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

"Jim Legg says only an idiot slams a gun shut. That may be true but there a lot of idiots about."

It is true, and sad.

There was a really nice fella I used to shoot with until his age caught up with him. He had a 4 bbl P-gun set in a gold inlayed grade that he'd slap shut like a pissed off date slamming a car door. Even with all that, after decades of this, it still was reasonably tight. A real testament to the P-gun, IMO.

thanx for your input: i dont know as much about reloading as i should. how do i set the head space by setting the shoulder forward it is a bottle neck cartridge. i got the dies with the gun they were made up special. i thought adding about 4thousands to the base would correct this problem without changing the integrety of the gun???? i notice such an extrusion on many cartridges of this period[1893] .43 mauser etc. this being a jp sauer sxs and some sort of mauser- spanish- russian berdan variation. using bell brass [spanish] i still have a head space problem. it seems your solution is the best if i can be schooled how to go about it. regards

One way to deal with excess headspace on a rimmed cartridge with a bottleneck is to fire some cases in that gun, then adjust your dies by backing them off in the press to just size the case without pushing the shoulder back. It may take a few cases to get it just right, but then you can use some shim stock to measure this gap between the die and the shellholder with the ram of the press all the way up, so you can replicate it later.

Myself I don't want anyone closing one of my SxS's and pushing on the top lever....they were not designed for that.

I can't imagine that normally closing a gun (neither slamming it closed or gently babying it) and allowing the bolting springs that the manufacturer designed would harm anything. That certainly would not even approach the dynamic forces that occur upon firing. Babying the top lever closed could leave the bolting surfaces not fully engaged. That miniscule amount of movement upon firing will start the process of the gun slowly beating itself loose. Forcing the top lever closed will be bad if that force exceeds what the maker intended in normal closure. Keeping the bolting surfaces and hinge surfaces clean and lubed and fully engaged, and firing ammunition that does not exceed design limits will insure long life. Good designs that self compensate for wear like Smith or Fox rotary bolting, or limit the forces of firing as found in Model 21's reduce the chances of going off face. Of course, some cheaper guns start life with sloppy tolerances and poor hardening of hinge and bolting surfaces, so they have a running start at quickly shooting loose. There was a good chapter on this in "Shotgun Technicana" by McIntosh and Trevallion.

Thank you, Keith. Very well said!
Funny, whenever the subject of idiots comes up, jOe's right on cue, to prove their existence.

Only "idiot" that came up was yOu jimmy bOy.

Pod,
I used brass wire as it is easy to make them to size by wrapping a case and cutting the space for the extractor. I flatten the ring till the case will headspace then used epoxy to hold them in place. You need to be careful to to not glue the action shut.
Have used it for Mauser A base cases as well as using it for making 9.3X74 brass fit a 40-85 Ballard.
Cheers,
Laurie

Well boys; I don't know what to think. Our recently departed friend, Mr. McIntosh, said more guns are off face due to not holding the lever while closing.