Shotgun Abuse by using the Wrong Shells

Got in 4 shotguns yesterday and am awaiting a fifth. Three of the guns were damaged by the wrong ammo, two by shooting steel shot in a full choke lead gun and one by a shooter shooting two shotguns at one outing and getting a 20 and a 12 shell in the same pocket. I have not actually seen the 20ga shell then a 12ga shell LC Smith yet, but it will require a new set of barrels. The old owner is now deceased, but lost two fingers of the heft hand to the explosion.




This is the Belgium Browning A-5 that shot a 2 3/4 steel shot. The over pressure recoil fractured the stock so badly that the only thing holding it together was the buffalo horn butt plate. This is the start of the repair, you can still see the hair line crack of the first step in the repair. I will strip the finish, wet and dry sand Pro Custom Oil into the wood, the hair line crack will disappear, then a varnish to match factory will be applied. The adhesive used is thinned Acraglass Gel, it will be stronger than the wood when fully set.



This is the forend of the Browning A-5 Magnum 3” Full Choke gun that shot a single steel shot cartridge. The over pressure recoil fractured the inside of the forearm and split it. It will receive the same adhesive. Blocks as pictured will be used to maintain the upper factory separation when the surgical tubing is wrapped tight around it. The inside will be ground out a bit for an inlay of fiberglass screen to reinforce the repair. No doubt there are tiny fractures in the wood that can not be seen, making the screen inlay necessary. Once it is all glued back together it will be stripped and sanded in oil finished, checkering touched up with a single line checkering tool.

By the way, these old shotguns have become very expensive today. The Brownings can easily bring $4k and the LC Smith, high grade guns, six figures. Even the low grade LC guns in good condition bring 4 figures.

In the LC situation, the father was dove hunting with his 20 and his 12, on his farm, in his planted bird field. He shot the 20 first and decided to shoot the 12. Poured a box of 12s on top of left over 20s in his shell pouch. Later during the shoot, a flight of doves came in, bang, bang, another flight of doves, while looking at the doves, he reloaded, glanced down, empty chamber and dropped a 12 into the empty chamber, Boom. It is easy to do in the right circumstances and as in this case, a disaster. Blown up gun, loss of two fingers and the use of his left hand.
Lesson, never ever, mix different gauge shotgun shells in one shell bag, empty, check, and then refill with one gauge only.

The fracture butt stock is acraglass back together sanded, oil sanded to fill the pores and after a few more coats will be ready for a satin finish. The Fore arm is acraglass repaired and near ready to be cut for the fiberglass reinforcing sheet to be placed and moulded on the inside.

Then I will finish up the newest arrival, another LC Smith in nice exterior shape, that came in with pitted bores, with brush painted varnished stocks and a reverse angle cut for an old deteriorating recoil pad. I should make a very nice bird gun for the coming fall season.

The fore arm is now reinforced with fiberglass mesh and acraglassd, ready for the refinishing. The butt stock is coming along with the old, worn smooth checkering recut. Now on its 3rd coat of sanded in oil. I use Brownells Pro Custom oil, cut half and half with mineral spirits and 3 drops of Japan Drier in a tall pill bottle to create the sanding paste, then cross grain wipe with a paper towel until the major pores and cracks are filled, then I start the sanding with finer and finer wet and dry paper in 1 1/2” x 3”rectangles in a swirl pattern with the oil, not cutting through the oil to the wood. The final finish polish with rotten stone, medium felt pads, and mineral oil paste, leaves a polished marble look.
I am going to have to find a near by checkering person. Checkering is something I do not like to do, way too tedious. Odd that I do not mind doing a sanded in oil finish that takes 30 coats and 8 months, but the checkering is another story. May have to do with scratching the wood after I spend hours finishing it.

This is the fractured butt stock today, color matched to the fore arm, with the checkering touched up. It will get 4-6 more coats of oil. This is the son wanting his father’s well used A-5 hunting gun, back to display status, is not supposed to look like new.

This is the forearm with the fracture repaired and interior reinforced with mesh, refitted to the metal and matched to the well used butt stock.