And THAT story is why I love doing what I do. If these old guns could talk the stories they could tell of crisp fall mornings with friends and fathers.

Decided to try my hand at resolving my "stuck shut" problem so went back to the gunsmith last Thur to retrieve the Crescent 410. Per my usual luck, he already had it apart so I decided to let him go ahead and finish cleaning the guts of the gun. There were a couple of things that were noted both that day and today when we discussed the gun. There appears to be a piece of the stock missing (internally)...but nothing was found laying around inside so maybe it was removed at some earlier time that I'm not aware of. The safety linkage was interfering with the breach release slightly and not allowing it full travel. The spent shell that was in the gun was not really stuck in the chamber, but the primer had backed out of the shell base by about 0.020 inches as near as I can determine. The gun was able to be "released" fairly easily as the gun was disassembled and the firing pins are quite free and easily moved. So.....it's not exactly clear why the gun couldn't be broken open. When the spent shell is in the chamber, the primer is basically flush with the back of the barrel so it doesn't seem like it would cause an interference problem. The gun has definitely had the barrel to receiver joint peened to tighten it up, and when the breech is closed, it's pretty tight. I scrounged up a couple of low brass shells that I forgot I had and am thinking about repeating my experiment that caused the problem initially.

how deep are the impressions on the primers of the stuck shells? Maybe the firing pin was just stuck in it's own dent in the primer. I have had that happen before. The safety issue/top lever travel sounds plausible. What is missing? The center web? Pics?

There was only one shell stuck. The impression was fairly deep, but I could only feel an "edge" on depression in one small section. The impression was fairly large in diameter also. Still not exactly dialed in on why the primer backed out of the shell base, since the action doesn't seem that loose to me. Figured I didn't have much to lose except another $50, so took the gun back to the range and the pattern board to see what would happen. Results were.....

shot 1....low base 9 in the right barrel. Gun initially didn't want to open but did without too much hassle. The shell primer didn't back out and the impression was much less.....this was the barrel that I shot before and then had the lock up

shot 2....low base 9 in the left barrel. Gun opened fine. Impression was deeper and bigger dia than shot 1. Probably close to the first shot where the gun locked up

shot 3.....high base 8 back in the right barrel. Gun opened fine. Impression was a little deeper / bigger dia than shot 1. Shell primer backed out very slightly.

I'm not sure if this means anything or not.

The piece of the stock missing was from the center web I think. I would have to take the gun apart to get a picture of that. I can do that, but what's the best procedure? Can I just remove one of the side plates......what do I have to look out for? Does the gun need to be "cocked" first before doing that?

Thx for your feedback BTW.....very much appreciated.

given your excellent testing, I think the cleaning got it back on track. Shoot it some more I think it will be good for it. If it is working good, there is no need to repair the center support inside. To repair that requires complete take down. The repair is, no offense, probably beyond your skill and materials level. Side lock guns are very difficult to fit after repair. If it is shooting and acting well, leave well enough alone and finish the cosmetics. If you really want to remove the lock plates, remove the two short screws on either side, then unscrew the one screw on the side and tap it against the opposite sidelock to pop it out. Yes you need to cock the gun first or you will have to manually cock each lock before you can put it back in.

Targa - I apologize for being away from this for a while....sometimes life gets in the way of entertainment. I've got a couple of questions about doing the "cosmetics" on this Crescent 410. First, have you or anyone for that matter ever seen one that only had the forearm checkered and not the stock pistol grip? As I mentioned earlier, I don't actually remember, but I may have been the culprit that removed the grip checkering if it ever existed in the first place. If I was to redo this gun I wonder if it would really be worth looking into having it put back on ($$$$).

I think I would start by doing the stock first...not removing it from the receiver. There's a gouge (small) near the edge of the pistol grip that I would like to at least fill in.....not sure the best way to tackle that. If someone could advise me or point me in the right direction that would be much appreciated.

I have been avoiding staining any of the gun stocks I've done in the last few months except one as I feel if you "guess wrong" then you are basically screwed.

I have never seen a gun from the factory that was not checkered in both places if it is checkered at all. you will have to finish the stock before you have it checkered. You may be able to steam the gouge out with an iron and a wet cloth if it is not too deep. I do not normally use stain. Checkering is expensive.

I've had similar problems with some of my older SxS's ... Primer type is typically the issue, try using a different brand (Remington) and see if that helps. Also, stay away from shells > 1200 fps. I hope this helps.

Regards, Dave D.

all these things^^^^^^^^

I'm torn about refinishing the stock. I am aware that 410s are worth a little money nowadays but with the stock checkering issue plus the non-original butt and grip plates I question what this gun might be worth.......but, I'm not really looking at this as an investment. I'm tempted to just redo the stock as is and forget about it. As far as rust bluing is concerned, if I were to go that far I would want to do the whole gun....so it would have to be completely disassembled for that correct? Also, I didn't quite get your comment (targa) about having to checker the stock after it was done. Did you mean completely refinished..then go in a checker the stock.....or just sand and correct the imperfections but without putting on the final finish. As usual any input / comments appreciated.

Randy A.

You understood targa911s correctly. Sand and get rid of all the dings and dent, refinish and then checker. Hope you have patience for the checkering part.

All you have to do is remove the barrels to rust blue them. The barrels are all you will be bluing. Now you have Neil involved. He's a real gunsmith with the degree to prove it. Checkering really sucks. So tedious.

There always exceptions...........
 

Some of the Colt Lightning pump rifles came with checkered forearms but non checkered stocks. Of course, the newest of these is 110 years old now!

I have only had my hands on one lightning in my life.

Shotgun perfume?

I thought of it first!!!!

That would be Hoppes #9..

What ever happened to hoppes 1-8?


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

The chances of me re-checkering the stock on this gun are pretty much slim and none as I don't feel I have the skill to do it. I might be inclined to let this gun be someone else's project...have to give that some thought.

BTW...my son-in-law has a "porch" convertible...is that close enough?!