Salt stock superposed

canuck

canuck

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Is this as big a problem as it sounds?
Does anyone have a list (or link to) of the serial number range of the afflicted guns?
What are the obvious signs of a salt stocked gun (besides the rust, of course :p) - that is, what do I look for?
I've got a real hankerin' for a superposed in 12g (preferably an FN manufactured), but I'm a nube to the shotgun world so - advise me pls!
 
You will probably get better advice from superposed experts. IIRC most salt stocks were between 1966 and 1976. Not all supers in this time frame were salt stocked guns but all supers in the time frame should be checked. If no one else answers you, peek into a blue book or google salt stock browning. Shotgun world and some other sites talk about this frequently.
 
I wouldn't worry about it much. A Superposed which shows no signs of rust or corrosion after 40 odd years is probably not a "salt wood" gun. Just don't buy a rusty Superposed.

Pulling out a butt plate screw (if original) will usually reveal a salt wood problem. Corrosion visible at wood to metal interfaces would raise some questions. But I think you are going to have a hard time locating a genuine, problematic salt wood Superposed.


Sharptail
 
Sharptail said:
I wouldn't worry about it much. A Superposed which shows no signs of rust or corrosion after 40 odd years is probably not a "salt wood" gun. Just don't buy a rusty Superposed.

Pulling out a butt plate screw (if original) will usually reveal a salt wood problem. Corrosion visible at wood to metal interfaces would raise some questions. But I think you are going to have a hard time locating a genuine, problematic salt wood Superposed.


Sharptail
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Sharptail is right. I was going to say take the butt plate right off and you will actually see the salt on the wood. I have had them here on superx1 and as long as I kept the gun clean and oiled they never caused a problem.I would not go by serial number since too many were switching wood back then for all kinds of reasons, to save a high grade when they sold a gun, etc.
 
If the gun was sealed well at the factory,and not used in the rain or hunted, it might not show on the outside.i would check every browning between 1966-72 before purchase. Remove butt stock and forend and look at the screws and the metal that was hidden for rust. Some can be a terrible mess. One that i encountered was a safari .270 that was hunted for many years ,you could not get the barrel out of the wood. And when it finally broke free,the bottom of the barrel stayed attatched to the wood. The salt had gone into the metal almost 1/8 "
 
It's also known that most of the salt wood stocks were short tang stocks. I don't think there are any known long tang salt wood stocks. A short excerpt from Schwing: The best method of determining whether or not a superposed is fitted with a salt wood stock is to first carefully examine the outward appearance of the gun for discolored wood or dark spots. Slide the forearm away from the breech end of the barrel to look for signs of rust on metal parts. For a more definitive determination, remove the butt-plate, scrape away a small amount of exposed wood and apply a one percent solution of silver nitrate to the fresh wood. If the silver nitrate remains a light purple then there is no evidence of salt. If it turns white, that is a clear indication of salt contamination. As a general rule, higher grade superposed guns are more likely to have salt cured stocks than grade I guns.
 
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