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Stoeger Coach- Removing safety? *UPDATE*


Buckshot Frank

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I just bought a Stoeger coach gun and am going to slick it up to make it easier to use. I've read about disabling the automatic safety by shortening the rod, but I am considering completely removing the safety mechanism. With the position of it, it rubs my thumb everytime I manipulate the lever to open the gun. I'm never going to use the safety, so I'd rather not have the switch in the way at all. This gun will never be used for hunting or home defense; it is strictly a CAS gun or range toy, so I don't have any qualms about completely removing the safety. Knocking a couple of pins out will remove the entire mechanism, and it could always be restored to orignal configuration if desired (unlike disabling the automatic feature).

 

My question is about what to do about the hole on top of the receiver that this will leave. Any ideas? I could just cover it with aluminum tape or something, but that's not very professional.

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The tape might be considered an external modification, and hence not allowed. Why not just file & polish the safety button until it's smooth instead?

 

As far doing any safety work, disabling the automatic set function is pretty common. Removing the safety mechanism entirely ... there's two schools of thought on that and has been hotly debated here before. One group sez go ahead, then there's others of us who don't advocate it. If the auto set has been disabled, there's really no need to remove all the guts.

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I just bought a Stoeger coach gun and am going to slick it up to make it easier to use. I've read about disabling the automatic safety by shortening the rod, but I am considering completely removing the safety mechanism. With the position of it, it rubs my thumb everytime I manipulate the lever to open the gun. I'm never going to use the safety, so I'd rather not have the switch in the way at all. This gun will never be used for hunting or home defense; it is strictly a CAS gun or range toy, so I don't have any qualms about completely removing the safety. Knocking a couple of pins out will remove the entire mechanism, and it could always be restored to orignal configuration if desired (unlike disabling the automatic feature).

 

My question is about what to do about the hole on top of the receiver that this will leave. Any ideas? I could just cover it with aluminum tape or something, but that's not very professional.

 

 

You'll get use to it. Just let it be.

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I took my safety arm in side the stock off. You can just cut the rod off but I took off the little arm.Some one post a picture on here,I tried to find it but couldn't

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Well- I didn't realize that removing the safety would be so frowned upon, since it sounds like most people disable the automatic safety. Being the new guy, I don't want to do anything to upset anybody. I'll just disable the auto function, and leave the safety in place. Smoothing the ridges on the lever might accomplish the same thing. Thanks for the advice.

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Actually, removing the safety won't upset anyone unless there is an incident. If you remove it and there is an incident you and the lawyers would be upset, even if the incident had nothing to do with the safety.

 

Blackfoot :FlagAm:

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... I don't want to do anything to upset anybody...

 

Why not? That's half the fun of being a rebel!

 

Carve a piece of wood and press fit it into the hole

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Ya can flip the safety button on mine all day long, it ain't gonna make a difference. The gun is built for cowboy matches, that's all it's used for. I like it and see no problem at all with it being disabled. It ain't like it can't be switched back if for some reason I don't forsee were to show up.

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Guest diablo slim shootist

Make it manual only by grinding a little off the rod

then file and buff the switch as smooth as you like so

it does not rub you the wrong way :FlagAm:

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I'm going to have to say shorten the back by about an eighth of an inch to deactivate the auto-safe feature and just smooth over the switch a little. That allows you to not worry about working the safety and keeps it from rubbing your thumb too much.

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Actually, removing the safety won't upset anyone unless there is an incident. If you remove it and there is an incident you and the lawyers would be upset, even if the incident had nothing to do with the safety.

 

Blackfoot :FlagAm:

 

True enough- but this would also be true about a modified safety (or a lightened trigger, or reloaded ammo, or many other modifications that are made to guns used for competition) . This gun will only be used for cowboy action shooting.

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WARNING WARNING WARNING.

 

Hey Pards, correct me if I'm wrong, but

 

We just had a post from a Pard that had done some work on his Stoeger. He sent it in to get some repair work and it was returned to him with the barrels spray painted UNSAFE or something like that, and no repair work had been done.

 

I'm not saying "don't do it" I'm just saying that if you do any modifications, you may void your warranty and get an unpleasant surprise if you send it in for repair.

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WARNING WARNING WARNING.

 

Hey Pards, correct me if I'm wrong, but

 

We just had a post from a Pard that had done some work on his Stoeger. He sent it in to get some repair work and it was returned to him with the barrels spray painted UNSAFE or something like that, and no repair work had been done.

 

I'm not saying "don't do it" I'm just saying that if you do any modifications, you may void your warranty and get an unpleasant surprise if you send it in for repair.

 

Yep- That's understood. I haven't done anything to it yet until I get a chance to test fire it. OK- I did take it apart already just to take a look, but I put it back together without "adjusting" anything :FlagAm: . Once I get back from the range though, she's coming apart. The auto safety will be disabled, the horrendous 14 lb front trigger pull will be smoothed, the opening lever will be lightened, the stock will be cut down, the poly finish will be removed from the stock and it will be properly oiled, a larger front bead will be installed, and the buttstock will be cut down to better fit my wife. I know that all of this will void the warranty, but I'd rather fix something myself than wait on a warranty repair anyways.

 

To be completely honest, I bought this gun because it will be a fun project. I'm not excited about the Vaqueros that I can pick up tomorrow, because there is nothing to fix on them :D .

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Allow me to ask a simple question. Why is there such a passion to disconnect the Stoeger safeties? Does this REALLY reduce stage times by any great amount? I do not see where there is any big problem to flick the safety off with the thumb as the gun is brought to the shoulder. Seems to me that the possible legal problems with a disconnected safety are greater that the imagined reduced time. Please to educate. Thanks. Nota John

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Back in the '60's and 70's I shot a lot of skeet. In those days, the most popular shotgun was the model 12 Winchester. Only the "rich" guys had the Superposed guns we all dreamed of. Anyway, the safeties were removed from the model 12's. The theory was that the gun was to be unloaded and open until you stepped to the line. If the safety wasn't there, you weren't tempted to use it. Everybody understood this and I never saw an instance where there was any danger. It sure wouldn't bother me to see a gun with no safety installed at a shoot. Everybody knows the rules and the rules are clear that all long guns are to be open before going to the unloading area. A safety serves no purpose in our game.

 

MTJ

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Allow me to ask a simple question. Why is there such a passion to disconnect the Stoeger safeties? Does this REALLY reduce stage times by any great amount? I do not see where there is any big problem to flick the safety off with the thumb as the gun is brought to the shoulder. Seems to me that the possible legal problems with a disconnected safety are greater that the imagined reduced time. Please to educate. Thanks. Nota John

 

 

Nota John,

There is no passion to disconnect the safeties, (Your words), at all. We just disconnect or remove the link or rod that automatically puts them on safety, every time the action is opened. The safeties are still fully functional, and will work as designed if put on manually.

 

As has been proven over, and over, and over, for many years, automatic safeties WILL COST YOU in time or misses, if left to automatically engage when the action is opened. Many competition guns are manufactired without any safety at all, (BT-99 Browning Trap Guns comes to mind), because it is not wanted or needed on a competition gun.

 

RBK

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Allow me to ask a simple question. Why is there such a passion to disconnect the Stoeger safeties? Does this REALLY reduce stage times by any great amount? I do not see where there is any big problem to flick the safety off with the thumb as the gun is brought to the shoulder. Seems to me that the possible legal problems with a disconnected safety are greater that the imagined reduced time. Please to educate. Thanks. Nota John

 

 

Nota John,

 

In most cases the safety is not disconnected merely made to operate manually. The effect it has on stage times is cumulative. I keep the gun mounted on my shoulder while shucking empties, reloading and closing. so let's say it takes me .05 seconds to flick off the safety. On a four shot stage the safety has to be flicked off twice so that is .1 seconds per stage in a 10 stage state match that is 1 full second, more if any of the stages have 6 or more shots. Now one second might not sound like much, but I lost the state championship in my category by .7 seconds. So if my opponent had been using a Stoeger with the auto safety and everything else had been the same I would have won.

 

This is not sour grapes on my part I'm simply using this as an example. As it was we were both using hammered SxS and he deserved the win.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Smoke

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http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php...ic,28521.0.html

 

Here is a link on how to disable the auto safety. It was so simple It took more time to take the stock off than cutting it off. It is pretty soft so a small key saw will do it without even removing it from the gun. This was the safety still works as a manual safety.

 

Remember that Stoger is prtty picky about what you do to their/your gun. You will NOT have a warranty on it anymore...(but shooting reloads also defeats their warrenty...)

 

good shootin

curley

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Update:

 

I took the Stoeger to the range on Saturday morning. What a blast- It was the hit of the pistol range! The wife and I put 25 rounds of Federal Multi-purpose (aka Walmart bulk) through her with no issues. The shells slide right out when you tip the barrel, so it doesn't look like I will need to hone the chambers. Is the Federal Multi-purpose SASS legal?

 

I ended up just disabling the automatic feature of the safety by shortening the rod. I filed the nub off of the safety switch, rounded the edges, and reblued it. The low-profile safety looks great now and does not get in the way when using the opening lever. It is still usable in manual mode.

 

I also knocked the rough edges off of the opening lever, the lock, the locking lugs, the triggers, the cocking actuators, etc. The parts were pretty rough, and smoothing them out made a big difference. I ground one coil off of the lever spring, but it is still hard to open for my wife. I don't really want to take any more off in case that I ever need to tighten it up after the locking parts wear, so I guess that I will order the Longhunter spring.

