Churchill 206 O/U Sporting

G

grywinds_ghst

New member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Took my Churchill to Silverdale to take advantage of the of the warmer weather and on the start of my second round my stock cracked wide open after my first shot.

Luckily the the RO was super freaking awesome and lent me his Benelli.

I just bought this thing in November and have used it once prior.

 
Last edited:
THats a bummer. As Stubblejump said, hopefully you wont have warranty issues. Unfortunately these things happen with wood. You just never know if there is a weak spot on wood until it comes apart. It can happen with any brand of gun, especially if the wood has dried out or in extreme cold if its wet. Good luck getting the stock replaced
 
1963beretta said:
THats a bummer. As Stubblejump said, hopefully you wont have warranty issues. Unfortunately these things happen with wood. You just never know if there is a weak spot on wood until it comes apart. It can happen with any brand of gun, especially if the wood has dried out or in extreme cold if its wet. Good luck getting the stock replaced
Click to expand...

I had no idea, I will definitely keep it mind
 
grywinds_ghst said:
My buddy seems to think there was some over torquing to the stock and that might have caused, who knows though just speculating.

It sounds more common then I thought now speaking to everybody.
Click to expand...

I think another reason was the main factor and it's a humidity. During the winter and due to a constant air heating, the humidity drops down significantly. The optimum humidity for any wood product should be from 40 to 60%. During the winter this figure drops down to as low as 14-17%. Wood simply dries, contracts and cracks. Additionally, any wood has some internal pressure and when drying it may lead to cracks. Your stock cracked in the narrowest, weakest and, more importantly, driest part. A recoil just helped to split it. Same as when you chop the dry firewood with an axe. Very easy. But not that easy when the wood is fresh and wet.
 
I'm thinking more of a defect in the wood. The OP mentioned only using the gun 'once prior', I'm assuming the gun was stored properly and not left in a puddle of water. Relative humidity (RH) and it's relationship to the moisture content (MC) of the wood is a simple formula. If the stock experienced extreme changes in MC (in a short period of time) then there is a possibility of internal stresses due to un-even drying. Wood has the ability to absorb moisture at a slow rate and then release it again gradually through it's cellular composition. File a warranty claim and go from there.

RB
 
I try to keep the humidity in the safe at around 40%-45%. On stocks that have a oil rubbed finish, I peroidically rub in a very small amount of BLO to keep the wood conditioned. If the is sealed, keeping a proper humidity level is the best bet
 
I'm curious as I have limited experience with over unders (owned a winchester 101 I traded away as it didn't fit well and a franchi I hunt grouse with) but would a synthetic stock like what is found on a mossberg maverick or the cynergy have none of the issues?

A friend with a DT11 recently cracked his foreend and for a $10k gun to have that issue makes me wonder why bother with wood for an over under if sythetic will handle the beating.
 
I cant see clearly in the pictures, but it looks like the grain runs completely horizontal and the break is right along it.
 
grywinds_ghst said:
Any preventative measures I could take ?
Click to expand...

As others already mentioned, a humidifier will help. Keep the gun in its original case, even if you store it in the safe. Walnut is relatively soft wood and absorbs moisture well. Apply oil (tung, linen or Osmo hardwax, for example) once in a while. Hypothetically, you can measure the wood moisture content to see if it's too low but pinless devices are expensive. You can buy a pinned moisture reader and measure the MC from the side where the recoil pad is.

Redbull1 said:
I'm thinking more of a defect in the wood. The OP mentioned only using the gun 'once prior', I'm assuming the gun was stored properly and not left in a puddle of water. Relative humidity (RH) and it's relationship to the moisture content (MC) of the wood is a simple formula. If the stock experienced extreme changes in MC (in a short period of time) then there is a possibility of internal stresses due to un-even drying. Wood has the ability to absorb moisture at a slow rate and then release it again gradually through it's cellular composition. File a warranty claim and go from there.

RB
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter how many times the gun had been used before. And it doesn't have to be placed in the water to get cracked later. EMC in Toronto is higher than, for example, in Hong Kong, because we have humid summers and very dry winters. All wood products suffer from it and require proper maintenance and care. Here is a nice explanation of what MC, RH and EMC are.

1963beretta said:
I try to keep the humidity in the safe at around 40%-45%. On stocks that have a oil rubbed finish, I peroidically rub in a very small amount of BLO to keep the wood conditioned. If the is sealed, keeping a proper humidity level is the best bet
Click to expand...

