Fox Collectors

Hi I am new here. I have 12 gauge Sterlingworth that the lever wont lock to the right on. I thought the trip was the issue, so I made a new one, out of a 3/16 drill bit, though that hasn't appeared to solve my problem. My only solution is to make a new one only thicker. And also I have removing the trip by taking out the screw in the bottom floor plate and letting it fall out of the action, along with the spring. Is it supposed to come out that way, or is something else wrong? Finally, there is a cut in the side of the original trip. Does that serve any purpose; because I left it out of the new trip. I am thinking it might be a result of wear. Your help is greatly appreciated, Thanks.

I'd try putting the original part back in and trying a different spring before going any farther. I've never had the trip pin fall out though, so I'd get a light and a magnifier and have a look for damage. If there is a cut in the pin and it doesn't appear damaged, I'd suspect that cut to be there for a reason and want to find out what it aligns with.

My Sterlingworth 20 gauge has a flat side to the right and the rear on an otherwise round pin. Spring length is important too, as I learned, I had to trim a new spring a little at a time before it held the lever "open" properly.

FoxintheHenHouse

Thanks, i will continue to toy with it, I know for a fact it worked, before i sent it to Macon gun stocks. That was a mistake. That is the last of my business They are getting out me.

Now that was an important little bit of information.

Macon has been mentioned a few times on other forums as doing some decent work and doing some horrible horrible work. Getting work done on our Foxes shouldn't be like a flip of a coin where heads it ok for the amount of money spent or tails its god awful. There are other places out there with much better reputations.

Macon has been mentioned a few times on other forums as doing some decent work and doing some horrible horrible work. Getting work done on our Foxes shouldn't be like a flip of a coin where heads it ok for the amount of money spent or tails its god awful. There are other places out there with much better reputations.

Sterlingwyat wrote:Thanks, i will continue to toy with it, I know for a fact it worked, before i sent it to Macon gun stocks. That was a mistake. That is the last of my business They are getting out me.

That is the most important part of info in this thread... And a word of advice to anyone looking on. Stay the HELL AWAY from Macon!!!
Do not confuse this as anything that it is not since I am also a stock maker. All I have to say is that EVERY single piece of wood that has been provided to me from customers that came from them had MAJOR issues. Some were completely un-usable. And they NEVER stood behind any of it. I refuse to work with anything that comes from them due to enough negative experiences.
I never publicly have anything bad to say about any gunsmithing operation unless I have GOOD reason to do so based on actual experiences.

Anyway... now that that is out of the way... lets get to your issue.

Did they restock it? If they did, likely they did not inlet the stock head enough in the right areas and the lever is not being allowed to move over quite enough for the trip to engage.
This would be the most reasonable explanation for your problem. Especially since it worked fine before and not after.
The other thing would be some sort of damage to a part in the bolting mechanism.

Good news, I finally fixed it! I did a thorough strip,removing, the lever, locking bolt, and other pieces. I also found a good use for a strange tool I found on clearance in tractor supply, I may post a picture of it, if y'all are interested. I used it to compress the lever spring plunger, as I put the bottom lever screw back in. I ended up cleaning the pieces I took out, reusing the original trip. I finally found a spring good enough to make it work. A word of advice, If you are removing your stock: Go ahead and remove the safety switch, and put it's tiny retaining pin somewhere safe, otherwise it will fall out of the gun, and you will lose it, and have to make another like I did. Thanks for all the help, I hope good info never stops flowing on this forum.

Glad you got her working again. Thanks for the info on Macon, Brian.

Was it the lever spring that you replaced? And what spring did you find suitable? It seems that someone may have shortened mine and now the gun feels as if it is going to open when being shot.

Thanks

I saw on the Double Gun forum a year or two ago warning about Macon. This thread just jogged my memory and that's not easy to do!!