doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 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

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.

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.

Please provide examples. Such are rare in NM.

Browse…


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

Best,
Ted

Here’s a very simple example….any double gun with a spring powered top lever, side lever, under lever, etc, is a snap action.

I feel snap action guns are push forward underlever guns, just my view.

This gun was sold as a "Snap Action" notice no top leaver just having an opening leaver as part of the trigger guard bow. I suppose the "Snap" comes from just lifting the barrel's to close the gun with the action spring putting the locking bolt in place.

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

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

Good point. Pushing the chrome bolt release to send the bolt home on an 1100 results in a pretty good snap. Not known as anything but an autoloader over here.

Best,
Ted

A forward snap action. An 1883 rising bite.



Ken

^^^^^According to past posts on here I always thought that "snap action" meant shotguns liked the ones pictured above by KDGJ. ^^^^^^

That is what it used to mean here.



I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. These look a bit odd to me. Lacking the top lever is odd to start with (but then there is Owen's side lever Boss that is absolutely svelte). Then, the side view of the underlever does nothing for my aesthetics, and when looked at from any forward, or quartering angle the lever/trigger guard looks quite ugly to me.

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.

Well, maybe if I shot a few rounds of clays or a few birds with it, I'd change my mind. I am certainly willing to give it a fair shake, if someone will lend me one for a year or so. I think it is just that, having never seen one in the flesh, its striking appearance is unusual to my eye and it takes some getting used to.

I do enjoy the photos, however. Obviously great craftsmanship is never dull, no matter how unusual.

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...?

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).