vhe12 .

[david ross]

Remington Parker vhe12 1936. Play in action when open tight when closed,
How to fix this fault gun still shoots very well.
Thanks Fox man .

[B. Dudley]

This is normal for any gun other than a Trojan that has had any real shooting and use. The Parker style forend does not compensate for wear at all so, once there is any it will cause the loose on the hook when open.

Graded Fox guns will do the exact same thing. as the forend is of a similar design.

Parker Trojans and Fox Sterlingworth are not susceptible to this issue as they have spring loaded snap-on forends. The spring pressure maintains rearward pressure on the frame knuckle. Thus maintaining the tightness of the hook when open. Thought they are not as attractive, they really are a better design in this regard.

Other makers like Lefever built in adjustment that the gun owner could make with the turn of a screw. That is if the screw was not froze up.

If it really bugs you enough, it can be fixed by adding material to the back side of the forend lug either by soldering on a shim or welding and file fitting.

I have seen several examples of where the bottom side of the forend irons are staked just behind the lug slot in order to displace the metal forward towards the lug. This does work effectively as well. I am almost positive that the factory did this as I have seen it on WAY too many guns to be a coincidence.

James Hayes was at one time working on a spring loaded solution to this for graded guns. But it never got out of the prototype phase and implemented on graded guns. Only a form of it on the Trojans. I own the prototype gun that this feature was installed on by Hayes.

[chris dawe]

I've seen the underside iron peened on a number of high end brit guns as well ,seems it was a common solution to a common problem

[mobirdhunter]

I have had a gun "tightened" by the addition of metal to the hook. Worked great. Brad Bacheldar did the work for me. I recently took a DH that was slightly loose (but only with the fore end off) to have it examined for a possible fix. Parker Bacheldar and his guys took a good look at it and suggested no work was necessary at this time. I'd recommend getting someone to look at your gun and give you an assessment. I'm happy shooting my DH.

[B. Dudley]

Reworking the hook alone will do little to correct the issue that the OP asks about. The issue lies with the forend.

Yes, if the barrels are set back far enough, it will tighten the forend up too, but it is doing way more work and spending way more money than required.

[mobirdhunter]

Nice to know!

[david ross]

Thanks Mr Dudley.
As this is not unsafe i shall keep shooting her.
Dave Ross.

[BRDHNTR]

No offense to other gunsmiths on this forum but I an singularly impressed with the detail advice and technical information that Brian Dudley provides freely on this forum.

[Sheepherder]

Yes, Brian is a good man to know! His Work & Knowledge are outstanding.