Top lever issue

[Richard Flanders]

I'm picking up a pretty clean 30" twist 1-frame PH12 tomorrow - a friend bought it at a garage sale here and offered it to me. The top lever is stuck to the far right but the gun still opens and locks closed. What might the issue be??

[Chris Robenalt]

Mmmm...I'll have to sleep on that one. Opens and locks up without the lever moving from the far right position?

[Richard Flanders]

It may not be stuck as far right as it could be. Can't remember, but it's a long ways to the right. Seems it has some movement left to the right to unlock it but it doesn't rebound very far. It's a new one on me. I'm just hoping the lever spring isn't broken in half somehow. It's a nice gun that's had very little use and is all original and has nice wood and finish. Bores are as new. Has a few storage rust spots on the bbls. He only paid a couple of hundred $$ for it. It was some guys family gun and hasn't been shot in over 50yrs. I think I can remedy that....

[Paul Ehlers]

Sounds like the trigger plate needs to be pulled off and possibly the stock so a good mechanical inspection can be made. It doesn't sound like it will be a big issue by your description of the rest of the gun.

[Richard Flanders]

I'll certainly be doing that right away. I just thought someone might have seen this before and could some pearl of wisdom. I'm hoping there's just a rock or some other debris in there blocking something. If the lever spring is still intact, the locking lug can't be locking by much.

[Harry Collins]

Have you had your hands on the gun yet? It may not be as bad as described. I doubt it is a broken top lever spring. Everyone I've replaces, the top lever was limp. Could be hard grease in the barrel lug. Just guessing.

[Jack Cronkhite]

The top lever moves the square bolt in and out of the barrel lug. Some lugs are just the cut out and some have a T wedge pinned in place to take the wear of the friction. If worn to the point of the barrels not locking tightly the wedge can be replaced. It is more of a job to tighten a loose fit with just a cut out lug. If the spring is actually broken the top lever could feel sloppy or depending on where the broken portion is resting it could bind the top lever. Since the barrels can be removed have a look at the lug and the end of the square bolt just under the trip. Could be debris problem. Maybe a new wear wedge had been installed and not quite filed for sufficient fit. I’m a fan of completely disassembling every gun I acquire to clean out a century of grunge and replace anything in need of replacement. That is the sure way to find a problem. Good luck. Sounds like a nice find. I really like the PH guns. Cheers Jack

[Richard Flanders]

I have the gun now.... perhaps unfortunately. It's not near as clean when seen in daylight as it was when I handled it in a darkish machine shop. The lever stops hard about the edge of the top tang when you close it. The locking lug doesn't come out very far so it locks up off face. I'm sure that taking it apart would immediately reveal the issue. I think the spring is fine; something is stopping the lug. The stock has been refinished and has had the comb lowered and narrowed at the nose and there's some file marks on the top of the butt plate. Someone actually wanted more drop?? The barrels are pretty rough on the outside and are in dire need of a refinish, but look like new inside; go figure. The receiver is similar; I can only imagine what it looks like inside at this point. There's one small mild dent near the muzzle on one barrel that would be easy to remove. The screws have clearly all been in and out numerous times but are not too buggered. I may just end up selling it here so someone else can take it on as a project. It would clean up nicely in the right hands. This one is yet another example of my seemingly lifelong "buy high, sell low" program when it comes to guns! I just never seem to learn. I had to buy it though as he was threatening to take it apart himself, and we all know how that generally ends up. It seems a bit unusual in being a 1-frame P grade. Are there many of those around?

[Harry Collins]

I have a 1 frame PH 12 gauge with Twist barrels. The delight in this gun is a friend had given me a set of 16 gauge 1 frame Damascus barrels that fit perfectly once I swap the cocking hook. I bought the PH for about $200.