A Curious Thing

[Richard LeStage]

Last spring I acquired a wonderful PH 16 ga with 28" Twist barrels. I was shooting it for the first time at an RGS shoot in June and a curious thing happened. After shooting two rounds (RST 2-1/2") at the fifth station, the gun was frozen shut. The top lever wouldn't budge. Try as I might, I couldn't open the gun. So I finished the shoot sharing my son's gun. At the end of the day it still wouldn't open. The next morning I was prepared to take it to a gunsmith to deal with it, but before I started I tried it one more time, and it opened! In casual conversation with other shooters I know, a few suggestions were floated: 1. Those old Parkers were not designed to shoot a lot of rounds in a short amount of time and maybe the heat expanded certain metal parts to cause the problem. 2. Sometimes one or both firing pins don't retract. 3. The old gun was dirty inside and gummed up with gooey old lubricants. Has anyone out there ever run into this curious thing before? By the way, in October I used this gun in ME, NY, WI, MN and the UP and it has not happened again.

[Dean Romig]

Number 1. is a preposterous assumption.

Number 2. is a reasonable assumption as is Number 3.





.

[OH Osthaus]

agreed Dean

though I might have phrased the answer to #1 with bovine #2

[B. Dudley]

The hammers and pins would not have anything to do with it if in fact the lever is not moving.

If the lever was opening, but breech not, then the pins sticking in the primers could be the issue.

But the OP described it as the lever not moving at all.

[Opening Day]

Do a strip and clean and that will probably solve the issue.

[Richard Flanders]

It could well be the shell rims are out of round and stuck in the rim recesses, especially if they were WinAA. Remington STS don't seem to do it in my experience. I have two guns that this happens to. The issue has been discussed here a number of times.

[John Davis]

Richard: But that wouldn't affect the top lever would it?

[John Davis]

And Dean: I concur, proposition No. 1 is preposterous, as well as BS.

[John Davis]

June 18, 1881, The Chicago Field, “Mr. Haskell’s Remarkable Record. Lynn, Mass. Editor Chicago Field: - The glass ball exhibition at the base ball grounds, on Memorial Day, was witnessed by about 2,000 persons. There was sweep shooting until 3:30 p. m., when the event of the day took place. This was the match of Mr. J. C. Haskell to beat the best time of Captain Bogardus in breaking 500 glass balls. The conditions of the match were to break 500 balls in less than 25 minutes and 15 seconds, to shoot from Bogardus traps, placed 12 feet apart, the shooter to stand 15 yards distant from the traps, and to load his own guns. But one ball to be sprung at a time. Mr. Haskell used four Parker Bros.’ guns; charge, 2 3/4 drams Brackett powder, 1 1/4 oz. No. 8 shot. The judges were, J. M. Hoyt and Dr. Ahearm; referee, J. Nichols; scorer, Eugene Barry; E. W. Webster pulled the traps; H. Mortimer of Boston, attended to cooling the guns. At 3:30 the heat was intense, but the shooting was commenced promptly on time. In the first 250 he fell slightly behind the record, breaking them in 13 minutes, but increasing his speed in the last 200. He finished the 500 in 24 minutes and 2 seconds, missing 16 balls, and beating Captain Bogardus’ record 1 minute and 13 seconds, and his own record, made February 22, 13 seconds. The Captain said that he did not expect to see such good shooting and that at some future time he would shoot Mr. Haskell a match for any amount.”

[Richard Flanders]

Yes, it does effect the top lever. The rims somehow expand and exert pressure on the locking bolt so the lever will not budge. Happens every time. Sometimes I can hand squeeze the barrels down enough that the lever will move and the gun open. Other times I've had to bring the gun home and clamp it delicately in a rubber jawed vise to release the bolt so the lever will move. I'd be pretty sure his problem with this gun was just that. The cure for me has been to never shoot AA hulls in my DH12. I can shoot anything else, and especially old paper ammo, all week long with no issues. AA rims are not round so are prone to stick in the round rim recess. Put a hull standing upright on the bench and hold a caliper against the rim as if to measure the diameter and rotate the shell and you'll see how out of round they are.