Fox A grade question

[crim]

I just purchased a Fox A grade 12ga.(30754) The gun looks great, wood looks good, feels tight. My question; when I open the gun it doesnt open enough to load the shells. It appears to be open enough but the shells will not "fall" in. I have to apply a small amount of pressure to get it open more, then it springs back. Is this normal or is something wrong? Is it a costly repair. I paid 900 for the gun. Thank you for any help.

[Silvers]

Congrats on getting your A grade. One or both hammers are cocking a little early in the opening cycle. That is common and probably the norm; I personally wouldn't do anything to try to retime them. Silvers

[crim]

Thanks Silvers, why would you just leave it as is? Is it too costly to fix? It seems it would be a pain to load and unload having to push down. Thanks for your help.

[Silvers]

Crim, IMO it's a minor inconvenience to push down on the barrels so the shells clear the top of the frame. I shoot Foxes extensively at sporting clays and skeet and have never felt this is a pain. However I recognize that people may have different opinions than I do. If someone wants to get the hammers retimed by a professional who understands the Fox cocking mechanism, cost should be nominal because this is not extensive work although it is very critical. It's easy to create an unsafe condition whereby one or both hammers cock a little too late and can slip or jar off - causing an accidental discharge. I STRONGLY recommend that gents DO NOT try to do this work themselves. Silvers

[Fin2Feather]

Crim,

My Sterlingworth 12ga is the same way; actually I notice it more when extracting the shells - I have to pull the barrels down a bit. It's a bit of a pain but I'll probably follow Silvers' advice and leave it alone. Congrats on a great price on the A grade, by the way!

Fin

[crim]

Thanks for the advice guys. I wasnt sure about the price, but since the fox bug bit me when I recieved one as a gift over the holidays I searched for a 12 to go with the 20. One more question. The guy I bought from told me that the only thing he new of that needed attention was that once the gun was fired it was harder to open. Almost like it locks up. I havent shot it yet, but it opens smoothly without firing. Is that why the gun was a deal? Is this a costly reair? Again thank you for the help, I'm new to these types of guns.

[bbman3]

Probably firing pins sticking in hard shell primers. Try differnt brands of shells and you should find one that gun will open smoothly with. Bobby

[fullchoke16]

I have 2 guns that stick on Winchester primers, drag a bit on CCIs and work without a hitch with Remingtons. As Bobby said, try a few things first before getting too excited about it.

[crim]

Thanks for the replies and help. I will try some differnt ammo.

[jolly bill]

Crim,

It should be pointed out that if the gun is fired, you have to cock the hammer (one shot) or hammers (if both barrels are fired) and that in itself requires more effort.

You can test that easy enough. With the gun empty, pull one or both triggers to fire the gun thereby dropping the hammers and releasing the compression on the hammer springs. Upon opening the gun on empty chambers, you have to compress those springs which requires some amount of effort.

Just opening the action on cocked hammers is quite effortless.

Hope this helps.

Jolly

[eightbore]

Many guns do not fully open without further effort to remove the shells, apparently by design. When hunting with such a gun, it keeps the shells from falling out when the gun is open. It is a pain on the clay target field, but most long barrel guns have enough weight in the front end to overcome the spring pressure.

[crim]

Thanks for the advice from all. Cant wait to take it out and shoot.