Rookie question
 

Hi everyone, I’ve recently come into possession of a 12 gauge VH that has a bit of a wobbly forearm. So as a point of education, what are the dangers or risks of not having this corrected? The dangers of the barrels being off face are quite obvious to me(and these barrels are on face) but it’s less clear to me about the forearm. Is it just a nuisance?

Thank you,

The forend iron being loose will create a situation of the barrels being loose on the hook when open. This is a normal thing for guns that have been used a lot. The forend iron is the final piece of the puzzle for a properly fitted barrel set. It is what holds the hook tight on the roll joint when closed and open.

There are two important areas for the forend fitment. The back side of the forend lug and the area where the toggle key contacts when clicking the forend on. Also, your forend lugs solder joint could be failing and the lug could be pulling loose. If the forend is really loose, this likely could be the main issue.

A side note about forends is that, a spring loaded forend like used on a Trojan or a Fox Sterlingworth is actually a superior more long lasting solution to maintaining good forend fit on the gun. The spring pressure acts as a wear compensator. But it is considered the cheaper feature of an economy grade gun. Interesting. The latched forends of graded guns do look nicer and take more skill to fit. But they do not last as long.

Thanks for the detailed and informative response as always Brian. I inspected the areas you mentioned and it seems that the likely culprit is a visibly worn contact area where the toggle key contacts. To ask the question a different way, provided that the barrels are on face when closed, is this a safety issue or just an early warning sign the gun has been used a bit?

Thank you,

If there is so much play that the forend is actually moving, then it is more a sign that someone has messed with it. Realistically, that area will not wear that much naturally.