doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What causes a double gun to go off face?

Too high of pressure loads...just look at Sherman Bells tests, he couldn't blow up the old barrels but he could sure knock them loose. I knocked a nitro proofed Gibbs SxS with a Jones underlever off face with one shot of Blackpowder.

I believe the main cause of break-open guns becoming loose is lack of attention to keeping the hook and pin clean of old dirt and keeping them freshly lubed (grease is my preference). A cheap gun will probably become loose sooner than a quality gun. "Slamming it shut" would only be done by an idiot! Ditto for flopping it open, unsupported, like some damfool in a Hollywood Western movie. Closing the gun gently but firmly, without holding the lever is the correct way to do it. It's the method preferred by people who know what they're doing and should not be confused with "slamming it shut". Stay away from "loose friends" with "excessive gapes". BTW, the forend has really nothing to do with holding the gun closed. All JMO, as always.

What about slight lateral left-to-right play in the lockup?

I am very careful about clean & lube and gently opening and closing my doubles. I do,however, "baby" the top latch by holding it in open positon until gun is closed and then ease it closed. It became a part of my regular routine when shooting competatively and has carried over from there. I saw all kinds of crazy moves on the skeet fields ... from the Larry Woo swoop close to the G. Gilliam snap shut. I have never had a problem resulting from my "baby" close. It's pretty clear to me when a K80 is closed.

Every gun manufacturer, that I could find, says to NOT impede, or hold the lever but to allow it to snap closed, normally. Browning, in particular. Sneaking it closed can even cause misfires because the lever is not closed fully(common with newer Citoris). It was also a Parker recommendation. Once again, I'm not suggesting "slamming" or anything close to it.

About fifty years of turning an underlever cam or dog in and out (like rotating the latch on an old ice box) should be enuf to make anyone appreciate a "snap" action. Most of us haven't had that experience but have sufficient imagination to see why a spring-loaded lockset is a labor-saving mod con. I also am not an advocate of whanging the gun shut with abandon. There are some front parlour conventions for handling other people's guns: holding the lever over and releasing slowly, using snap caps to test trigger function, not swinging the barrels into door casings and lamp stands.

jack

Ditto El Conejo's comment about the polite handling of other people's guns. I DO hold the top lever and ease it down gently, when handling someone else's gun, so as not to offend the owner. Doing that in the field or on the range is the mark of one who thinks he is doing something beneficial for his gun(mistakenly, IMO). Often the "lever sneakers" follow up this unnecessary ritual by forcing the lever to the left after closing, to be sure it's locked, probably negating any load saving imagined by holding it, in the first place. Along with all the makers' advice, I have seen, on TV, a gunsmith/gunmaker at Purdey's closing a fine, one of a kind, 100+ year old Purdey SxS in the normal manner, intended for snaplock guns(thumb OFF the top lever)

Pod,

I think you'll only have problems if you adjust the headspace as you describe. If you've fireformed the cases from .348 cases and you adjust the headspace as described, the cases will split on the second or third loading because the brass will seperate a short distance ahead of the rim of the case. Had you corrected the headspace before you fireformed, you might be OK.

I assume you are neck sizing only since apparently you don't have a die. Does the case have a shoulder you could headspace on? If that is the case, you don't care about the rim at all, set your headspace off the shoulder.

Shooting .300 Win mag for 1,000 yards, our guns were headspaced on the shoulder instead of the belt as hunting guns are. The belt varied way too much for reliable accuracy.

Dick Jones

Pod this is not quite my field but I have seen several solutions to your problem and I'm sure there are guys in the US who can put it right for you permenantly and safely.
Jim Legg say's only an idiot slams a gun shut.That may be true but there a lot of idiots about.
My comments are based on 35 years of jointing and re-jointing of double guns ,{ 4 so far this month and 3 to do next week}so I see all sorts of problems from all sorts of causes.Including previous work done by amature/DIY "gunsmiths"
There is no single reason .It happens .

Jim Legg lives to call people "idiots" (after yer post you might get a little Legg)

I suspect Jim has never owned a quality English SxS that opened and closed like a well oiled balanced vault door.