March
S M T W T F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online Now
9 members (12boreman, Borderbill, cpa, JDH, craigd, 1 invisible), 377 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums10
Topics38,374
Posts544,007
Members14,391
Most Online1,131
Jan 21st, 2024
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 452
Likes: 174
Sidelock
OP Offline
Sidelock

Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 452
Likes: 174
…barrels to frame or frame to barrels?

And why?


Speude Bradeos
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 7,693
Likes: 450
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 7,693
Likes: 450
I use my left hand to slowly raise the barrels to frame. Keeps my right hand grip in a more ready to mount position. Longtime mentor told me to close a double “as quietly as possible”. By that he meant in a fluid motion without slamming things shut. Less wear on the gun and if you need to slam anything hard to close it needs to be properly joined.

Joined: May 2016
Posts: 1,408
Likes: 181
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: May 2016
Posts: 1,408
Likes: 181
I normally close barrels to frame out of habit. Those that would chose frame to barrels probably do so with barrels pointing down out of safety. I would think either is acceptable provided gun safety awareness is practiced religiously.
Karl

Joined: May 2008
Posts: 8,158
Likes: 114
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: May 2008
Posts: 8,158
Likes: 114
FWIW- I close my doubleguns just like the late gun writer Paul A. Curtis showed in his 1934 book Guns & Gunning--100% muzzles down toward the ground, and never ever close to a man's feet or his dog-- RWTF


"The field is the touchstone of the man"..
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 886
Likes: 351
Sidelock
Offline
Sidelock

Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 886
Likes: 351
I try to remember to close break open guns by lifting the stock to the barrels as being both safer and putting less stress on the gun.

If an accidental discharge is going to happen it is most likely to occur when the gun is shut.

Many years ago I was shooting with a Spanish SLE by a well regarded Spanish maker. I will not mention his name as I have otherwise had his guns well spoken of by knowledgeable friends. I had bought it, a self opener, with 2 pairs of barrels at Weller and Dufty.

I came to a ditch to be crossed by a muddy plank, unloaded and then shut it to make a more rigid balancing pole.

When I opened it on the far side one of the ejectors sprang open.

This fortunately alerted me, and when I closed the gun I did so with the barrels pointing down into an empty bit of ploughed field.
Basil, a very large Black Labrador, wandered over to sniff the resulting hole in the ground clearly puzzled as to what I had found to shoot down there?

The fault was with some difficulties finally diagnosed as poor lock geometry in that the lock on that side was set up so the breast of the tumbler was striking the edge of the bridle, thus giving the bridle screws a sideways clout that soon loosened them.

I had it fixed, curing the problem, but by that time I no longer felt the same about it and I know my gunsmith was happy when I replaced it with a pre-war BSA BLE.

Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,109
Likes: 91
eeb Offline
Sidelock
*
Offline
Sidelock
*

Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,109
Likes: 91
Robert Churchill says frame to barrels. As long as the gun is held pointed down range in a safe manner I don’t think it makes a difference. I close barrels to frame while holding the top lever.

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,960
Likes: 89
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,960
Likes: 89
Common sense says action to barrels but I’m a creature of long time habit so it’s invariably barrels to action. But with barrels always pointing in a safe direction, often towards ground except when feathers are flying.


When an old man dies a library burns to the ground. (Old African proverb)
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 13,127
Likes: 1127
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 13,127
Likes: 1127
Never thought about it, and .......... I don't put much importance on it, either way. What does the bolting care?


May God bless America and those who defend her.
1 member likes this: Glacierjohn
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,033
Likes: 45
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,033
Likes: 45
It doesn't.

And a snap action gun should be allowed to snap. It properly engages the bolting surfaces that way.


"The price of good shotgunnery is constant practice" - Fred Kimble
1 member likes this: Stanton Hillis
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,313
Likes: 378
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,313
Likes: 378
Originally Posted by eeb
I close barrels to frame while holding the top lever.

This is not a good idea, and Shotgunjones beat me to the punch with an explanation why:

Originally Posted by Shotgunjones
And a snap action gun should be allowed to snap. It properly engages the bolting surfaces that way.

As far as which method is best from a safety standpoint, I would suggest asking actor Alec Baldwin what he recommends... and then do the opposite.


A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.

Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

Link Copied to Clipboard

doublegunshop.com home | Welcome | Sponsors & Advertisers | DoubleGun Rack | Doublegun Book Rack

Order or request info | Other Useful Information

Updated every minute of everyday!


Copyright (c) 1993 - 2024 doublegunshop.com. All rights reserved. doublegunshop.com - Bloomfield, NY 14469. USA These materials are provided by doublegunshop.com as a service to its customers and may be used for informational purposes only. doublegunshop.com assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in these materials. THESE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT-ABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. doublegunshop.com further does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these materials. doublegunshop.com shall not be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits, which may result from the use of these materials. doublegunshop.com may make changes to these materials, or to the products described therein, at any time without notice. doublegunshop.com makes no commitment to update the information contained herein. This is a public un-moderated forum participate at your own risk.

Note: The posting of Copyrighted material on this forum is prohibited without prior written consent of the Copyright holder. For specifics on Copyright Law and restrictions refer to: http://www.copyright.gov/laws/ - doublegunshop.com will not monitor nor will they be held liable for copyright violations presented on the BBS which is an open and un-moderated public forum.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.0.33-0+deb9u11+hw1 Page Time: 0.075s Queries: 37 (0.051s) Memory: 0.8499 MB (Peak: 1.8988 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2024-03-28 18:31:58 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS