I keep the old Silver Snipe around because I can get a gloved finger in the trigger guard in the winter. Well, that, and because it was my Dad’s gun.
I've worked on a Silver Snipe a couple times recently for a friend who bought one for $300, because it wouldn't reset the trigger to fire the second barrel. The first time I had it I cleaned the action in my ultrasonic bath, then dried and lightly oiled it. He said it worked for about 20 shots then started the same thing again, so I agreed to look at it again.
This time, as I looked more closely, I saw that the inertia block, though it would swing freely when touched with my fingertip, wouldn't swing freely when I tipped the gun up and down. Looking more closely I noticed that the axle upon which the inertia block pivots is a screw. I saw that the end of the screw opposite the head looked to be center punched to prevent it from backing out. I tried turning the screw CCW and it moved. I only moved it maybe 15 degrees. I then tried tipping the gun upwards and downwards and found that the inertia block now pivoted more freely. Another tiny drop of Eezox oil went on that pin.
I returned the gun to the owner today at lunch in hopes that it is now fixed. Time will tell, as he will be shooting it some more soon.
