jc higgins model 20 question

hammerdown · January 20, 2010, 12:13 PM

I hope this is the right forum for this.

How do you take the barrel off a JC Higgins model 20 12 ga shotgun?

Thanks for any help.

Goatwhiskers · January 20, 2010, 02:24 PM

Short version is: you don't. It is screwed in and you need a barrel vise and appropriate action wrench. Goatwhiskers the Elder

Lee Lapin · January 21, 2010, 08:32 PM

That's right- they don't 'take down' in the conventional sense. Their barrels are fixed by being threaded more or less permanently into the receiver. A gunsmith could remove/replace the barrel, but not most owners.

They're great pumpguns, regardless of this drawback. A bit of trivia- it cost the parent company (High Standard) a contract with the Air Force, once upon a time. It came down to a nose-to-nose decision between the Flite King riot gun and the 870, and the Flite King lost out because the barrel couldn't be removed by the user.

lpl

Ruger4570 · January 22, 2010, 01:25 AM

My second shotgun was a JC Higgins, my first was a single shot Winchester 37.
As noted, the barrel is not removable in the common sense.
They were in fact a darn pretty good shotgun and I wish I still had mine. There was a time that JC Higgins was a pretty common name for guns.

hogdogs · January 22, 2010, 05:56 AM

There was also a time when J.C. Higgins was a pretty common name for bicycles

It was a "private label" brand sears used for several lines of goods.
Brent

.45 COLT · January 23, 2010, 12:53 AM

It wouldn't be worth the trouble for just one gun, but for anybody interested in a barrel vise, this one is simple to build:

http://www.shootingtimes.com/gunsmit...910/index.html

DC

johnph9 · April 21, 2010, 10:42 PM

For years I have shot a J C Higgins Model 20 12 ga. Trap-rib model with Pachmayer Powr-Pak and the long range choke, some on the trap field but mostly as a gopher gun in densely populated neighborhoods where .22 richochets are frowned on. The Model 20 is a fine gun but has a basic design flaw which will show up if you shoot a lot. It breaks operating rods - at the forward end where it attaches by a notch & lug and a braze joint to the operating tube. The solution is to de-braze the weld, clean it up and allow the operating rod to float in the notch on the operating tube. After doing this I have fired thousands of rounds with no problem. I have seen one other Model 20 that broke the operating rod in exactly the same place and it was brazed across the break. That's a Band-Aid.

Daddy4 · November 26, 2011, 11:43 PM

I have a Higgins model 20 - 12. we were out shooting it and the slide broke free of the pump handel...(.I'm not sure of the proper names for all the parts....just learning.)....I noticed that it wasn't locking closed when sliding the pump forward. There are also 2 small tabs on the trigger assembly that are broke off allows the trigger assembly to wiggle or pivot on the retaining pin. I think this is the cause of the silde breaking. I would like to see some one do a youtube break down of this gun.
Any help with taking this thing apart properly would be greatly apreciated.

Daddy4

biggshooter6292 · November 28, 2011, 06:12 AM

The problems you are having are very common with the model 20 I build card guns and the higgins model 20 is one of the most common i use.Over the years I have built probably over 100 of these you can braze the action slide bar back together and as far as the ears on the trigger group these are broken because the later model 20s used aluminum trigger housings and when people would pull the trigger out and try to reinstall they would snap the ears off go to numerich gun parts website and you can usaully buy the whole trigger assembly as a unit and drop it right in to your receiver but you will find it to be rather expensive considering the overall value of the gun

Daddy4 · December 19, 2011, 12:45 AM

I read another forum on this site ...Britt...somebody is his call name.....he drilled and tapped set screws through the side of the receiver and dimpled the trigger assembly. This was my thought as well ...just glad someone else has done this too.....make me feel good about fixing things that others think should go in the garbage.....the guy I got to weld the forhand slide rod told me to throw this one out and get an 870...all my troubles would go away. Now where's the fun in that....I'd have to throw all my guns away, every one of them could use a bit of work. Thats the way I buy/trade for them.

January 20, 2010, 12:13 PM	#1
hammerdown Junior Member Join Date: January 20, 2010 Posts: 1	jc higgins model 20 question I hope this is the right forum for this. How do you take the barrel off a JC Higgins model 20 12 ga shotgun? Thanks for any help.

