doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Zoli Rizzinni 28 ga. Abercrombie & Fitch Resleeve

Hey Folks im new here. I have a handful of SXS. I love them im just learning here and beginning.

As the post title says ive got a A&F 28 ga. With a blownout barrel. Ive seen a thread here with a few diffrent sleeve jobs. Ive talked to merrington and little..? They may become my only options but I just wanted to ask if someone else could do the job. Since I will be for the most part destroying the value of this gun I dont wanna spend a ton doing it. So please let me know of anyone that might be an option.

IDEALLY I would love to find a set of barrels for this gun. Ive contacted evryo e I could think of imcluding griffin and howe and the europe gun forums. So of you guys have a set of 28 ga. Zoli Rizzini barrels i. The closet Im in the market. Thanks for all the help.

Welcome to the forum! I've not researched sleeving companies so I'm not much help there

Welcome, Patrick. You may find that a sleeving job is not reasonable for your gun. In addition, Aaron has announced that he is not taking any more jobs on, and is moving in a different "direction".

Being patient and scouring for another set of barrels may be your best bet. Besides, there are lots of other fish in the sea.

SRH

Maybe Briley does it as well?

My guess would be that sooner or later, you can find another Z-R 28ga, and it will turn out to be less expensive than sleeving the one you have now.

Patrick, welcome to Doublegunshop bbs. Don't buy guns with blown out barrels...Geo

The biggest Issue is finding tubes. The cost will be $2-3,000. There just isn't a reliable, cost effective source of any gauge or length of tubes.

Welcome to the site.

1. What George said.

2. With a blown barrel, the gun you have has value only for parts or if you can find another set. In other words, next to no value. So, don't think you'll be destroying its value if you get a new barrel sleeved to it.
That said, the comments upthread reminding us of the extreme cost of sleeving - if and when (a) there is a craftsman to do it and (b) it can be done - are useful. They also point out that, if you should be able to get it done, you're almost certain to be underwater on the gun if and when you come around to selling it.

Im in this thing for nothing. Aaron (I believe) told me I could sleeve just the one barrel. The wood, action, etc. Is pretty darn nice. I dont have it in me to walk away from this thing. I read a thread here that showed several sleeve jobs. I know there arent 50 guys that do it, but surley 10? Who else could I talk to? Any ideas on trackung down a set of barrels?

Get hold of Toby Barclay. He can take the gun back to England and have it done for a reasonable price. I know someone who did it and there was a good savings. Others here may know how to contact him. He does post on this board and comes to the United States a couple of times a year for the major shooting events.

Sorry Kid, it's a parts gun.

You could get a barrel set from Italy I suppose, but there is no easy way to fix the one you have.

Thanks Builder, great Idea. Any other suggestions?

I have had long discussions with Hugh Lomas , who has retired, about the whole process of sleeving. He didn't know of anyone other than Mr. Merrington, in the states, that does it at this time. Finding suitable tubes is the biggest obstacle in the process right now. The actual machining isn't that difficult. The hard part is dealing with all the different dimensions of all the different parts, that have to be measured and adjustments made for every barrel of every gun worked on. Also if you want the seam TIGed there are heat treat issues that have to be dealt with. Then you need tooling for each gauge for chambering, rim cutting, and choke work. All these obstacles could be mitigated to a degree by volume, but without an economical source of tubes, it is becoming a moot point. The last tube importer had to order a minimum of 30 tubes of one set of dimensions. Say 12 gauge, 30 inch, .729 bore full choke. If a smith has to have to find 14 more jobs for everyone he takes in just touse up one order. That's why it's hard to get someone set up to do sleeving. As much as we love these guns, if a gunsmith has to decide between fried bologna sandwiches, or driving a forklift and feeding his family hamburgers, which would you choose.

Briley was sleeving a few years ago. I have a friend who shoots two 34" Parkers, both of which were sleeved to that length by Briley. They may have stopped, though, IDK.

What scares me the most is having a double sleeved, blued and returned, then finding out at the plate that it was not regulated before soldering it all up. Lots of money spent ..........for absolutely nothing. I would not commission a sleeving job without a guarantee of regulation.

SRH

I have an A&F Z-R extractor in 28 Ga with 26" barrels. It is a '60's import and basically unused. I purchased it to be used by my kids learning to shoot and hunt. I'm Trying to start them off correctly! Sorry my barrels are not for sale . I post to encourage you to sleeve them to 29 or 30" if you do go forward. The gun to me is very whippy with 26's. Also with the longer barrels, it will be rarer and more desirable in today's market. It is very hard to find a 28ga with anything longer than 26" barrels.

This is a Lusso w/ ejectors I want to sleeve it just trying to find a source. Aaron was going to do it. But drug my feet getting it to him. Now hes closed his book for a TBD time. Im willing to let someone do it who likes a challenge etc. Like stated above its a parts gun until its repaired or replaced. If I could get a set of barrels out of italy I would be game. Im open to options here. So I ask again in all of the U.S. kirk and aaron are the only two that can sleeve a shotgun?

I will try and reach out to Barclay, and send it to europe. Id also be open to someone laser weldi g it. Its not a big whole. Im a CWI ill stamp a release of liability ig someone with a lasrr wrlder would wanna tackle it. Like I said people im i it for 100$ I gotta try something.

My gat ass fingers really struggle typing on the phone. I apologize for the many typos.

Are the barrels monobloc, deovetail or chopper lump?

Monoboloc is the easiest and tubes can be had from Effebi for a reasonable cost.

Aaron Little did a one barrel sleeve on a Specialty grade Elsie that I bought years ago with a blown out right barrel. Wonderful job!...Geo



Thirty-two inch barrels and he was able to save all the barrel engraving and lettering on the sleeved barrel. He also re-used both original top and bottom ribs.

My A&F Zoli/Rizzini 28b has shoe lump barrels, but mine is not a Lusso, and it is not an ejector gun.

And they are the lightest weight barrels of any 28b gun that I have evaluated, 2 pounds, even.

Have you checked the wall thickness of the good barrel? Is it possible someone worked them down too thin and that was the cause of the blowout. Do you know who had it when it split? Was anyone hurt? Make sure the good barrel is good before spending money to fix the other barrel.

Aha. We're talking a different kettle of fish than the Z-R's that were made as knockabouts for Abercrombie & Fitch. Those are decent guns and the smallbores in particular will bring decent $. But a Lusso is about twice or three times the value of those guns. If I were you, since you're into it for nothing and if the gun is in otherwise excellent condition, I'd check on the possibility of having a new set of barrels made by Rizzini. Certainly more than sleeving, but as a Lusso it could be worth it.

Two guys worth contacting are JJ Perodeau http://jjperodeau.com/ and Dewey Vicknair http://www.vicknairrestorations.com/Vicknair_Restorations___Home.html . I've no idea what they'll tell you, just that it will be worth hearing. Sending the barrels to Britain seems like a good option to explore, but Larry's idea--new barrels from the factory--would be even better.
Good Luck!

Might be worth a call to the current B Rizzini USA guys in Utah to see if the Rizzini custom shop will make a set of barrels. If they will, get long ones.

Dewey is out of the sleeving business, but Toby should appear at the Southern Side by Side in April. I also have a smallbore sleeving project that I would like to discuss with him.

Not me, Dewey! I did invoke your name but only to suggest OP contact you.

Best Regards,

Bill