MAINSPRINGS

[brookieslayer]

Good evening everyone,

I hope this finds many of you in the throes of a great bird season!
I am looking for a pair of mainsprings for a Philly Fox 20 ga.
Please PM if you have some to sell.
Appreciate the help in advance.

Thanks.
Paul

[Silvers]

...... I hope this finds many of you in the throes of a great bird season!
..............
Thanks.
Paul

Throes and great have opposite connotations. But I will say that the grouse season here in Northeastern PA is the worse I can remember since in my 'teens. Throes is definitely the right word.

Paul, of course I don't know why you seek the mainsprings and I don't have any for sale, but I'll offer up that IME a weak AH Fox mainspring(s) is the very last possible cause for light primer strikes/misfires/etc. If in fact you are dealing with one of the foregoing I suggest you get your Fox to a knowledgeable Foxsmith for hands-on evaluation. Sometimes the root cause(s) is illusive. frank

[vaturkey]

Reading Franks comments gave me a flashback. I had a problem with light strikes on the right barrel of my Fox Sterlingworth Meat gun. Tried different ammo looking for softer primers and the problem continued. Not every time mind you, but since its a game gun and game is pretty damn hard to come by it was enough to where it had to be fixed. Off to Dan Rossiter and he did a few things and it worked for a while it seemed and then bingo the problem started once again. What he ended up doing as I recall was fabricating a small shim or cup to put on the end of the Mainspring that increased the tension on the spring by compressing it a few thousands of an inch. Bingo, problem solved and it has never happened again. Dan said that Fox Springs generally don't get weak. The problem normally is something else besides the spring itself.

[brookieslayer]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the suggestions. I currently have the gun in to a very competent smith for evaluation. Indeed it is the springs/ force they create. We have checked for all issues first before the change of the springs. Perhaps a set of shims to add to the spring force without causing coil bind may be the answer. However, I was able to find a set of mainsprings!

[Silvers]

Wow, over 3 months since the last post on this forum.

Here for info are spacers I made up on the lathe to increase the compression of weak and virtually unobtainable Fox smallbore mainsprings. This one a 16-gauge Ejector gun. One spacer per spring. Easily done and it doesn’t take much to restore the spring rate and fall of the hammer(s). frank
.

[ROMAC]

Nice work Frank!

I always appreciate your input.