if you have one. Good luck.

It sounds like things get plenty tight, even on the hinge pin, when the gun is closed. It sounds also like the breech section is of a lesser dimension than the opening of the inside of the receiver. Some lesser gunsmiths may approach this problem with the receiver in a padded vise, bringing the left side a little closer to the right with some pressure on the vise handle. You could do the same thing, maybe cheaper.