The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Don't worry about the lever spring. The sear springs kinda help in opening. The hammer springs is the most important. Along with working the hammer cocking rods over. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 On 1/21/2024 at 7:53 PM, Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 said: … if you take off the spring tension. I did it by drilling a hole in a small block of hardwood, large enough for the cylindrical nut to pass through, but small enough so that the rear spring collar does not…. I adapted your idea to a spray can lid. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Nice improv. OLG is right about the other springs, but the lever spring and plunger are super easy to replace. I don't have the opened action in front of me, so forgive me for doing this purely by memory. On the right side of the receiver, you will see the end of a solid pin that goes in at an angle. That pin captures the plunger and lever spring in their channel. You push out the pin and, if you are not paying attention, the lever spring goes flying into Never Never Found Again Land. The plunger is under the spring, as it is the plunger that makes contact with the lever's vertical shaft, not the spring itself. The plunger may or may not fall out with the spring, but if not it is easy to get out with a light rap on the receiver. When you reassemble it, you just need to get the spring past the passageway for the pin, and push the pin back in to prevent the spring from flying away again. I REALLY APOLOGIZE if I am not remembering this correctly, but I'm not taking my gun apart to check!! The sear springs are easy to swap, too, if a bit fiddly and fidgety. You just need to have patience. A small pick with a curved end helps too. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 (edited) 17 hours ago, Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 said: …the lever spring and plunger are super easy to replace. I don't have the opened action in front of me, so forgive me for doing this purely by memory. On the right side of the receiver, you will see the end of a solid pin that goes in at an angle….. This one? Edited February 6 by Matthew Duncan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 yes, that's the one 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 (edited) Final Report. The replacement Lever, Hammer and Sear Springs I bought from Shotgun Boogie Gun Works. I replaced all five OEM springs with the SBGW springs. The only problem I had was after I replaced the Lever Spring, the action would not open (note test first before reassembling the side plates and stock). Reinstalled the the OEM spring with the SBGW Top Lever Spring Plunger, the action still would not open. ?!?! Reinstall SBGW spring with the OEM Top Lever Spring Plunger, reassembled the side plates and butt stock and (insert drum roll) the action now opens as it should! Final test. Took the CZ to the fire range today. I shot 40 shells of Winchester Universal Heavy Lead Load (steel base) and 10 shells of Winchester AA light target loads (brass base). Ran 50 shells though it and they all went bang! I was really surprised the brass base AND ESPECIALLY the steel base empties shucked out of the OEM chambers! The barrel selector on the safety started to chew into my thumb. I solved that problem by moving the barrel selector from the left to the right barrel. Before changing the springs it took both of my hands and a knee to open the action. After changing the springs it takes two hands with a little effort. I'll use the CZ for this year's SASS season to break it in before considering messing with the Hammer Spring Pins. The nuts on the end of the Hammer Spring Pins were staked. Bits of leather in the jaws of the pilers (to prevent chewing up the pins and nuts) got the nuts "unpinned". Reused the leather and pliers to reassemble otherwise the assembly would be longer then OEM. Right thumb pushes the Top Lever open. Left hand pushes the barrels downward with a stiff right wrist. Left hand heads to the shotgun shell belt as the right wrist shucks the empties out. Left hand pushes up on the barrels to close the action. BOOM. BOOM. I can't close the action with just the flick of right wrist like I can on my TTN. Time will tell. Edited February 7 by Matthew Duncan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Have you polished all of the mating metal surfaces? Particularly nasty and in need of polishing are the two shafts of the extractor and their channels, and the cocking rods and their channels. AND all mating surfaces of the barrel hinge mechanism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 said: Have you polished all of the mating metal surfaces? Particularly nasty and in need of polishing are the two shafts of the extractor and their channels, and the cocking rods and their channels. AND all mating surfaces of the barrel hinge mechanism. Yes on the extractor shafts. No on the rest. I’ll see where the wear marks are after using this SASS season. I’m chickening out by quitting while I’m ahead on this project…polishing the cocking rods…hmmm. Thank you very much in taking your time posting your excellent advice. Edited February 8 by Matthew Duncan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 25 minutes ago, Matthew Duncan said: Yes on the extractor shafts. No on the rest. I’ll see where the wear marks are after using this SASS season. I’m chickening out by quitting while I’m ahead on this project…polishing the cocking rods…hmmm. Thank you very much in taking your time posting your excellent advice. Did you shorten the hammer cocking rods at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 1 minute ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: Did you shorten the hammer cocking rods at all? No. Quit while I was ahead. I’ll see how it shoots this year. Perhaps I’ll get my courage up by next winter to work on the rods. