Please remove.
- Thread starter scjordan
- Start date
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Take the ramrod out and then push or remove the "key" in the forestock that holds the barrels. CAUTION some of these keys will remove completely and some only go ONE WAY. Usually one end (one side of the key) is larger than the other so that is the way it comes OUT.
The barrels should be able to be lifted out of the stock. There should be a "hook" at the rear of them behind the breech plugs that fits into a socket in the receiver.
Then, look underneath the barrels at the rear of them, near the hook and breech plugs. There should at least be proof markings there, which will give you a start on the country of manufacture.
Without some markings, it is a guessing game as to where the shotgun was made, and even more so, who made it.
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Take the ramrod out and then push or remove the "key" in the forestock that holds the barrels. CAUTION some of these keys will remove completely and some only go ONE WAY. Usually one end (one side of the key) is larger than the other so that is the way it comes OUT.
The barrels should be able to be lifted out of the stock. There should be a "hook" at the rear of them behind the breech plugs that fits into a socket in the receiver.
Then, look underneath the barrels at the rear of them, near the hook and breech plugs. There should at least be proof markings there, which will give you a start on the country of manufacture.
Without some markings, it is a guessing game as to where the shotgun was made, and even more so, who made it.
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OK it's apart.
Tough to identify the marks....but here is my best and I dont think pics will help but I will add them.
Looks like a 8 pointed star symbol with the letters GD underneath.
Right barrel has a 188
Left has a 184
The other marks are hard to make out but it could be a "E" over "LG" Browning Liege I would imagine.
Ill get a pic in a few min
Jordy
Tough to identify the marks....but here is my best and I dont think pics will help but I will add them.
Looks like a 8 pointed star symbol with the letters GD underneath.
Right barrel has a 188
Left has a 184
The other marks are hard to make out but it could be a "E" over "LG" Browning Liege I would imagine.
Ill get a pic in a few min
Jordy
the perron (eifel tower thing) and the oval with ELG are both belgian proof marks and the fact that there is no crown over the oval ELG indicates it was made before 1891. Belgium was a major supplier of economy grade guns in the 1800s
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
gunsaholic
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- Location
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
Looking at the pics, it appears as though the barrels are fairly rough on the outside so how much pitting is on the inside? Most likely it is a wall hanger. However, the only way you will know is to have someone measure the bore size and barrel wall thickness at various intervals. The breech plugs should be removed to do this. Also inspect for barrel cracks. It is possible that it is still shootable with caution but quite likely it is wall hanger status if safety is at all in question.
Easiest way to polish the bores is to take a cylinder of hardwood, brass, etc, mounted on a steel rod, with a split to accept a slip of abrasive sheet. Wrap the abrasive until the cylinder just fits the bore. Drive it with an electric drill. This will rapidly remove rust, and reveal just how bad - or good - the bores are.
I have never had much luck trying to unscrew the plugs from double guns. Singles, usually no problem.
You want to be satisfied that the nipples are well threaded in.
Bought a ml 14 bore gun last Saturday, gave the barrels a bit of a polish and cleaning. Checked the nipples. Shot it yesterday, then cleaned it thoroughly. Bores don't look too bad at all. Going to do some more polishing, now that I have a better idea about the bores' condition.
It is hard to tell exactly how deep pitting is. Have a nice single; was 12 bore. Pulled the breech, cleaned the bore; it was bad. Decided it would be a good candidate for a sleeve. Reamed it to 3/4". Pitting was still evident, obviously over 20 thou. deep. As it was, it was a wallhanger; had the sleeving not worked out, it would still have been a hanger.
Nice little gun now.
Next barrel I reamed cleaned up beautifully, pitting gone. Still going to sleeve it.
I have never had much luck trying to unscrew the plugs from double guns. Singles, usually no problem.
You want to be satisfied that the nipples are well threaded in.
Bought a ml 14 bore gun last Saturday, gave the barrels a bit of a polish and cleaning. Checked the nipples. Shot it yesterday, then cleaned it thoroughly. Bores don't look too bad at all. Going to do some more polishing, now that I have a better idea about the bores' condition.
It is hard to tell exactly how deep pitting is. Have a nice single; was 12 bore. Pulled the breech, cleaned the bore; it was bad. Decided it would be a good candidate for a sleeve. Reamed it to 3/4". Pitting was still evident, obviously over 20 thou. deep. As it was, it was a wallhanger; had the sleeving not worked out, it would still have been a hanger.
Nice little gun now.
Next barrel I reamed cleaned up beautifully, pitting gone. Still going to sleeve it.
Nossir - John Moses Browning did not begin to work for Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre [FN] until 1897. HIS shotgun design was for a semi-auto shotgun called the Browning Auto-5, one of the longest in-production firearms of all time. He took the design from his employment with Winchester to FN. The rest is history....
tac