Well, you don't want the humidifier to be installed directly inside the save and produce vapour. I can't find the thread but we recently discussed the rust problems in safes. Due to a poor ventilation, guns may start rusting even without a humidifier, especially when put from cold to warm environment. Many agreed that it's better to keep guns in their original cases. I told about it to a friend of mine. He checked his Beretta that had been stored in the safe and, believe it or not, it got a few rust spots on an engraving.
 
mockba77 said:
As others already mentioned, a humidifier will help. Keep the gun in its original case, even if you store it in the safe. Walnut is relatively soft wood and absorbs moisture well. Apply oil (tung, linen or Osmo hardwax, for example) once in a while. Hypothetically, you can measure the wood moisture content to see if it's too low but pinless devices are expensive. You can buy a pinned moisture reader and measure the MC from the side where the recoil pad is.



It doesn't matter how many times the gun had been used before. And it doesn't have to be placed in the water to get cracked later. EMC in Toronto is higher than, for example, in Hong Kong, because we have humid summers and very dry winters. All wood products suffer from it and require proper maintenance and care. Here is a nice explanation of what MC, RH and EMC are.



Well, you don't want the humidifier to be installed directly inside the save and produce vapour. I can't find the thread but we recently discussed the rust problems in safes. Due to a poor ventilation, guns may start rusting even without a humidifier, especially when put from cold to warm environment. Many agreed that it's better to keep guns in their original cases. I told about it to a friend of mine. He checked his Beretta that had been stored in the safe and, believe it or not, it got a few rust spots on an engraving.
Click to expand...


I'm very well aware of what RH MC and EMC are. My point is that if these factors are an issue (in the stock cracking) then every piece of wood (studs, furniture, flooring) in your house would have a crack once it reaches EMC. It's most likely a defect in the wood or poor quality control and the plant. Taking a gun out for a round of trap will not be enough time for RH, MC, EMC to be a factor. My comment about "a puddle of water" was facetious. As suggested maintenance is key however it's a brand new gun and this shouldn't happen.

RB
 
Redbull1 said:
I'm very well aware of what RH MC and EMC are. My point is that if these factors are an issue (in the stock cracking) then every piece of wood (studs, furniture, flooring) in your house would have a crack once it reaches EMC. It's most likely a defect in the wood or poor quality control and the plant. Taking a gun out for a round of trap will not be enough time for RH, MC, EMC to be a factor. My comment about "a puddle of water" was facetious. As suggested maintenance is key however it's a brand new gun and this shouldn't happen.

RB
Click to expand...

RB,

I agree the maintenance is the key. But as I said earlier absolutely all wood products suffer from low humidity: doors, windows, floors, house frame, piano, cutting boards, etc. Some products are more stable, some not. But they all are being affected by low humidity during winter months. The MC of the gun stock lowered before the gun had been taken out to the range. A brand new gun doesn't mean anything either. A few years ago I had a brand new Beretta 686 and a forend cracked when I took the gun to the shooting range at the begging of March. Sometimes, a brand new wooden stock is not dry enough (MC should be around 8-10%) and it cracks when drying. Thus, for example, floor manufacturers void a warranty if the proper humidity and temperature are not maintained at the site of the installed products (19-24C and 40-60% humidity).

P.S. I replaced the forend and a stock (to match a wood grain of a new forend) under the warranty. I took 3 months though. I hope OP will be able to get a replacement stock/forend under the warranty as well. Good luck to all!
 
mockba77 said:
Well, you don't want the humidifier to be installed directly inside the save and produce vapour. I can't find the thread but we recently discussed the rust problems in safes. Due to a poor ventilation, guns may start rusting even without a humidifier, especially when put from cold to warm environment. Many agreed that it's better to keep guns in their original cases. I told about it to a friend of mine. He checked his Beretta that had been stored in the safe and, believe it or not, it got a few rust spots on an engraving.
Click to expand...

I didnt say I kept a humidifier in the safe. I said I keep the humidity in the safe at 40-45. I have a gauge to tell me where its at. If its to low I turn on the humidifier in the house. If the humidity in the safe is too high, I put in a dehumidifier canister to remove some moisture. I also ensure the metal on my guns is well oiled to avoid any kind of corrosion that could be caused by moisture
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom