694 Problem

[Scotty]

Evening all,

So this morning was my club comp and I set off full of excitement. Only to try and build my gun at the ground and have the top lever refuse to engage. The barrels wouldn't lock despite seating properly.

I tried to engage them manually by depressing the button inside the action. Still no joy. That button was free to move all the way back but the top lever and locking lugs wouldn't budge.

Unfortunately I'm not a good enough shot to give a good account of myself using the completely shagged 28in skeet silver pigeon I ended up with instead.

I'll take it to the shop I bought it from tomorrow, but has anyone else had a similar issue?

I've also noticed that the pin protruding from the action face is actually canted up, rather than straight out. I always thought that it was to ease the button in as the action swings in. Was this an early indication of a problem?

 

[Freddypip]

Pin should be canted up.

Just to be sure push the top level over to the right - this will take the pressure of the locking pin - push the pin home and then release the lever slowly. If it does not activate the locking bolts then its something inside - the shop will remove the stock and have a look.

 

[Scotty]

New development. Turns out it is the wood that has swollen around the tang, interfering with the top lever. The guy in the shop advised the wood needs shaved down on that side then refinished with some walnut oil.

I'm a little hesitant to just go at it, but he did say they could do it in the shop.

I have two questions, how to fix it and how to prevent it.

My cabinet simply has to be in the attic. See previous "wife" posts. Is a vivarium heat mat an idea to resolve it? It does mean running more power lines up there and modifying my cabinet. It has to be from there as I haven't gone shooting in the rain at all with it. And all I've put near the stock is some napier stock shield. That shouldn't make this happen.

What do the hive think? I'm considering sending the wood away to be professionally refinished as I notice that the inside of the wood isn't sealed and this may contribute to the speed of the growth!

 

[Mike]

I think that you will find that very few gun stocks are sealed on the inside at all 

Most shotguns that I've bought have always been poorly finished ie; a lack of sealant or any finish at all once you remove the stock.

 

[ColinD]

It would have to be extremely damp in your roof space to cause this much distortion to the wood I would think. But then again a lot of wood isn't seasoned like it used to be

 

[SIMON-B]

I have stored my guns in the attic for years. Leave them in a dry slip if you can and use a Napier VP 90 patch every six months and hopefully this will help.

 

[Westward]

New development. Turns out it is the wood that has swollen around the tang, interfering with the top lever. 

Not quite a new development. This is exactly what happened with the first batch of 692s to arrive in this country. GMK should sort it, not your dealer.

 

[Mike]

Not quite a new development. This is exactly what happened with the first batch of 692s to arrive in this country. GMK should sort it, not your dealer.

Have to disagree, he bought the gun from the dealer. Not from GMK.

 

[Martinj]

I had this problem on a late model 692, it was working OK, I was pigeon shooting in heavy rain, eventually I found I couldn't move the top lever because the wood was swollen from the soaking it was getting. I fixed it myself by removing the stock and filing off about 1mm of wood under the lever position. I tarted it up with fine glass paper and some stock oil and now you wouldn't know it had been "got at."

I was pretty well pee'd off, it was a case of do it myself or a 150 mile round trip to drop it off at Coley's and presumably the same again after it had been fixed to collect it, plus not having it to shoot with in the meantime.

If you get someone to adjust the woodwork make sure they take off a bit extra to allow for swelling when you get it wet, it's sure to happen sooner or later.

By the way this happened to Amber hill during a Skeet championship this year, check it out on youtube.

 

[Scotty]

It would have to be extremely damp in your roof space to cause this much distortion to the wood I would think. But then again a lot of wood isn't seasoned like it used to be

It's really not. It can be cold, as the insulation is in the floor space but I've floored it and have proper lights and use it as a fairly neat storage space. Nothing else stored up there has shown any signs of damp or condensation. I store all my tools up there on racks and in boxes and nothing else is affected.

Not quite a new development. This is exactly what happened with the first batch of 692s to arrive in this country. GMK should sort it, not your dealer.

I wasn't aware of that. Was an explanation ever given as to why? Just really poorly seasoned wood?

Have to disagree, he bought the gun from the dealer. Not from GMK.

I did take out the extended warranty, but only bought it in July so is still within the normal warranty. I might try and contact them to see.

Just thinking, if it was purely a moisture issue shouldn't there be signs of rust on the metalwork, somewhere? The monobloc where there's no bluing is still pristine. 

 

[Martinj]

BTW this wasn't the only DIY I had to do on the woodwork, The gun was brand new, and I found that the "beak" on the Schnabel fore-end was so sharp (straight off the machine with no hand finishing) that the recoil was causing it to take the skin off my left forefinger, I filed a small radius on it, sanded it and treated with stock oil to good effect.

 

[ColinD]

Have to disagree, he bought the gun from the dealer. Not from GMK.

Yes his contract is with who he purchased it off, but warranty work for defects is the responsibility of the importer, especially as it's past the 28days that he can reject the gun and get a refund as his statutory rights say if faulty

 

[Freddypip]

The 694 finish on mine was Tru-Oil. I added to the chequering as the standard was, in my view, not sufficient, and then applied Tru-Oil. Three or Four coats and job done.

I would get it fitted - the shop or GMK may be OK but I would find a local gunsmith & get them to take off the required wood and then apply a few Tru-oil coats. It should then be good to go - its a gun after all.

 

[Jonny English]

I would let the gun shop or gmk fix it. Gmk turn round times are usually pretty decent, I had my gun in for a warranty job a bit back and it was back in under a week. Liability is on them then, if you make any mods and it's part of a bigger problem you might end up with a void warranty.

 

[Westward]

I wasn't aware of that. Was an explanation ever given as to why? Just really poorly seasoned wood? 

I suspect that they rushed out the first batch thinking they'd sell like hot cakes. This was at a time when their quality control department had gone AWOL and GMK was over whelmed with faulty 692s.

Your problem is probably a one off but personally I wouldn't let the dealer remove wood and negate the warranty.

 

[Freddypip]

It was probably a rash of me to suggest you ditch your warranty.

I needed extra cast on my 694 (the comb is wide) so mine was gone anyway. Also as the stock was coming off for the re-cast - I was much happier having the gunsmith look over the gun and checking it at the same time. I don't think GMK will be inclined to do anything more than they need to if its returned to them.

I also don't rate the warranty when it comes to the woodwork. There's often some exclusion or limitation which means its not covered or they can argue its a failure from (un)natural usage. I tend to accept the woodwork is my risk from day one as it allows me to get the gun fitted etc without worry.

At the risk of dragging MartinJ down to my level, I wouldn't worry to much about a DIY fix or it being done locally. The guys above are right however - if you want to keep the warranty in tack follow the required process.

 

[Scotty]

I gave GMK a call to talk it over and they've told me to take it back to the retailer who will arrange transport to them and they will sort it under warranty. I'm just going to do that and avoid any problems down the line. I'm also going to have to look into modifying my cabinet in the mean time.

I'm thinking some kind of insulating foam on the insides and a heat mat in place to help with the temperature changes. I already had a few large silica gel packs in place to help with moisture.

Would a gun sock inside the cabinet help? I've not seen one long enough to take an assembled shotgun in full.

 

[Martinj]

if you use a gun sock on your gun in anything approaching damp conditions you increase the risk of corrosion, a sock would just keep moisture in contact with the steel parts for longer

 

[jasper]

Agreed but browning do one with vp90 impregnated. (take down) Go for this option. 

I have two dt11 in attic, both in these socks and vp90 in cabinets also. No probs. 

Just be careful when you bring it into the nice warm part of the  house. This is when problems with condensation etc can arise. 

Jasper.