Old double barrels

[howeudew]

My father-in-law has a couple of old (well-used) double barrels. They aren't pretty! When I took them down, I noticed that even when closed, they move around a bit...the lock-up is sloppy. Is there a way to tighten them?

They are modern design, as opposed to Damascus. They could be cleaned up nicely, and I hate to see them just get junked.

Any thoughts?

[Dave McC]

There's lots of old shotguns best thought of as artifacts, not tools. Any shotgun made before WWII needs to have a smith look it over before firing.

For every LC Smith, Fox or Parker handed down there's a hundred cheapos that cost just a couple bucks new and shot loose in a few hundred rounds or less.

What names are on them? Crescent and Folsom are the makers of many inexpensive clunkers.

Some doubles can be tightened. The question is whether it's worth it....

[howeudew]

These shotguns are 1940's era. Knowing the family, there is no way they are of high-dollar quality. I'd guess they are of the inexpensive type.

Your words are well-taken. Thanks!

[Ruger4570]

I would tend to agree with the posts that these are and were inexpensive "farm" guns. Most are safe even today, but if it "wobbles" I would be afraid to shoot it without someone smarter than myself saying it was ok. It sounds like the lock up isn't up to par at best. The best bet maybeis to just hang them on the wall and be safe. I have seen many Crescent and Fulsom shotguns and personally, I would not shoot any of them,, safe or not.