Question about over under shotgun...

S

Servo77

New member
OK, I am trying to "finalize" my decision on what over under to purchase and I found a nice Weatherby SKB that was essentially new in the box for a "used" price. I am not really familiar with over unders and have two questions.

1) The gentleman at the sore dry fired the gun...is that ok on an over under?

2) After dry firing, when he would open the action, there was a loud "popping" noise that I assumed was the auto ejectors doing there thing...but I am not sure and I am not sure how much I trust the gentleman behind the counter. Anyway, is such a sound normal?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.
 
Yes, the popping sound when gun was opened after dry firing was the ejectors snapping outward. That is perfectly normal. Dry firing occassionally won't hurt the O/U but I don't believe in doing it on a regular basis. I've owned and shot O/U shotguns for the last 40 years. My current pair of Browning Citoris are 20 years old. They still look and function like new.
 
SKB makes a really solid gun with an above average trigger depending on the model. I think that you will be very pleased with the performance of the gun. I on occasion will dry fire my gun but do not make a practice of it.
 
So it would be ok to dry fire to decock the internal hammers? Or is this unnecessary?
 
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I use snap caps - rather than fire the pins on an empty barrel / but I'm not surprised a shop would do that when he has so many guns.

An SKB is a serviceable gun. Look for "galling" where the receiver connects to the barrels / so you need to take it apart. Check the forend connection to the barrel - see if there is any wear. Look for abuse inside the receiver / check the chamber and the barrel with a light - see how it looks.

After the gun is fired - you can inspect the ends of the firing pins / if there is any pitting, they need to be replaced.

Make sure the gun locks up tight / when you move the lever, it shouldn't "flop" open .... how far the opening lever sits (compare it to a new one ) is an indication of wear. Most of the rest is cosmetic.

Remember picking a gun is about Fit - not just the action type. How much drop at comb, at heel, etc - so it hits where you look. Shotguns do not come in one size fits all - fit is often discussed on this forum.
 
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