reindeer

If you look at the fore end of a 101 where it meets the action, you will notice a notch that meets the central pivoting pin when the barrels are closed in the action. This keeps the gun tight when closed. You don’t see this on Miroku or Beretta made guns. So a slight lateral tollerance with a broken 101 is nothing to worry about.

I have best results with a spray of WD40, left overnight and then a few strokes with a spiral brush. For final cleaning I push a few cotton cleaning pads through on top of the brush.

My Miroku 7000 with date code PP from 1988 did not receive much care or oil from its previous owner but shows no rust at all. The bores are not chromed but polished to a mirror finish that still shows today, regardless of the thousands of steel shot charges that went through them. The coin finish on the receiver is also better than that on the newer models in the way that it does not stain from sweaty hands on hot Summer days. Neither did it shoot loose in all those years. All in all I believe these earlier Miroku shotguns were built to higher quality standards than the MK series that followed them.

I have always suspected that the ‘back bored’ hype was created by Browning/Miroku fot only two reasons: 1: to convince hunters with older models that they are now outgunned and that the only sensible thing to cure that situation is to buy a new back bored model. Of course the obsolete model will be taken in as part of the payment, but only for a very disappointing price because they are not in demand anymore. 2: By backboring, the outer diametre of the tubes can be slightly wider aswell without changing wall thickness and this reduces the visible flare that is needed to house the screw in chokes.

For that money you can’t go wrong on a factory new Howa 1500!

I own a Miroku 7000 which is technically identical to the B325. The barrels of both guns are indeed not chrome lined but polished to such a high standard mirror finish that cleaning them has never been any issue. Neither did the thousands of steel shot charges that went down my 7000 any harm to the bores.

A bit of a long shot, but does anyone know the current status of Lebeau Courally as a bespoke gunmaker? On their website the shotgun page is down.

I read something about ginger nuts in the news today; a variation you would not choose to be shotgun targets 😁

A true round action over&under 20 bore by a true UK maker.

You are right about Boyd’s being the best option. Their laminate rifle stocks are virtuality indestructable and impartial to rain and moisture. They don’t swell or bend. They do tend to be a bit heavy because of the dense laminate they are cut out of but I like that. My Howa 1500 in .30-06 with a pepper colour classic style laminate is easy on the shoulder. I bought the gun with a Bell&Carlson synthetic spider web stock and replaced that for a Boyd’s later on. The Boyd’s is much stiffer and a better fit to the barrel and action.

So I asked the proof master of the London Proof house himself: I am not allowed to copy and paste his reply here but he answers that the London Proof house regularly stamps proof marks on the barrel flats where there is plenty of material depth. So no definite explanation yet.

Why do some (even best quality) shotguns have their caliber, choke and proof marks stamped on the outside of the barrel instead of of on the barrel flats where you would expect to find them?

Don’t check for live shells from front end 😁

Looking at the step that creates the side panels and the way the quarter round barrel flanges (I don’t know if that is the correct word to describe them) have been partially flattened to meet the reshaped action and the work done to the fore end iron and wood, I am fairly sure this is not a stand alone model on special order but an 800 or later model, recreated by Miroke themselves or by a compentent gunsmith. I have seen similar ‘upgrade’ work done to Browning 325 models.

Over here Hawke Frontier are regarded the very best scopes for use with NV add on. They have side parallax. Not cheap but very well made and their performance is little or no less than the high end German and Austrian brands.