doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Crescent fails to fire sometimes help.

measure the firing pin protrusion with the hammer down.and then go from there

Let me try this again. I initially replied on the wrong Crescent post, sorry.
Without measuring, the firing pins seem to protrude properly with the barrels off. Remember that the cocking rods/dogs recock the hammers when opened. With the barrels off, the cocking system is not operating and the firing pins look right, but may be restrained by the cocking rods/cams. The forend generally activates the cocking system. Using a long rod down each barrel, check the firing pin protrusion in each barrel with the forend on, and off.

Great advice. Dennis, is the reason you recommend the rod down each barrel-both with and without the forearm in place, possibly due to the greater amount of pressure the spring-latched forearm may exert on the barrel breech to receiver, when assembled? Will this work with some of the spring loaded strikers found on European mfg. shotguns?? RWTF

Check how deep the primers are set. If you are shooting reloads you maybe pushing the base in when you seat the primers. Many guns will not fire Estate brand shells because the primers are set too deep.

I don't know anything about these guns, but I can't see why the hammers have a concave hole in them. What do the back of the firing pins look like, are they mushroomed?

Never check a gun using reloads. Use only factoy ammo and try at least three brands. I can not count over the years how many people have brought me guns with problems only to find out it was their reloads or some off brand out of speck factory shells. NEVER check a gun with reloads.

Here is a photo of firing pins.
Thanks for all your input.

Run with the Fox: Most guns use the forend to activate the cocking mechanism, which shows up in that most guns you need to remove the forend to dismount the barrels. The forend causes the cocking mechanism to engage the hammers and cock them as the gun is opened. Sometimes the cocking mechanism doesn't let the hammers fall all the way you would see in a gun with hammers down and barrels off. The only way you can tell if it is happening is to examine firing pin protrusion with the barrels and forend I place. Hence the rod to measure the pin protrusion. I don't think it has anything to do with the method
of forend attachment, ie, spring or latch, IMHO.

To add just a bit to Dennis' excellent advice I will say that even on those guns which do depend on the forend to activate the cocking mechanism there is the possibility of the pin protrusion being different with the barrels on or off so this is still good advice either way. It occurs to me a good method might well be to measure the distance down to the pins with gun fully assembled but un-cocked, then cock the gun & measure down to the breech face which would show actual pin protrusion.
On the majority of guns which do utilize the forend then Dennis's method would certainly still be great advice to determine what affect the forend has on the protrusion. I had not really thought about this aspect before Dennis, thanks for the tip. Had always just depended on measuring with the barrels off.

One other thing that can cause fails to fire is off center pins. Is the pin hitting the center of the primer?