Info for a wannabe shotgun hobbyist?

[Hawk]

Anybody seen this?

http://www.connecticutshotgun.com/americanclassic.htm


There seems to be a wealth of information on how to, say, build a 1911, assemble an AR-15 or even put together something servicable starting with a bolt action only of some type.

There doesn't seem to be much on the art of the shotgun. Can anybody steer me to info on how one might tackle such a thing? It looks like there's an awful lot more involved than any other "hobby type" undertaking that one might try in the firearms field, but, my, what a potential payback. Of course, messing up would be a lot more painful than chewing up a 1911 safety on the first try, thus the need for patience and ed-u-ma-cation.

So, where's the education? Does anybody run the shottie equivalent of the 1911 class that Cylinder & Slide does? Short of apprenticing with one of greats, that is?

 

[Dave McCracken]

Connecticut Shotgun Company was making high grade shotguns based on Ithacas' New Ithaca Double model and ran into difficulties. Went into Chapter Something and these are stuff left in the pipeline being sold off to satisfy debts.

The guns were first class. I'd call bringing these to completion a job for the advanced hobbyist.

The actions need case hardening. Just bluing them probably won't hack it. Actions intended to be case hardened often have softer metal because the casing creates an extra hard alloy on the surface. The ductile metal inside flexes a small amount and maintains tolerances longer. So using a softer steel makes sense because it can be worked more easily.

Not everyone can case harden properly. So that would have to be shopped out. Same for bluing.

Double lumber, even boxlocks like this, have to be fitted rather closely to the metal to avoid cracking.

And I know of no schools or seminars that would teach the skills needed. Sorry....

 

[Hawk]

I certainly wasn't able to find anything resembling the shotgun equivalent of Bill Laughridge's handgun class. I wonder if the market would support such an endeaver? I believe I'd sign up if such a class were to be held in, to pick a place totally at random, Maryland. (hint, hint) There's even a polynesian-themed restaurant I've been missing in Gaithersburg that I got attached to during my days in nearby Rockville.

To avoid making it a 5 year live-in, we'd need...

99.9% inletted stocks.

Receivers already cased by Turnbull or somebody else.

Rust bluing we could maybe keep as part of the "camp" - I never did get tossed in the slam by MD-EPA while I was there. On second thought, maybe this needs to go out as well.

At least the students would be "true believers" - who else would pay 4 times the cost of a servicable 870 for a sack-full of rough hewn white metal parts? Parts which, IF everything went well, would produce a box-lock costing roughly 3 times that of a Ruger Gold Label?

So why am I intrigued by the prospect? Not good... Think I'll just go soak my head... Maybe take the Dembarts to a Baikal and revisit the notion in 5 years.

 

[Third_Rail]

That certainly looks like a good way to make an AOW shotgun pistol, though.