doublegunshop.com - home Forums Thread Like Summary - Snap action guns

It seems the snap actions are not being made (marketed?). What are the + - of snap action guns compared to similar quality side lock guns?

Thanks

jlb

A snap action in regards to double guns, is pretty much any action that uses spring tension to forcefully push the bolting into place.
So, ya….theyre still being made & marketed.

A forward snap action. An 1883 rising bite.



Ken

My understanding is that a "snap action" is one that can be completely
close and locked without use of the lever (top, side, under or otherwise).

Browse…


https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...s/shotguns-english-double.c667_p1_o6.cfm

Best,
Ted

... Snap action is not a phrase that we use much over here...

They work quite similarly, it is simply which system won out with the buying public, though you are quite correct in that very few gunmakers have offered them in the last 125 years or so. I have owned quite a few over the years, several T. Woodward patent guns known as the "Spiral spring Woodward", a sidelock Lang and my most recent acquisition is a Grant, I just love the lines and uninterrupted top profile.



The drawbacks to a snap action gun in my mind are mostly related to the lever spring, it is shaped like a tea drop with the center removed and they tend to break occasionally. A complicated and costly repair but not the end of the world either. If you like them and find a good one I see no reason not to grab it.

BrentD Prof. I do have to agree with you about "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and then I would disagree with you about that Purdey Snap action thumb leaver bar in wood. It has the smoothest lines of any of the other versions no matter what way you look at it, even Richard Beaumont has said on numerous occasions that the gun's smooth lines design is one of the finest looking guns that Purdey ever made always with the add on "we would gladly make you one" at what cost I ask. I think that this means a lot seeing that Purdey introduced the top leaver opening also. Offering to remake a hundred and fifty year old design exudes a lot of confidence that the design would come up to modern expectations.

In the general sense of the phrase it is exactly as Dustin described it, but in the narrower usage it refers to an underlever type that required no manual movement, but was bolted by the spring action of the underlever. This was deemed by many to be an improvement over the Jones type underlever which required the lever to be manually moved rearward, bolting the action without the benefit of any automatic (spring assisted) mechanism. So, in the narrowest usage it is "as opposed to" the Jones underlever. Maybe that is what the OP was referring to. (?)

See "Snap action" in Hallowell's excellent firearms dictionary for a description and diagrams:

https://www.hallowellco.com/abbrevia.htm#S

The term "Snap Action" when applied to the Jones Underlever system of bolt ..really means - Be Careful -where your hand/fingers are located in relation to the lever and the trigger guard when you "snap" the gun closed. How do I know...?