‘Gotta digress, Lloyd.
That problem went on far longer than the early 1970s, and hit more than just the cheapies. My contacts in St. Etienne were well aware of the problem being a current bug-a-boo when I was there in 1997. The double gun revival ran about parallel with Michael McIntosh’s popularity as a writer, until he died, and the problem was mixed in with the bunches of Spanish guns that were being imported to the states at that time. The most frustrating thing about it is the complete random way it hits, across anything from Spain.
Not hating, I have owned for many years a Spanish boxlock, a low end Uggy box lock, it does what I ask and then some. It was built in 1972, and didn’t appear to suffer the curse, but, Cole Haugh annealed and rehardened the bits anyway, when I had some work done to it. I look at the nice Spanish guns offered for sale on the web all the time, but, temper my lust by wondering why a 25 year old side lock looks unused with the notion there might be a damn good reason for that.
Don’t shoot the messenger.
Best,
Ted
