Gunman

Looks like it could be good few years old . Have you dated it from the proof marks ? AyA made a range of guns not all of which were imported into the UK . There were also odd batches of guns brought in at one time or another that do not correspond to any of the generaly known models . Could be one of those along the lines of the Yeoman .

John Foster's work others can't do ends up there .

Made by Betinsolli I understand .

Never been accused of that .!!Cheap that is . Ridiculous yes .

Sorry yes that should have been £350 .

I relayed around 80 ribs last year and £35 plus VAT is about right . Doesn't matter what the gun is its the same amount of work . Down to you to decide . As to whether you can shoot it or not will depend on how loose they are now , they will get worse . By the way I really hate it if some one has decided to use super glue as a temporary repair as it stinks the shop out for ages .

Surely that should be a detachable lock ,or are we an American ?

No real call apart from its curio value . A few folks would like to own one just for the novelty value as a toy to take out for walk with the dog and a half dozen cartridges in your pocket .There were some very nice single guns made but they have no great sale value these days ,

Either or . BUT and I say its a big BUT if you have more than one gun with and without auto safes you have to be very careful as to which you are using . It is not always, especially with older guns ,"safe ", to rely on a safety to ensure the gun is safe . If you miss a shot because the gun is on safe then it is you who is at fault as you are not concentrating on what you are doing . That is a criticism that applies to us all , as the old saying goes >familiarity breeds contempt <.

Webley tried to improve the quality of the finish as cost of manufacture increase as did competition from imported guns . The action body was casting and when blacked they tended to go a purple brown colour very quickly so colour hardening was a solution as well as a better looking finish . Over the production run there were a number of alterations as with knock out body pins designed for military use [ease of field stripping ] being replaced with screws and locking pins . I do not recall a specific" de lux" version ever being made during the years I was at Webley's . Basically the GP was wonderful gun based on the Martni Henry army rife , made in many guises for the police , military, as well as the domestic market . There were also a great many ex police and military guns bought up and converted for the domestic market . These often bore P G ,police gun , E P , Egyptian police etc. and had been made for a 13 bore necked case cartridge with a recess around the primer for what appeared to be a double striker so prevent them being use with standard cases .

That sounds like the American Cutts . Many were fitted as an after sales addition ,not sure if either Greener or Webley fitted them unless it was to specific order .Still available in the US

All GP guns are "take down " in so much the barrel screws out of the action . Later ones were colour hardened mainly due to the fact that the casting would not black successfully. Greene'rs did make a version with what we now call a multi choke that screwed into an adapter on the muzzle ,looked more like a muzzle break or compensator . Not sure when possibly in the 50's , but it was short lived ,barrel lengths from 28" to 32" . There were also a trap version made primarily for the States with pistol grip stock beavertail forend and wide vent rib, made by Webley in the 70's . The Fig 100 , don't ever recall seeing anything that could be described as a hand book but I did actualy work on some of the last one made .

Why not get it sleeved with 32 inch barrels then you will have pretty rare gun ! You could quite legally sell the stock action and forend to another licenced person providing you do the necessary notifications .It is the barrel which can not be sold if deemed out of proof due to bulges ,these could be handed into the police thus covering you in the eyes of the law .

My main comments about the bodge was the so called rejoint or putting the gun back on face . As regarding the forend . What is the gun in question? What is the cause of the looseness ? Is it play between the wood and the iron, the iron loose on the loop , the catch not engaging correctly or has worn , assume the loop has not come loose from the barrel , what kind of catch is it . Is the rest of the action tight .Has the wood shrunk/swollen or been exposed to over oiling . When it has been ascertained exactly what the problem is then a suggestion as the best way to correct the fault can be proposed . Then you can take into account the costs involved relative to the value and age/condition of the gun .

Josh asked originaly about a loose forend . There have been a lot of comments that have suggested "bodge" methods that will alleviate but not cure the underlying problem . The U-tube video of which I have watched several of the series dose not help . My comments based on my professional experience about the methods employed by this man stand . If I re jointed a gun in that manor for any of my past or present employers I would be sacked . It dose not matter what a gun is worth the job of which there are several ways of doing needs to be done correctly and IMHO that was not one of them .

T.H.E. it is not permanent nor is it professional .It may be alright for Americans who know no difference , but then again I have only been building and re building double guns since 1968 so what do I know ?

Gluing bits of shim in the hook is craftsmanship ?

Franchi no longer exist as a company , they are a subsidiary of Beretta . The new O/U guns are made by Bettisoli . According to GMK there are no parts available for older guns . Strikers are simple to make and any half way competent gunsmith should be able to make and fit one for you in a couple of days . It has to be faced there are a lot of "obsolete" guns around for which there increasingly difficult to get off the self spares for , due to firms going out of business ,models changing and importers / wholesalers either changing or not caring / supplying spares for guns they did not sell .In the Case of Garlands and Hubertus it would appear they can not be bothered to provide back up .

Just buy another gun. Less cost less fuss and you get it straight away .

Forget the Us bodgers , there are plenty on bodgers in the UK . Better still take it to a gunsmith and get it done correctly .

Trained as a gun maker , work as a gunsmith .

Just buy another gun . Probably get one for around £75.00 Far less than getting a new stock made .

Usualy its the piston/plunger spring in the trigger that either gets clagged up or has broken , that said I would advise having it looked at by a competent gun smith as it could be other things .

The time taken is to strip down and reassemble some times take longer than the threading , That's assuming the work is carried out correctly . A local machine shop is fine if you stand over the man doing the work . If not then they are in illegal possession of a firearm and you could be charged with supplying firearms to an unlicensed person . Petty I know but beware the pettiness of Mr Plod and his anti attitudes .

RFD's are in a catch 22 position , on one hand whilst agreeing with the ridiculas ,in most cases , idea that screw cutting a barrel will reduce its integral strength and on the other being told by the Proof Authorities that any such barrel is subject to reproof at some time as screw cutting renders the barrel out of proof . [Cut the thread off and the barrel will be in prof again as shortening a barrel has no effect on its proof status ] There is also the case that they have to be aware of is that prior to the declaration by the Proof Authorities many hundreds of .22 rifles had been threaded and sold on , it is possible that a customer could come back after many years claiming they had been sold an out of proof gun . The police could use this as an excuse to either refuse renewal of an RFD or the dealer could face prosecution from the Proof houses . This I know and extreme and unlikely event but with compensation lawyers at the ready dealers have to play safe and cover their backs . So until there is a definitive ruling with legal backing from trade organisations it will down to the individual dealer as to whether he insists on proofing a gun or not . Here is an example of the stupidity A man buys a rifle from a shop . he also buys a moderator and asks the dealer to have the mod fitted , he will pay on completion of the work . The dealer complies with the mans request , the man collects this gun and pays . The dealer has sold an" out of proof gun" according to the Proof Houses . How ever if the gun is paid for before any work is done then the dealer after warning the customer that any such work could render the gun out of proof and that the work is carried out at the customers request and on his responsibility, there is no problem in law . Stupid !