doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Fox near mishap

Gentlemen, I had a near mishap last weekend. I was quail hunting with a friend, carrying a 20 bore Philly Fox. I took a shot at a bird, opened the gun, put another
cartritdge in the right barrell, closed the gun and the gun fired (right barrell). Fortunately, I had the gun pointed in a direction that caused no harm but it scared the pants off me and my friend. I checked the safety and it was on. My finger was not near the trigger. I don't think there was any problem with a sticky firing pin. I shot the gun the rest of the day with no further misfires (being very careful as I closed the gun each time). Can anybody explain what might have happened? Do Foxes have this problem often? Should I get the gun checked out? Thanks in advance. Bagfinger

Yes, definitely get the gun checked out by a gunsmith familiar with boxlock sxs guns. I suspect either the lockwork is gummed up/dirty or possibly a worn sear/notch. If the gun has never been disassembled and thoroughly cleaned internally, it's a good idea to do it now.

Good advise on getting the gun checked out above.
But this to me raises an interesting point. Maybe I should start a new thread to address this. Most of us are using shotguns that are pushing the century mark if not past it. It is my understanding that,in Great Britian for example,shotguns were routinely sent to a gunsmith for maintenance between hunting seasons. I suspect that many of ours have never been disassembled for an inspection and a complete cleaning. At what point in time should this be done and to what extent is it required? I for one am interested in other members opinions on this subject.
Jim

bagfinger, Bill Schwarz in Elijay would be my choice to look at your gun. He is great doublegun smith. I live in your area. Bobby

I had similar experience with a low-end Spanish-made double in 1970s. Problem with that gun was that if one did not fully open gun, timing of cocking levers and sear engagement was such that one sear would barely engage. Unintended discharge on closing gun was result. Also found that safety would not prevent trigger from moving sear a bit, giving same result. Could a worn Fox have similar problem?

Through refitting of sears and reworking of safety was done and gun worked reliably for some years. Sold gun and will never buy another low-end, internal hammer Spanish double again.

Niklas

I would guess it was a sear problem also. Try shooting the other barrel first and see if it doubles.

Best,

Mike

The things I see when taking these old guns apart is unbelievable. Wood shavings, 100 year old grease, bugs, etc. Cleaning an old gun and making sure it is safe should always be the first thing you do.

I had the same experience one time last year while shooting clays. It has only happened that one time, but it sure scared me and everyone else in my group. I had just shot both rounds, and broke the gun open and reloaded. Soon as I snapped it shut, one barrel fired.

Just prior to this outing, I had the gun inspected, repaired, cleaned, glass bedded, etc... So I was quite surprised to say the least. Goes to show that one MUST always have the muzzle pointed in a safe place, no matter what.

Well after that mishap, and the few minutes afterwards that it took to remove the debris from my shorts, I looked things over to see if I could find a problem. I only saw one thing, but not sure if it could cause the problem or not. I was shooting Federal Vintage Gold shells, 7/8 oz loads with 5000 psi from Midway. Those shells burn very dirty. One shot and your barrel is littered with large flakes of residue. There were a few large flakes of this debris that filtered down and smashed on the breech face. Could it be possible that one of these flakes got sandwiched between the primer and when I closed the action, it caused the primer to fire?

I have had the same thing happen before on a gun with no mechanical issues. It was the same situation, where I was reloading only one barrel after firing only one shot. The left barrel remained loaded and the left tumbler still cocked when I opened the gun to reload the right barrel. There is much less resistance to opening the gun when only one mainspring is being compressed. In my case, I simply did not open the gun fully because it required less effort to break it open compared to reloading after firing both barrels (in other words, I didn't open the gun with enough conviction because it opened easy). The right sear engaged just enough to hold the tumbler by a thread, but closing the gun caused enough vibration to dislodge it and the barrel fired (in a safe direction, thankfully). I agree you should have the gun checked/cleaned if you haven't had that done recently, but it could simply be a case of operator error as in my case. It brings home two important points: 1)Never close the breech on a gun without pointing the barrels in a safe direction. 2)When opening a fired gun, always make sure you FULLY open the gun to allow both sears to seat properly.