doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com F.A. Loomis 12ga Hammergun - Information???

I've been reviewing F A Loomis models on the net. Since my last search several more "IXL" and a few "IXJ" numbers have sprung up. It's amazing how much this Make suffers from "The Carder Syndrome", with continuing references to it being a Crescent. Despite the European proofs.

Carder's habit of listing guns he wasn't knowledgable about as Crescents applies to guns made by some of the smaller American makers as well. Though annoying, it sometimes results in some pretty good deals from sellers who seem to take him as "Holy Writ"...

What a Bust. I went to pick up my F Williams today. I'd bought it on an action a few hours away through internet bidding. I waited until today to get it so I could attend another nearby auction. It was misdescribed as a 12 ga, it's really a 10. There are also significant faults due to the poor description and even worse photos. I could have lived with'em if it had been a 12. I was going to restore the gun as a gift to my machinist. Now, starting Tuesday I have to see about getting my money back.

No reasonably priced doubles at the auction either. A giant waste of a four-hour round trip. Not including the couple of hours I had to sit at the auction.

Ken,

Sent Pm

Back to the Loomis that I opened this thread about.

Barrels are marked 12 Bore, 15 Muzzle

12 Bore is .729" - .739" per rules of proof, correct?

If I am reading the chart that I found online correctly, 15 Bore is .677"

My question:
For the plug gauges, that would mean .677" to .687" is 15 bore. Correct?

IF I am recalling/understanding this correctly, the barrels are still at/near original dimensions.

Bores are .735" and both muzzles are .685"

EDIT: I may have this wrong. Math says this is .050" of choke. With my Skeets gauge I thought it was .040". Will check when I have the gun out again.

32" barrels with tight chokes. I haven't measure the stock dimensions, but they are very shootable.

Sporting clays anyone?

The barrels cleaned up quite nicely.

Found "XL" or "IX" to be stamped in several locations on the internals of this shotgun.

Nice gun. How are the Trigger Pulls? The only drawback to mine is that they are pretty heavy..

Regards
Ken

Ken,

Didn't really pay much attention to the pulls. Checked for function and any problems before tearing it down.

So far, I have cleaned surface rust from the barrel w/ electrolysis, boiled all of the metal bits in a Simple Green solution and stripped the grungy finish from the wood.

Making a new toplever spring today.

Metal bits were oiled with a combination of Kroil and 30wt, which will loosen up any surface rust. Will refinsh the wood, re-cut the checkering and then reassemble.

At some point it looks like the horn or ebony forend tip was lost and replaced with a piece of walnut. I might correct that while I am at it.

Utah Mike, I am unfamiliar with electrolysis being used to remove rust [from barrels] etc. Can you explain a bit ?

Daryl,

I could never write it up as well as many folks on the internet have already done.
https://www.google.com/search?q=electrolysis+rust+removal&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

I use it often as it DOES NOT disturb any original finish that remains, only the "loose" and surface rust.

Recently I used the process on a rusty pre-Civil War Starr revolver and found a surprising amount of original bluing still remained.

One caution. Between the process and the soda water solution, the surface will be completely devoid of rust AND oil. If you don't dry and oil the surface immediately, it will flash rust. Most of that can be wiped off with an oily rag, but it defeats the purpose if you just let it rust again.

If you've got a Battery Charger and a box of Washing Soda, you can do it.

I haven't done it yet, but I plan to. I have to find a plastic tray long enough for barrels. I'll use a piece of U shaped steel from the scrapyard for the piece that collects the rust. I'll then make wood blocks to suspend the tubes inside the flanges of the angle iron, so rust is removed on three sides at once. Rotating the tubes will be easy with the blocks.