hard to open after a few rounds?
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:44 pm
Last weekend was my first time shooting my Sterlingworth and probably the first time its been shot in the last 40 years. I gave it a nice wipe down with my hoppes 9 silicone cloth and will be cleaning out the barrels later this week. I have two questions for the fox enthusiasts here and hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.
1st should I follow the disassembly instructions on the homepage to remove the stock and give the action a good soak in mineral oils to clean out any accumulate gunk that has gathered in the last 100 years? Or would it be better to leave it as and avoid any risk of unintentional damage.
2nd question: While shooting this weekend I notice after a while(say 50 rounds) the gun became harder to open. The leaver moved as normal, but it was hard to open without a little extra force. Side note, It was only hard to open after it was shot. Once opened I could reopen and close it with new rounds without any issues. I gave the hinge pin a little oil but after a few more shots and it still remaining difficult, I decided to give it a rest and switch to another. When returning to the sterlingworth after it had cooled down, it seemed back to normal but then after a few more(say 10 rounds) it became "sticky" again. I took a look at where the forarm pivots past the frame and it looks to be roughed up a bit and might have a bur or two(see pic). I was wondering if I took a fine grade file and used a very light touch, I could smooth it out. Would this fix my problem or is this unrelated? Is thats a good idea or a bad idea. I know the obvious answer would be to take it to a gunsmith but cant help think this is a small and easy fix that I could do myself if I used extreme caution.
1st should I follow the disassembly instructions on the homepage to remove the stock and give the action a good soak in mineral oils to clean out any accumulate gunk that has gathered in the last 100 years? Or would it be better to leave it as and avoid any risk of unintentional damage.
2nd question: While shooting this weekend I notice after a while(say 50 rounds) the gun became harder to open. The leaver moved as normal, but it was hard to open without a little extra force. Side note, It was only hard to open after it was shot. Once opened I could reopen and close it with new rounds without any issues. I gave the hinge pin a little oil but after a few more shots and it still remaining difficult, I decided to give it a rest and switch to another. When returning to the sterlingworth after it had cooled down, it seemed back to normal but then after a few more(say 10 rounds) it became "sticky" again. I took a look at where the forarm pivots past the frame and it looks to be roughed up a bit and might have a bur or two(see pic). I was wondering if I took a fine grade file and used a very light touch, I could smooth it out. Would this fix my problem or is this unrelated? Is thats a good idea or a bad idea. I know the obvious answer would be to take it to a gunsmith but cant help think this is a small and easy fix that I could do myself if I used extreme caution.