Grade A - Won't open Lever won't budge

[dcinia]

Need some HELP!

I recently cleaned a buddy's Grade A for him. It had been standing in a corner for years. Anyhow, I did a good cleaning, followed disassembly instructions etc. After I cleaned it everything seemed to work perfectly. When I took it over to him he was admiring the work, snapped the triggers and when we went to open it, the lever will not budge and I can't get it open! The only thing I can think of, when I was re-assembling at his place, the forearm guard went on kind of hard. Not sure if this is a clue or not.

Any suggestions short of taking it to a pro?

Thanks in advance

[Twice Barrel]

Did you lubricate everything well before you reassembled the gun? I have had a problem with a couple of my Foxes opening that I have cleaned and failed to lubricate sufficiently. I solved the problem by using a good synthetic lubricant like Breakfree liberally to lube the barrel hook by squirting a good amount of lube around the barrel extension and let it penetrate to the barrel loop and hook. I also lubed the top lever. Then I would take the forend off and lube the cocking slide on the bottom of the barrels. Once you get the action to open you should remove the buttstock and wipe the excess lube off so that it doesn't penetrate the wood but leaves sufficient lubrication behind to insure smooth functioning. Beyond that if it wont open I would find a good gunsmith familiar with Fox guns.

[bbman3]

Check under trigger plate screw to be sure the top lever trip and spring i is there and installed correctly.I have taken trip out when restocking and the rotary bolt can get out of position and freeze the top lever.you might could take a thin flat blade screwdriver and move the rotary bolt going through the trigger plate screw hole. Bobby

[dcinia]

Thanks for the quick posts guys.

I did lube with a good coat of Remoil after cleaning. After doing some additional searches on here, I applied a little pressure from the top of the gun right at the hinge point and the lever moved just fine. I checked it several times and all seems to be ok. After it happened, I did go back in and remove the trip spring? and maybe that was part of it. Regardless, my panic mode has subsided. Thanks again!

[bbman3]

if you mean you took trip spring out,you need it installed for top lever to work correctly. Bobby

[dcinia]

Thanks Bobby, no I mean I took it out to see that it was in correctly , and put it back in. I did that right away. Thanks again.