[B. Dudley]

Joe,

Your photo shows that you are pretty darn close. At least one would think.

You can never know for sure exactly where you stand until the action is completely stripped and the barrels stripped and then fit is tested. Sometimes what may seem like a good fit is actually a tight fit in the wrong area and giving the illusion of a proper fit. The rear of the locking lug is a common place for this.

A good fit on the hinge pin is the first thing needed and then the breech is the next part of it and then the forend is the final piece of the puzzle.

And the rib extension on top action and graded hammerless guns complicate things a little more.

Your barrels are laying in nicely in the rib extension area which is VERY important. If the rib extension does not fit flush, it is a pretty big deal to make that right.

The barrels being proud to the action around the bolsters in places is no big deal if you are planning on refinishing the barrels. It simply means re-striking them to fit, recutting the breech engraving and finishing the barrels. (You would not believe how hard it is for some noted places to get something simple like breech engraving recut correctly).

The issue of the barrels being BELOW the bolsters is more of a complex problem since it would require work on the frame which is usually not preferred. Or the event where one does not want to refinish the barrels in the event of them being high against the bolsters. Your barrels look to have little finish on them, so refinishing is something I am sure you would want to do after all fitting is done.

Dean was correct in saying that pretty much anything (within the proper frame size) can be made to fit. It just depends on how much work it needs to be done right.