doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Top lever to the left

If the top lever on a sxs is slightly to the left but the action is tight and it is on face, is there any reason for immediate concern?

BC

This generally reflects wear in a still working bolting system.

Give us i.d. details of double and general condition of gun. Also remove the forearm and apply twisting pressure to barrel and action - - any movement?

outdoorlvr

The gun is a Fox model B 12 ga. that I recently purchased from the father of my friend, both whom I hunt with. He purchased the gun new in the late 40s but he never shot it much. The gun is in excellent condition, bluing, CC, stock has only a couple of very slight marks. I didn't need the gun but his son didn't want it and it was offered to me for $250.00 so I bought it. Thanks for the suggestion of twisting the barrels for tightness. They were tight when I checked.

bc

Its not broke until its broke. The critical thing is that it locks the barrels to receiver firmly. Shoot it with respect and appropriate shells. Chances are it will function fine.

Now this doesn't mean the top lever can't be fixed. Hold out here for some possible responses on how to accomplish this.

Even though the Fox B is a little better Stevens, it's still not a Purdey. These guns were assembled from assembly line parts & did not receive hand fitting. Surfaces were generally a little rough. May not have been much right of center to begin with & initial wear-in would have come quickly from simply opening & closing the bolt. Keep it lubed & it may surprise you how long it will go without further movement to the left.

I have seen these "bolt in a slot" type actions with levers to the left when brand new. In some, it appears that the top part of the extension rib, when bent up a bit, can allow the bolt to slip farther into the slot. On one, I bent the top of the extension rib back into its original position and the lever returned to a right of center position. Use a plastic hammer and pound on the top of the extension rib if it is a bit proud of the top of the action. Do the pounding with the barrels off the action and reinstall to check for fit and lever position. A few thousandths of bend should move the lever a noticeable amount.

My thanks to all of you that replied. The information you have shared has been very helpful. Brian

There are many to the left of center, I see no reason to worry.
There are many things to worry about, this is not one of them!
It will be good to go, long after you went to the light.

The purpose of this bolt is to resist rotation of the barrels. The upper part of the rib extension serves only to fill up the slot in the frame & plays no part in the actual bolting. The bolt should be held by it's bearing in the frame & it's fit against the lower portion of the slot holds the barrels shut. You can do as you please but personally I would prefer a good firm seating of the bolt against the lower part of the extension than to have it "Right of Center". As the bolt is wedge shaped (lower surface) closing up the slot will of course move the lever to the right, but actually worsens any problem, which it likely doesn't have anyway.

I have owned several of these savage type guns and prefer them to lock a little left as then the gun locks up tight. I had one that the lever was a little right and it would pop open after firing one shot.