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lead Monger Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Thank you Nostrum Damus and Matthew Duncan for a great step by step and follow up on slicking up the Sharptail. I picked up a Sharptail coach gun yesterday and having Shotgun Boogies spring pack in hand began working on it that evening. Today I completed installing all five springs and polishing the cocking rods and bores. I did take 0.005” off of the right cocking rod and then spent an hour stretching the rod to get half of that back. Oops! Took 0.002” off the left rod. I did notice when first disassembled, one hammer spring rod was short enough to prevent the hammer from resting on the receiver hall under force. The other hammer spring rod with slightly longer barrel nut adjustment allowed the hammer to press on the receiver wall. Interesting! At this point it is time to test the receiver for operation so I’ll run a few boxes of shells through it before working on the chambers and extractor. supposed to be above zero next week. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 15 hours ago, Matthew Duncan said: No. Quit while I was ahead. I’ll see how it shoots this year. Perhaps I’ll get my courage up by next winter to work on the rods. Take a look at the mating surfaces of the barrel hinge mechanism -- there will already be lots of wear marks if your gun is like mine was when new. It is a very tight fit and absolutely needs to be polished. Use a buffing tip on your Dremel and go slow, and start with very fine grit if you are afraid of taking off too much metal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Just to be clearer, you first use the abrasive pad I showed a picture of, like you would any sand paper. Start with 240 or 320 grit, go carefully, and work your way up to 800 or 1200 grit. Then, use a soft cotton polishing tip with jeweler's polish for the finishing touch. You will be amazed at how much you've reduced the friction of the gun hinge breaking open and closing. Best part, this takes only a few minutes to do. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgavin Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 My brand new Stoeger was also difficult to break open. I took it to the range, and it broke the barrel hinge lug which destroyed my gun. IMO, if it is difficult to open, then something is too tight and subject to a lot of stress and potential breakage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOODFOX , sass#34179 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I have a Long Hunter tuned Sharptail bought in Aug. 22 shot it in about 4 stages and couldn't get used to it (I'm a 87 shooter) I've probably shot about 200 rounds through it and it's still stiff to open . Would the Shotgun Boogie springs make it any better ? I do store it cocked . not ready to give up on it I like sxs's just wondering if it would be worth it to change springs . Lots of info on this thread . Thanks Woodfox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 5 hours ago, WOODFOX , sass#34179 said: I have a Long Hunter tuned Sharptail bought in Aug. 22 shot it in about 4 stages and couldn't get used to it (I'm a 87 shooter) I've probably shot about 200 rounds through it and it's still stiff to open . Would the Shotgun Boogie springs make it any better ? I do store it cocked . not ready to give up on it I like sxs's just wondering if it would be worth it to change springs . Lots of info on this thread . Thanks Woodfox Have you lubed the bbl pivot and cocking rod tabs where the forearm attaches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 On 2/12/2024 at 10:10 AM, bgavin said: My brand new Stoeger was also difficult to break open. I took it to the range, and it broke the barrel hinge lug which destroyed my gun. IMO, if it is difficult to open, then something is too tight and subject to a lot of stress and potential breakage. The Stoeger doesn't have the same reputation for "stiff" that a new CZ Sharp Tail does. The CZ is built like a tank and once you do what you need to do to make it a useful SASS SxS, it is a joy to shoot and durable -- at least I've not heard of anyone breaking one in use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 12 hours ago, Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 said: The Stoeger doesn't have the same reputation for "stiff" that a new CZ Sharp Tail does. The CZ is built like a tank and once you do what you need to do to make it a useful SASS SxS, it is a joy to shoot and durable -- at least I've not heard of anyone breaking one in use. Many of us, can break a steel ball in a padded room 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOODFOX , sass#34179 Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 18 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: Have you lubed the bbl pivot and cocking rod tabs where the forearm attaches? It did lube that area some but I didn't shoot it at all last year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 1 hour ago, WOODFOX , sass#34179 said: It did lube that area some but I didn't shoot it at all last year Use a dab of synthetic grease Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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