Replacement of cocking mechanism

[Mills]

Well, after a long and involved process, this DH is shooting again. Thanks to Brian Dudley for all of his work. The wood proved to be beyond repair. It was oil soaked and sanded down badly. New wood for both stock and forend. Original barrels were badly pitted, but after careful checking, proved to have enough wall thickness to shoot again. They were unfortunately cut down to 26". While we were debating the original barrels, an orphan pair of 30", 3 frame, 12 gauge barrels showed up and those were purchased for this gun. Then we found a 32", 3 frame, 10 gauge set. Original barrels were sent to Dale Edmonds, who cleaned them up nicely. The action was in bad shape and missing parts. New parts were found and Brian cleaned up the metal and took a dent or two out. New screws to replace buggered old screws. Worn engraving left as is and it kind of looks good and is a nod to the gun's history. Took the gun for a test shoot this weekend and it did great with all three sets of barrels. Never meant to be a money making venture and gun could never be "original" again, but a lot of satisfaction in saving an old gun to shoot again. With this one out of the way, I am looking forward to some more restoration projects.