Well, I took a gamble and it looks like I might have lost...
I bought a used Franchi Peregrine about a month or so ago: beautiful wood, nicely engraved, perfect fit for me. The gun is from the late 70's but has shot flawlessly since I've had it. Only cost me $650.
But today I was shooting skeet and after taking a shot, I reloaded two shells, and began to close the action. Then I realized something was wrong because the top lever was in the center position instead of locked to the right like it should be.
It turns out that the little metal hook that holds the lever in the open position broke off. The piece itself looks like a rectangular piece of metal about a half inch long. On the Franchi, it's at the bottom of the receiver, beneath the bolt faces.
The good news is that the gun still fires. The only thing is that you have to manually hold the lever open to close the action. But I know that it might not be smart to fire the gun, even if the breakage doesn't seem to affect the firing mechanism. Isn't there a risk that firing the gun may put stress on related parts and damage it even more?
So I guess my next move is to take it to the gunsmith. But it's an old gun and I'm worried that parts may be hard or impossible to find. The best case scenario is that they can fix it. The next best scenario is that after an examination, they tell me it's still okay to shoot even without that little lever hook. But if worse comes to worse, I may be left with an absolutely beautiful gun that will become a wall hanger!
Well, I guess I don't really have any questions. More of a "misery loves company" type of post...
I bought a used Franchi Peregrine about a month or so ago: beautiful wood, nicely engraved, perfect fit for me. The gun is from the late 70's but has shot flawlessly since I've had it. Only cost me $650.
But today I was shooting skeet and after taking a shot, I reloaded two shells, and began to close the action. Then I realized something was wrong because the top lever was in the center position instead of locked to the right like it should be.
It turns out that the little metal hook that holds the lever in the open position broke off. The piece itself looks like a rectangular piece of metal about a half inch long. On the Franchi, it's at the bottom of the receiver, beneath the bolt faces.
The good news is that the gun still fires. The only thing is that you have to manually hold the lever open to close the action. But I know that it might not be smart to fire the gun, even if the breakage doesn't seem to affect the firing mechanism. Isn't there a risk that firing the gun may put stress on related parts and damage it even more?
So I guess my next move is to take it to the gunsmith. But it's an old gun and I'm worried that parts may be hard or impossible to find. The best case scenario is that they can fix it. The next best scenario is that after an examination, they tell me it's still okay to shoot even without that little lever hook. But if worse comes to worse, I may be left with an absolutely beautiful gun that will become a wall hanger!
Well, I guess I don't really have any questions. More of a "misery loves company" type of post...
