BOY!!! . Is tat something or what ????
Kind of scratching my head here
1) what you see clearly as a round line around the hook on the right side and on the left side if you look close .
Myself I would say that those lines are not the plugs but threaded in hooks . While I have seen that done on French SXS “ normally buttons “, I have never seen it where they drilled the nipple holes through the threaded hooks
2) here is why I don’t think they are the actual plugs .
A) If you look at the photo where we see; Made in Belgium., the line you see on the barrel is the actual plug where it mates to the barrel. Then there is a threaded section inside the barrel
B) if you look at the photo of the breech area . Same one where you see the circle on the right hook .
If you look closely you will see a faint line that starts on the left side of what would be the bottom rib . It then curves up and end on the left side of the top rib .
That line means that the left hand plug must be removed first as its actually inside the right plug . IE the right plug wraps part of the left plug .
Add into that the index mark . that’s the mark you see running off the back of the left side of the center rib , down, across the line I just pointed out ,.
What this index mark is , is a mark that place on a breech plug and barrel , to insure that if the plug is removed , its put back exactly as it was originally meant to
So if you were to try and take out the actual plug . You would take out the left hand plug , then take out the right . When the righ began to unscrew , you would see that the short section of center rib that’s between the two plugs , is actual part of the right hand plug
On the left plug what is that round dot /spot , is that a weld inclusion or is it the end of a pin ?????
So what do we have . Well its hard to tell by looking at photos . But it would appear to me that what would normally be the breech plugs on a SXS has been drilled out . Making somewhat of a sleeve . The hooks were then threaded into that sleeve. If im right in that , then the hooks then become the actual breech plugs .
In other words if you were to apply pressure to the right hand hook , it should just unscrew out of what would normally be the breech plug . Since it appears they have drilled the nipple holes after the plug was set , then I would bet that if you unscrewed the hook , you may in fact be seeing right down the bore
Is that how its supposed to be ??? B I have never seen one like that . But in theory , it should be fine to do . But why as it would be a lot more work .
Thus the possibility that at some time , someone needed to remove the breech plugs . But if they wouldn’t come out , then they would have filed off the hooks . Then center drilled the plugs so as to be able to access the bore . Then installed a bolt type plug . Then re drilled that plug for the nipple . But simply never got around to finishing the drilling of the right hand plug .
Anyway , im not sure that all makes since to you , but that’s what im seeing .
As to what to do . Fix her and get her up shooting