 

After getting the insides working right, I started on the stock. I cut 1" off of the buttstock and slighly changed the angle (removed the positive toe). It fits my wife better now, and I actually prefer the shorter length of pull for this type of gun. Unfortunately, since the stock buttplate is injection molded plastic, recontouring it to the cut stock exposed a cavity in the plastic mold. I filled the hole in the plastic with JB Weld and will grind it down tonight to see how it looks. I'll probably end up having to order a grind-to-fit recoil pad, but I'd prefer not to put a recoil pad on it if I can find another solution. I'm going to check my surplus rifle collection to see if I can find a steel plate that will look right on a coach gun.

 

I still plan to replace the front bead with a larger one. I'm also considering shortening the barrel to 18.5" to balance out the shorter buttstock; any thoughts/opinions on this? What's the ideal barrel length for SASS shooting?

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Update:

 

Is the Federal Multi-purpose SASS legal?

 

I'll probably end up having to order a grind-to-fit recoil pad, but I'd prefer not to put a recoil pad on it if I can find another solution.

 

I'm also considering shortening the barrel to 18.5" to balance out the shorter buttstock; any thoughts/opinions on this? What's the ideal barrel length for SASS shooting?

 

Federal bulk cheapies are legal, as long as they have #4 (some clubs #7 1/2 or #8) or smaller shot size. They will kick quite a bit harder than is required, and they have a steel base and ribs on the sides of the hulls. These last two features make them very much more likely to hang up in a double like your Stoeger, compared to what most pards shoot, which are Rem STS or Win AA target hulls (reloaded with 7/8 ounce shot). But, if you are not reloading, and those Fed's work, and you can stand the recoil, why not shoot em?!

 

You will find that a small recoil pad will be useful, especially for your wife, on days where the stages are long and due to hot weather you have a thin shirt/blouse only on top. I like a black, thin, KickEze or other "sorbathane" pad. You will never notice that it looks "out of period", but you will notice the lack of bruising on shoulders.

 

Most folks find a 22" bbl length is about right. Too short, and the barrels do not hang open very well, even after twiddling with the cocker levers and springs. More barrel also reduces recoil. Really short bbls make it hard to pick up from a vertical staging

 

Good luck, GJ

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Sounds like you are well on your way!

 

Your wife may want a good recoil pad though. :lol:

 

Cutting the barrel may be counter productive since you want a little barrel weight to help open the gun and keep it open. The weight is needed to counteract the hammer springs.

 

As to legal, if the shotgun is legal, the barrel is legal for SASS. So the minimum is 18 + inches.

 

http://marauder.homestead.com/files/Stoeger.html

 

Avoiding Miss Fires

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Thanks guys. It sounds like there is good reason to leave the barrels at 20". Can the hammer springs be lightened without causing misfires? My wife has a hard time opening it, and it seems to be from the cocking force. If already cocked, it opens easily.

 

My wife probably would prefer a recoil pad; I guess that I can go for it as long as it is thin and doesn't look bad.

 

The Fed bulk is 1 1/8 ounce of #7 1/2 shot. I think that I will keep using it since it ejects nicely, is cheap, and easier to find in my area than Win AA or Rem STS.

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Can the hammer springs be lightened without causing misfires? My wife has a hard time opening it, and it seems to be from the cocking force. If already cocked, it opens easily.

That is the classic symptom of the heavy hammer springs that the factory installs. Yes, they can be lightened, especially if you have deburred the internals well. Lighten them too much and you get misfires. It's a balancing act, and worth getting a spare set of springs and cockers to work with the first time you do one.

 

The hinge parts often need retiming, too, because as you lighten the cocking forces, you can easily put extra stress on the hinge, the forearm hanger and other parts. Nate Kiowa Jones, Goatneck Clem, Dirt Merchant, and other shotgun pros can advise you about how often a home-smithed Stoeger breaks the forearm hanger off the barrel. This is an operation that is usually best left for the pros, although lots of folks try it, and get less-than-the-best results.

 

Good luck, GJ

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  • 5 years later...

Can someone reply with a definitive answer as to whether there is a SASS RULE as to how you can disable a tang safety on a Stoeger Coach Gun. The two options that I am interested in are the disabling to make it a "manual safety" and "totally disabling" so that it cannot work. I am aware of all of the moral issues and potential legal ramifications of changing the way the manufacture's intended design, but at this point, just looking to satisfy SASS.

 

Regards and thanks,

Zeke SASS 89367

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Thanks Noah:

 

I hate asking questions that I am pretty sure I know the answers to! This was for another cowboy so wanted some backup! I was pretty sure either way was good. Thanks for the quick answer!

 

Zeke

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If you will remove the stock and manually operate the safety lever you will see a small arm at the bottom move to block you from pulling the trigger.

To disable the safety, remove the pin that holds this lever arm in place. Place the parts in a small plastic bag and store in a safe location. Your safety is now disabled.

 

If you wish the use the gun for hunting or wish to send it back, you can reinstall the lever arm and pin, returning the gun to factory configuration.

Grinding "a little" off the safety actuation rod may void your warranty and won't gain you anything in Cowboy Action shooting as we NEVER use the safety on any shotgun.

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