Fox Collectors

I'm working on a Fox and had to take the stock off. No problem (I thought) I've done that quite a few times before. But this time I found where someone (factory?) had deformed the tiny slot in the sear pin locking screw and it couldn't be loosened - nothing there for the screwdriver to engage.

Most everyone knows the locking screw has to be loosened to remove the sear pin, but did you know the sear pin has a smaller diameter right in its middle where the locking screw bears? If the locking screw can't be loosened the sear pin just doesn't want to move left-right, the sears can't be removed, and the stock won't come off.

If you're ever in this situation about all you can do is set up the receiver in a milling machine, drill the locking screw out, and drill/retap for a new screw. The factory screw is a #3-48 but you'll have to drill and retap it for a slightly larger thread. I chose a #4-48 and made a new locking screw from a 4-48 screw I got from from Brownells.

Here's some pics of the setup for the amateur gunsmiths on this board. Sorry for the quality, I wasn't using my regular camera. You can see the newly tapped hole for the locking screw in the rectangular piece of metal centered between the back end of the hammers. The tiny hole appears white in the pics, probably a reflection from the camera flash.

I hope this helps someone with a deformed or frozen locking screw before they resort to pounding on the sear pin! Silvers

I've also seen a flat spot ground on the middle of the pin for the screw to butt up against. In any case, if you can't turn it, you're in trouble. Good solution Frank,well done.

In my Utica Sterlingworth I ran into a similar problem when I went to reassemble the gun after stock refinishing. Everything went well except the trigger plate wouldn't fully seat no matter how tight the screws were. Taking the gun apart again I saw that the sear pin locking screw was protruding and bearing against the trigger plate. My sear pin has no flat but instead a groove cut into the center. Judging by the number of Foxes I have seen on the internet with the trigger plate not fully seated, I suspect that this problem is common after reassembly. Incidentally with the stock off and the locking screw removed the trigger plate fully seats with only finger pressure.