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Shotgun Action Work
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How do you know when it’s time to have your action tightened up?
If your single barrel or over/under is loose in the receiver when the top lever is in the lock position, your gun’s top lever jumps while shooting, or the top lever positions itself to the left of center of the top tang, it’s time to have that corrected. Though it’s not a serious safety concern, it sure can lead to be a distraction. On a few break open guns, damage can occur to the top lever, which will lead to an expensive top lever replacement.
Here at Doug’s, we can save you the expense of replacing the locking bolt/block. Many of the modern guns today have parts available, but they are expensive, especially the guns from Europe. A new locking bolt can cost upwards of $125 or more. Not included in that price is the time to fit this new part. A new locking bolt comes from the manufacturer oversize, so another $100 to properly fit the locking bolt.
Doug has been rebuilding locking bolts for over 25 years. He begins by disassembling the complete gun and giving it a thorough cleaning. He will then take an angle measurement on the barrel’s lug, where the locking bolt locks to the barrel. This is not a measurement taken with a protractor. Doug uses an optical comparer to accurately determine this angle. This angle is recorded, and the locking bolt is then welded. The weld is TIG welded using 4130 rod. This is a tool steel material. There is no heat-treating done after the weld. The object is to keep this welded area of the locking bolt soft, but not softer than the lugs on the barrel. It’s a fine line, but the objective is to keep both surfaces relatively the same
Being that the locking bolt has already been fitted, all that’s need is to regrind the angle to match the bbl’s lug, until the top lever positions itself to the right of center, with the bbl closed. Grinding the locking bolt is done on a highly precise surface grinder. The grinder has a magnetic adjustable plate to accurately set the angle to less than one minute of a degree.
On occasion, enough material cannot be added to the locking bolt. Here we are talking about severely shot and/or worn guns. In this case welding of the bbl’s lug is needed
If you find the your break-open gun opens very easy, meaning it feels kind of sloppy while it’s open, this too can be corrected by welding the forend lug on the barrel, and refitting the forend iron. Some attempts have been made by others to tighten this up by peening the lug or forend iron. PLEASE!, do not allow anyone to do this. It looks terrible on a fine firearm AND it’s only a temporary fix.
All of the above can be performed on most over/under, single barrel, and side by side double barrel shotguns.
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Weld Locking Bolt/Block & Precision Refit (includes re-
cutting bbl lugs if needed)... Clay Target Shotguns Only
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$150.00
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Weld Forend BBL Lug & Refit Forend Iron
Clay Target Shotguns Only
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$150.00
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Weld BBL Lugs(where bolt/block locks to barrel)
Clay Target Shotguns Only
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$150.00
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Re-work Rem 90-T Locking Bolt & BBL Lugs
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$150.00
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Update Rem 90-T Forend
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$150.00
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Re-tighten Updated Rem 90-T Forend
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$75.00
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Repair Broken Perazzi TM-1 Top Lever
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$150.00
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Repair Broken Tabs on Perazzi Adjustable Rib….per tab
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$150.00
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Retime Perazzi MX-8 type 4 Top Levers for quicker lock
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$75.00
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Weld Locking Bolts on All Other Break-Open Guns.. s/s,o/u
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$150.00+
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Update Newer Browning BT-99 Forend (2001 and up)
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$150.00
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Update Older Type 3 Perazzi Forend Assembly
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$200.00
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[1] At times, the barrels locking lugs must be welded to add material for a proper locking bolt fit. In the past, someone may have altered the angle by filing the lugs while fitting a new locking bolt or the lugs have just worn poorly. It is very important that the barrel lugs and the locking bolt have the correct locking angle. If they do not, the chances of the gun opening during each shot is raised significantly, in the case of a Perazzi, you will end up breaking the top lever.
[2] This is one of the updates we do for the Remington 90-T. The barrel locking lugs are re-cut to 8 degrees and the locking bolt is welded and re-ground to 8 degrees. The original 10 degree angle did not hold the locking bolt into the barrel lugs very well, and caused the top lever to jump during shooting.
[3] This is the other update for the Remington 90-T. This update is the most critical one. It is to replace the original forend shoe that is prone to breaking. Breaking the original part while shooting is not a dangerous situation, the gun will just not function properly.
[4] Retightening the Remington 90-T forend consists of replacing the updated insert with a new one.
[5] No need to replace a broken Perazzi TM-1 top lever. We have a very nice fix that does not involve welding. There is a life-time warranty to the original owner of the gun. A new top lever installed will cost you over $400.
[6] If you have a problem with your type IV MX-8 top lever not staying to the right while opening the gun, we can re-time the slot on the locking bolt to allow the top lever to lock the instant the gun opens. You no longer need to push the top lever fully to the right (opening position) to lock.
[7] Browning; in order to reduce manufacturing cost, eliminated the long forend screw from the front of the forend assembly. This screw was essential in that it kept the forend wood drawn up tight to the iron. Now that it has been eliminated, shooters are complaining that the forend screws keep loosening and the wood begins to shift forward and aft. Some have also sheered the screws. We have a fix for this problem. It is similar to Browning's but a lot less complicated. Browning may cover your repair under warranty if the gun is a couple of years old, but most likely you will have to pay them, and then wait 4 - 6 months to have the repair completed. We can turn the job around in a few weeks.
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[8] On Perazzi type 3 forend assemblies, there were only two screws that kept the wood tight to the iron. Through repeated use of the gun, the holes where the forend screws passed through the wood began to get egg-shapped, allowing the forend iron and the latch to move, regardless how tight the screws were. This constant movement eventually lead to the wood splitting from the bottom of the latch to the iron.
We can update the forend assembly using the same process we use for the BT-99. Two 1-1/2" wood screws are inserted into the radius of the forend iron. The two screws will now keep the iron drawn up tight to the wood.
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