Barrels won't unhook

[Jack Cronkhite]

Has anyone encountered a set of barrels that won't unhook? (forend is off) As I contemplate that situation, I'm thinking the unhooking slide in the action must not be sliding. Any other thoughts before I start tinkering? Cheers, Jack

[Paul Ehlers]

Pull the triggers to drop the hammers & see if the barrels will come off then.

[Brian Dudley]

Check out an article i wrote on this topic last year in PP.

[Jack Cronkhite]

Thanks. I did do that (trigger pull) but to no avail. Will check your article Brian Cheers, Jack

[Rick Losey]

you know- at some point when there are enough - the Parker Pages will have to do a collection of Brian's how to's

like the McIntosh/Trevallion collection from Shooting Sportsman in Shotgun Technicana

[Jack Cronkhite]

I vote for that Rick.

[Jack Cronkhite]

Brian: Great technical article. I admit I glossed over that one, as I had never encountered this problem. Your description to diagnose an unhooking slide problem without having anything apart has determined the problem with this gun I believe. - However, if the pin pushes in with little effort then the unhooking slide is stuck in its rearward position. You discuss the "feel" of this being gained with some experience. I took off a few forends where barrels unhooked as expected and the difference in the feel is very obvious. Once I have some time to play, I will open this gun and see if it can be easily resolved. Once again, thanks for the article.

[Bill Holcombe]

you know- at some point when there are enough - the Parker Pages will have to do a collection of Brian's how to's

like the McIntosh/Trevallion collection from Shooting Sportsman in Shotgun Technicana

And charge the arm and leg that that book currently goes for.

[Rick Losey]

And charge the arm and leg that that book currently goes for.

that was normal priced book to start out with

now, if you bought a couple back them an then sold one later at the arm and a leg price :whistle::whistle:

that's different

[Patrick Lien]

Jack,
I have a DHE that does this all of the time. I have taken it apart just as many times after I push the pin and there is no resistance. One day after pushing the pin with no resistance I put the muzzles on the top of my shoe and tapped the floor plate with a leather mallet about 8-10 times and the slide released and the barrels came off. I then again took the gun apart trying to find where it was getting stuck but could not find the culprit. So now when I reach for this gun I also reach for the leather mallet as I know once I cock it the slide will stick and the barrels will not come off without some tapping on the floor plate. My gun is from 1889 and had the ejectors retro fit by Parker later. I have wondered if that has something to do with the slide sticking on my gun. If you have a chance, try this and let me know if it works.

Patrick

[edgarspencer]

Sounds like old, congealed grease Patrick. Also, and probably more rare, the floor plate may have been very slightly dented, or, pushed upwards. Removing the floor plate, and do a good cleaning, and re-greasing. I still like Lubri-Plate, but use red grease too.

[JohnCzarnecki]

Sounds like old, congealed grease Patrick. Also, and probably more rare, the floor plate may have been very slightly dented, or, pushed upwards. Removing the floor plate, and do a good cleaning, and re-greasing. I still like Lubri-Plate, but use red grease too.

Sounds like you toted an M-1 or an M-14 at a one point. ;) I confess to having some of those old yellow - capped buttstock grease pots still kicking about in one of the gun boxes to this day.

[Jack Cronkhite]

Problem resolved. Barrels unhook with hammers cocked or dry-fired. Guts of action were in good condition with minimal foreign material. So what was the issue you ask. It was the smallest screw that I think is inside a Parker. It is on the side of the trigger plate and allows the un-hooking slide to travel within prescribed limits. It is discussed in Brian's article. When I opened everything, the un-hooking slide was indeed stuck in its most rearward travel position. I found a jeweler's screwdriver that was the right size for the small screw. I don't think I did much more than start to back out that screw and the un-hooking slide snapped forward. I disassembled and re-lubed everything (lubriplate). When running that small screw back into place, I kept pushing the un-hooking slide to ensure free travel. I then wanted to see what it would take to stop the un-hooking slide and it was not very much more rotation than a properly aligned screw head. Fine tolerances. Must have been over torqued along the way in the history of this gun. Will be trying it out tomorrow for wild pheasants. Cheers, Jack

[Brian Dudley]

That screw, if over tightened, can pinch the slide and cause the issue. The screw should be flush with the outside of the plate and allow the slide to move back and forth smoothly.

[Bill Holcombe]

I just ran into this issue when cleaning and oiling up one of my 3 dog guns that was rather stiff. Somewhere along way while cleaning it and testing the operation it stopped unhooking. Not certain what I did. But it probably had something to do with when I cocked it with out the floor plate on it to see if it was any smoother. Not certain if that did it, but I know it was coming apart fine before I took it apart and that was the only new thing I did to it... Will reference Brian's artivles.

[Bill Holcombe]

The problem seems to be that it cocks even with the forearm removed....

[Brian Dudley]

Then the unhooking slide is stuck.

[Bill Holcombe]

If v that was the case, wouldn't it unhook right away simply by removing the floor plate and unhooking slide?

Probably not, but just curious?

[Bill Holcombe]

Unhooking pin has resistance and bounces back, the unhooking slide appears to move as it should.

[Bill Holcombe]

Hmm it gets interesting. Disassemble it and put it back together with for end on, the barrels will lock up. The problem appears only after cocking the gun? Triggers, hammers, and everything function fine so that is a good thing, but for some reason after cocking the gun even after dropping the hammers the barrels do not unhook?

[Bill Holcombe]

Quick update! Something must have loosened up in the night. It now works perfectly again.

[Jack Cronkhite]

Now that my barrels hook and unhook, I took the gun out today and it performed well. Brought home a limit of wild pheasants. I then unhooked the barrels, cleaned them and they are ready for the next time I need to get some free-range, organic fowl for a great meal. Cheers, Jack

PS - they were taken with hand loads gratis of Rich Anderson from a couple years back. Nice loads Rich. Thanks.