doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Fitting orphaned shotgun barrels

I have fitted 7 or 8 NOS in the white unfitted Fox barrels and that is a tough job that I do not care to do again in my old age. Bobby

I have done two sets of NOS Fox barrels. It is a very big job and patience is a must. Much easier going very slow than going through welding the hook, etc to get things right. As to orphaned complete sets of barrels, as some have stated already, sometimes you get lucky other times no matter what you do you can not get them to work. I explain this to each customer when they approach me on these types of jobs. Most get it, a few don't. I pretty much try to pass on these jobs now days. Too many variables and some folks just do not understand that this is hourly work that I can not give a fixed quote on.

OK let me further explain my question. I suppose I could fit my size 12 foot into a size 11 shoe but it would look like crap.
A few years ago a guy was selling a set of Purdey 30" barrels on Ebay and he lived within a couple hours drive from me.
My friend said no way I would ever be able to get a proper fit since all these guns were hand made. Mine being built 1929 so with that I abandoned the idea.
Now is it possible to get a good and proper fit with orphaned barrels? Will it look like Purdey proper work?

possible yes, but not likely.

Lottery odds. No two British "fine" guns were made anything but one at a time. What if your barrels are struck .010 more on the right side and .010 less on the left so that one side against the breech face the right is too small and the right too large. Are you going to strike the breech down on the right and the barrels on the left? Nope.

Before I ever tried to fit a set of barrels I spent a lot of time measuring everything you could think of before I started. To me fitting a set of barrels, which were too large or too small for the gun would have been a waste of time and a set of barrels. But you never know. The lottery does pay off for someone.

Just passed on doing this with a Darne R model. Too much time and money with not much gain, on a lower grade gun.
I got good, sound advice from JJ. I respect that guy.

Best,
Ted

experience has proven the following guns are more likely to interchange barrels:

fox sterlingworth

parkers of same model, frame size and era

ithaca nitro special

That statement is total BS. (Less so maybe on the Nitro Special.)

Proof positive that just because they may mount and close, you cant trust someones word that they fit properly, or �interchange� as they say.

Ed thinks that extra barrel sets add value to guns he tries to sell. Whether they fit properly or not.

dudley: you jump to negative conclusion, based upon your ignorance...

all two barrel sets that have passed thru my hands have been fit or refit by experienced qualified gunsmiths...

it has been my experience that an extra set of properly fit barrels do add value...

unlike you, my post here is to add positive contribution...

yours is just mean spirited nonsense.

Hey Ed, would you say it is also mean-spirited nonsense to Troll crap like this on a gun enthusiast's forum:





Or does having a one man fan club make you a proud man?

By the way, having fitted a few sets of orphan barrels to guns with missing or damaged barrels, I can say that I totally agree with what Stan said in his first post. But I still think it is worth trying if you can buy a good set reasonably, and evaluate them honestly before screwing up and ruining them. As Brian Dudley says, you can always resell them if they just won't work on your particular gun. And when compared to the extreme cost and hassle of having a new set made from scratch, well, there is no comparison.