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Croohur

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Posts posted by Croohur

  1. If you search Braddell on here you will find a post from myself a few years back. I had one briefly (the barrels ended up being too damaged to shoot safely). It was a well made Birmingham boxlock. Nothing flash, but well balanced. A nice game gun. It would really depend what the price is. And its obviously goignt o be decades old so you'd want to have a good look at the barrels and the action first.

  2. I used to lightly oil the internals of my moderator, but I found it made no difference if I did or not. I assume the exhaust from the gases quickly expel the oil and all you have done is waste a bit of oil!!

    I just take it off periodically and soak it overnight, give it a clean and its good as new!

  3. The Spanish system, as applied by the proof house in Eibar in the Basque Country is easy enough to follow. Since 1995 a number presented in blocks of digits presents the information like this:

    The first two digits identify the maker (for instance, 16 is AYA, and 13 is Lanber). The second two digits identify the maker of the gun, and 03 indicates a shotgun. The next sequence of digits is the manufacturer’s serial number, and the last pair of digits is the year of manufacture (for instance, 98 indicates 1998, and 05 indicates 2005).

    The serial number AFAIK gives the model and year of manufacture - mine was 13-03-0****-06-12-76
    This breaks down as Makers Code - Type - Serial Number - Year of proof - Gauge - Chamber length

    13 - Lanber makers code

    03 - Type of firearm in this case a shotgun

    Serial number - pretty obvious

    Date number - last two digits of date of manufacture i.e 98=1998,99=1999 - The above number would indicate 2006

    12 - 12 Gauge

    76 - Length of chamber in this case 76mm (3inch)
     


    The above is valid IIRC for guns made post 1998, before that the format was serial no, year, bore, chamber length I think....
    If you look on the under side of the barrels you will see the spanish proof house marks, there should be a a proof house year code made up of a letter and a single number.

  4. 1 minute ago, steve_b_wales said:

    Has anyone got, or used the above brand of cleaner? I'm looking at purchasing a bigger one (3ltr) for £135 posted. 

    Yes, I have one. First one I've owned, but works as well as I expected them to work. Have no complaints. I don't use it much so cant comment on how long it will last, but had one about 18 months with no issue. 

  5. If I was a betting man, and having a feel of the worst of the pitting I would say that it would be safe to use with light loads. But I'm not a betting man and will take it to a gunsmith.

    It was gun that did have sentimental value to the original owner, who gifted it to my wife. I'd rather keep it and use it, as its a nice old boxlock and out of respect for the family friend. But it would not be worth putting much money into it, and I think the original owner would not want us to. 

    I did some livht honing on the bores today, just to make sure there was no rust. The pitting does seem ancient, there wasn't any sign of rust. There is some slight pitting on the barrels, but it has been smoothed over and re-blued at some point, probably around the same time as it was re-proofed. 

    Anyway, I've put it in the back of the gun cabinet and will ponder on it over December and Christmas and get it to a gunsmith in the New Year. 

    Would be delighted to hear anymore input from people. I have no experience of older sxs at all. I have a Merkel Model 8 from the 1970's that is bombproof so am eager to hear people's thoughts. 

    Cheers. 

     

  6. Of course the pitting is in the open choked barrel so walls are thinner. So lapping might not be an option. The bores near the chamber end are in much better shape. It's really the front trigger open barrel end that has the worst of it. Will definitely get someone to have a look, as it's a nice gun to shoot. Just needed to add a bit of LOP to stock and we were all good to go

  7. Fired a few shots yesterday to see if it was sound. Gave the bores a good soak and cleaned out today. Unfortunately, what the cleaning showed some pitting in one of the barrels. The top picture shows the worst of the pitting. Have no experience of this situation. It looks bad to me, what would be anyone else's opinion? It could be from 60 years ago and possibly why it was sent for re-proof... Anyway won't be shooting until I can find someone who can have a proper look at it. 

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  8. Hi all,

    My wife got gifted a basic enough Birmingham boxlock from a family friend. Its a Joseph Braddell & Sons of Belfast badged Birmingham made boxlock. Neither of us has a huge amount of experience with English side by sides, so I was wondering if anyone would have an idea who made it. 

    A search through the web would indicate that other examples were possible made by Webley and Scott and Bentley and Playfair. I know through the basic proof marks that it was made in Birmingham between 1925-1954. It has a snap action forend fastener. Chokes are improved and approx. 3/4. The family friend thought that his grandparent used it to shoot ducks in Lough Neagh many years ago. Its a bit battered, but hasnt been used in nearly 40 years as it was in a safe and then was used by the owner as a back up gun that he never needed. 

    Anyway, I was curious what some of the marks are - The stamp on the barrels in the second picture - an inspectors mark?? The initials WH?? the 13 over the 1? And the capital R under the crown I have no idea!! Hopefully some one can enlighten me. 

    Thanks

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    Few more. Have never seen a "break" in the rib like this. Its decorated with scroll work, but a bit messy. Is it a repair job? Or something else? 

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  9. Guy in our area was up in his shed checking on round bales he had stored upright and somehow he slipped in between them into the curved diamond shape you get between 4 bales. His wife heard a bit of shouting, but thought he was moving animals. It seems he panicked after a while and suffocated. Wasnt found for 24 hours. Have had nightmares about that one.

  10. Not sure I've ever heard such bad feedback about a gun. Unfortunate, as I do admire the ingenuity and fresh thinking needed to come up with something new, and its disappointing that it hasn't worked out. Ultimately its on Benelli for not ironing these issues out before the gun came on the market, but hopefully it doesn't stop them from trying new things 

  11. 1 hour ago, Lloyd90 said:

    Not sure why you’d get a 3” rather than a 3 1/2” on purpose? 
     

    The ability to use 3 1/2” shells should you so need is always there. 
     

    My Maxus is 3 1/2” chamber and shoots 3”, 70mm and 65mm (30g 6’s) fine. 
     

    I have some Hull Comp X 65mm carts that are notoriously soft shooting, I will give them a try in the Maxus. 
     

    I reckon it might struggle with them, but I would expect that. 

    I agree. I have a 3.5 Maxus. I consider it more as a 3 inch that will shoot everything down to 24g with some cartridges. But always nice to have the 3.5 option there, even if I don't see myself using it too much. Just adds a bit to its versatility. 

  12. On 11/07/2021 at 22:00, Harry136 said:

    Hi

    I've had my Maxus or a few years now, however, when loading the second cartridge through the loading gate, my thumb always gets stuck.

    Anyone else experience this or can offer any ideas?

    Thanks

    I know when you are using the speed loading system for the first cartridge I have to swipe it with my thumb up rather than push it in. Maybe try and keep your thumb more vertical rather than pushing the cartridge in horizontally. And keep the tip of your thumb lower down on the brass as you are pushing it into the magazine. When I got my Maxus I spent a bit of time loading shells, ejecting and reloading out in a field before I was happy with a technique that worked for me. I initially  had an issue with the second cartridge jamming after the first cartridge was fired and ejected. I found it was all in the way I was loading. There is a definite knack to loading a Maxus , but its very much a learning to ride a bike situation. Once you've figured it out you dont do it again. Thats my two cents! Hope it helps.

  13. I've only picked one up in a gun shop and found the rubber butt pad to be VERY rubbery, sticky and catches on clothes. Has anyone who has one had a problem with them or swapped the butt pad out? 

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