311 SXS question
- Thread starter greyeyezz
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Smoke
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I honestly can't answer that 
PM Okiecruffler, he's teh resident 311 expert.
Smoke
PM Okiecruffler, he's teh resident 311 expert.
Smoke
It is very much dependant on the action. Some do allow the release of the hammers, but most do not. Worse, some actions, if you let the hammers down while they are not assembled, are a very difficult proposition to get back together.
If you think about how the action works, and most specifically how the hammers are cocked, you can start to figure out which guns will give you problems. For a while I did a fair amount of shotgun work, and had a block of hardwood on my bench just for use in cocking guns where someone had let the hammers down.
It is my experience that American guns rarely have a provision for dropping the hammer. I don't know for sure, but believe, that this is due to the fact that they were mostly field guns, and rarely were taken down for storage.
The ability of the hammer springs to continue working over the length of time some of these guns have been around says a lot about the quality of the springs.
If you ever let the hammers down on a gun and cannot get it back together do not (repeat, do not) attempt to force it together, or to cock the gun if you do not know how. You can (and most likely will) damage the gun to the point where it is very expensive to repair. Take it to a real gunsmith.
If you think about how the action works, and most specifically how the hammers are cocked, you can start to figure out which guns will give you problems. For a while I did a fair amount of shotgun work, and had a block of hardwood on my bench just for use in cocking guns where someone had let the hammers down.
It is my experience that American guns rarely have a provision for dropping the hammer. I don't know for sure, but believe, that this is due to the fact that they were mostly field guns, and rarely were taken down for storage.
The ability of the hammer springs to continue working over the length of time some of these guns have been around says a lot about the quality of the springs.
If you ever let the hammers down on a gun and cannot get it back together do not (repeat, do not) attempt to force it together, or to cock the gun if you do not know how. You can (and most likely will) damage the gun to the point where it is very expensive to repair. Take it to a real gunsmith.
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