Stoeger SxS Tuning Question

[Taos]

Working on my Buckaroo Grandsons Stoeger SxS, his back up gun.    The top lever has a very long travel, makes it hard for small hands to get the barrels open.  The gun has two barrel locking lugs.  The first lug disengages easily and with little top lever movement.  The 2nd lug however disengages only when the top lever is pushed all the way to the end of it's travel.

My question is:  Can the second lug be worked on so that it disengages sooner?   

And if so, do I shorten the lug or the catch on the barrel the lug engages?  

 

Thanks

[Shooting Bull]

If it were me I wouldn't mess with a firearm's locking mechanism in the way you described.  In this case I'd bend the top lever the max allowable under SASS rules to hopefully put it into a better position for him to operate. 

[The Surgeon]

I agree with Bull. My lever is bent so I don't have to push it as far before the barrels open. stoegers are notorious for poor fit on the lugs already. and with light springs tend to open themselves if the lugs are not fitted properly.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Try a lighter lever spring

[Eyesa Horg]

I also would be very hesitant to start removing metal from the locking mechanism. With that said,if I were to, I'd do the latch as it can be replaced. The barrel, not so much!

[Taos]

Thanks guys. 

It's not the top lever spring, and the lever is bent to assist opening.  The problem is the top lever needs to pushed over probably something like 50 degrees before the second latch releases.   20 to 25 degrees would be more like it.  

I've removed metal from guns before to make them operate smoother/quicker.  Last shotgun I worked on was grandson's main match shotgun, a Yildiz.   Had to take some metal off the hammer cocking mechanism to get it to open further.    I've taken quite a bit of metal off my 45/70 single shot rifle.  I've taken metal off my Colt replicas.  None of those guns were messed with by me without first asking a few questions.   I've taken pounds (LOL) of metal off my 03a3, 30.06 which I sporterized.   

So, not afraid of taking off metal.  Was just wondering if someone who has done this before might have a little insight to share.   

Most of the time metal off can be welded back on if I screw up.  

 

Thanks

 

Edited March 12 by Taos

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Take a look at the sliding bar in the barrel locking section.  Two cross bars there, one engages the front and the other the back lug on the barrel.  Remove some metal from the front edge of the bar that "lets go" of it's barrel lug last - that is the one causing the long travel.

 

Go slow, maybe three steps of removing metal and reassembly and test firing it each time with a factory level load.  You don't want to see the action opening after a round is shot.   Don't taper the top or bottom of the lock slide - that would just encourage recoil to auto-open the sliding lock.

 

Realize that Stoeger will not factory repair the gun after you have done serious modification to it.  Not that Stoeger/Boito ever does much work on their guns anyway, though.   With a bent top lever and lightened spring, sounds like that horse is already out of the barn.

 

good luck, GJ

[watab kid]

i just checked my stoeger coach , its basicly stock , my GS over road the auto safety and smoothed the action a little but otherwise its as it came - my lever moves 25-30 degrees max , id have it looked at by someone that knows if it were me 

[Taos]

Thanks Garrison Joe.   That's exactly what I was thinking.  Maybe I just needed a little encouragement?   I would have tried it anyway.

I know all too well about "taking a little off", put it all back together, try it.  Repeat, repeat, repeat.  

 

Thanks watab kid for the measurement, that gives me some sort of ball park to aim at.

 

Had a Yildiz 20ga once that would sometimes open with recoil.  The opposite problem this Stoeger has.  Had to add a little metal to the lock on the barrel, then shave it off a few thousands at a time.  I could simulate recoil by knocking downward on the end of the barrel with a mallet.  Of course I went too far with removing metal and had to weld again, but then I had a good measurement on where it needed to be.  Gun worked like a champ from then on.  I sold it later, and I hope it's still holding up.  

[Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L]

Stoegers are notorious for blowing open after the first shot. There are ways to fix that, but what you are proposing is a way to make blowing open a bigger possibility.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

The poster has already established HIS Stoeger has way more lever travel required to open it than normal..  If he just takes the travel (opening angle) back to what the factory standard angle is, and still has lots of engagement, he may have no problem with it opening on recoil.   Any of this work is risky, yes, but the OP has already shown us that he has the metal working skills to understand and fix the lock opening problem should it occur. And that he knows how to test for tendencies of the action to open on firing.

 

This is not something I would recommend for a first-time tuner to attempt.

 

My GUESS is that the factory did not properly fit the sliding lock engagement properly when they built it  (leaving too much metal engagement).

 

good luck, GJ

[watab kid]

12 hours ago, Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L said:

Stoegers are notorious for blowing open after the first shot. There are ways to fix that, but what you are proposing is a way to make blowing open a bigger possibility.

mine has done that and i had it in to fix it , im not going to recommend messing with any of the locking mechanism , its real uncomfortable when it blows open upon the first shot , mine no longer does it but if it ever does ill be taking it in again 

[Beaver]

The locking bolts can be worked over to solve both issues that you are describing. However this takes presice work and understanding of both of the issues. Do not do any work on the lugs or you will make the issue bigger. If you are not comfortable with this work I suggest sending it out to those who can solve both of these issues for you. 

[Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L]

On 3/14/2024 at 1:13 PM, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

The poster has already established HIS Stoeger has way more lever travel required to open it than normal..  If he just takes the travel (opening angle) back to what the factory standard angle is, and still has lots of engagement, he may have no problem with it opening on recoil.   Any of this work is risky, yes, but the OP has already shown us that he has the metal working skills to understand and fix the lock opening problem should it occur. And that he knows how to test for tendencies of the action to open on firing.

 

This is not something I would recommend for a first-time tuner to attempt.

 

My GUESS is that the factory did not properly fit the sliding lock engagement properly when they built it  (leaving too much metal engagement).

 

good luck, GJ

Stoeger makes the parts and assembles them, apparently, without any fitting. I find different parts not fit well in almost every Stoeger that i handle 

J.M.

Edited March 18 by Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

When you don't standardize parts machining to a well documented blueprint, holding tight tolerances in parts, as Eli Whitney developed back about 1845, then you have to do some part swapping and hand fitting just to get the parts into the gun during factory assembly.   Brazilian and Pakistani firearms illustrate this manufacturing nightmare very often.  Chinese guns used to have this nature, too.  To our detriment, they at least learned a Whitney approach.

 

good luck, GJ