January 21, 2010, 08:32 PM	#3
Lee Lapin Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2004 Location: SE NC Posts: 1,239	That's right- they don't 'take down' in the conventional sense. Their barrels are fixed by being threaded more or less permanently into the receiver. A gunsmith could remove/replace the barrel, but not most owners. They're great pumpguns, regardless of this drawback. A bit of trivia- it cost the parent company (High Standard) a contract with the Air Force, once upon a time. It came down to a nose-to-nose decision between the Flite King riot gun and the 870, and the Flite King lost out because the barrel couldn't be removed by the user. lpl __________________ Mindset - Skillset - Toolset. In that order! Attitude and skill will get you through times of no gear, better than gear will get you through times of no attitude and no skill.

November 26, 2011, 11:43 PM	#8
Daddy4 Junior Member Join Date: November 26, 2011 Posts: 4	Broken JC Higgins 20 - 12 I have a Higgins model 20 - 12. we were out shooting it and the slide broke free of the pump handel...(.I'm not sure of the proper names for all the parts....just learning.)....I noticed that it wasn't locking closed when sliding the pump forward. There are also 2 small tabs on the trigger assembly that are broke off allows the trigger assembly to wiggle or pivot on the retaining pin. I think this is the cause of the silde breaking. I would like to see some one do a youtube break down of this gun. Any help with taking this thing apart properly would be greatly apreciated. Daddy4

January 20, 2010, 02:24 PM	#2
Goatwhiskers Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2009 Location: Batchelor, La. Posts: 579	Short version is: you don't. It is screwed in and you need a barrel vise and appropriate action wrench. Goatwhiskers the Elder

January 22, 2010, 01:25 AM	#4
Ruger4570 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2005 Location: Rochester, New York Posts: 2,136	My second shotgun was a JC Higgins, my first was a single shot Winchester 37. As noted, the barrel is not removable in the common sense. They were in fact a darn pretty good shotgun and I wish I still had mine. There was a time that JC Higgins was a pretty common name for guns.

January 22, 2010, 05:56 AM	#5
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	There was also a time when J.C. Higgins was a pretty common name for bicycles It was a "private label" brand sears used for several lines of goods. Brent

January 23, 2010, 12:53 AM	#6
.45 COLT Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 2004 Posts: 308	It wouldn't be worth the trouble for just one gun, but for anybody interested in a barrel vise, this one is simple to build: http://www.shootingtimes.com/gunsmit...910/index.html DC

April 21, 2010, 10:42 PM	#7
johnph9 Junior Member Join Date: April 21, 2010 Posts: 2	For years I have shot a J C Higgins Model 20 12 ga. Trap-rib model with Pachmayer Powr-Pak and the long range choke, some on the trap field but mostly as a gopher gun in densely populated neighborhoods where .22 richochets are frowned on. The Model 20 is a fine gun but has a basic design flaw which will show up if you shoot a lot. It breaks operating rods - at the forward end where it attaches by a notch & lug and a braze joint to the operating tube. The solution is to de-braze the weld, clean it up and allow the operating rod to float in the notch on the operating tube. After doing this I have fired thousands of rounds with no problem. I have seen one other Model 20 that broke the operating rod in exactly the same place and it was brazed across the break. That's a Band-Aid.

November 28, 2011, 06:12 AM	#9
biggshooter6292 Junior Member Join Date: November 10, 2011 Posts: 1	The problems you are having are very common with the model 20 I build card guns and the higgins model 20 is one of the most common i use.Over the years I have built probably over 100 of these you can braze the action slide bar back together and as far as the ears on the trigger group these are broken because the later model 20s used aluminum trigger housings and when people would pull the trigger out and try to reinstall they would snap the ears off go to numerich gun parts website and you can usaully buy the whole trigger assembly as a unit and drop it right in to your receiver but you will find it to be rather expensive considering the overall value of the gun

December 19, 2011, 12:45 AM	#10
Daddy4 Junior Member Join Date: November 26, 2011 Posts: 4	I read another forum on this site ...Britt...somebody is his call name.....he drilled and tapped set screws through the side of the receiver and dimpled the trigger assembly. This was my thought as well ...just glad someone else has done this too.....make me feel good about fixing things that others think should go in the garbage.....the guy I got to weld the forhand slide rod told me to throw this one out and get an 870...all my troubles would go away. Now where's the fun in that....I'd have to throw all my guns away, every one of them could use a bit of work. Thats the way I buy/trade for them.