16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 380 Location: Northeast Ohio

Was there ever such a thing as a 27 1/2 inch barrel? I took the barrel off of one I have a mild interest in and measured it from the beginning of the chamber to the muzzle and it was 27 1/2 exactly. Could the barrel have been shortened or is this a true factory length? It is a plain barrel with the matting. There is no matting forward of the front site so I think it is the original length. The serial # looks like this: OS 44980

Any idea what year it was made?

Thanks.

Member Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 451 Location: La-Tx

1960 with 28" un-cut barrel.

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

grouse,

As A5 noted your barrel is uncut.

These barrels were made to even lengths in metric measurements. Though it measures 27 1/2" it would have been marketed as a 28" barrel.

It is as it should be.

Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 380 Location: Northeast Ohio

Thanks for the information. This particular gun is pretty beat up but sure balances well. I've had a nostalgic interest in the sweet 16 since I walked away from one at the px at Camp LeJune in 1969. At that time I left it in the rack and bought a different (but still nice) gun with a little savings from my meager LCpl pay. Someday I'll own a real nice specimen, but untill then a shooter will be fine if I happen upon one. Eventually, when my retirement buy out is due and kid's tuition loans are all paid up, I'm going to seek an approximately 1953 era version per Jeff's reccomendation. By the way, what's the advantage of the "two piece lifter"? I wouldn't know a two piece lifter from a widget, even if it reached up and bit me. In fact, I'm not even sure what the lifter is! I just know that if I'm going to eventually have this toy for myself, I'm going to seek the more or less premier version that Jeff feels were the best of the breed.

My wife already has instructions to offer my 16's here if ever (whenever) my season is over if there are no grandkids interested. I started late so the grand kid option very well could not happen.

Member Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 398 Location: S Fl

GG,
The lifter is the silver colored part that must be pushed up when loading shells into the mag.

The 2 piece lifter is the result of Val Browning's design to incorporate speed loading into the A5.

With SL, with the bolt open and the gun empty, simply thumb a round up into the mag and PRESTO, it will be wisked into the chamber and the bolt will close on it.
No need to press the button on the receiver.

As to identifying a one vs two piece lifter, a picture is worth 100 words but I'll give it a shot Wink

.

If you push up the muzzle end of the lifter, and can still see an L shaped silver colored part at the rear of the loading port, then it's a two piece.

Enjoy,
Pete

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

In addition to speed loading the first round you can feed loads into the mag tube without having to use the action release button to release the lifter to be able to access the mag tube.

It's just a convenience item but a nice one.

Jeff

Joined: 02 Jun 2007 Posts: 99 Location: Jacksonville, FL

Jeff - what made the '53 era Sweets so special?

Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 596 Location: 17603

gg,
You'll find with a metric tape that your barrel will be 700mm. The next length up will be 750mm, or 29 1/2 inches, commonly referred to as a "30 inch barrel".
Belgian, doncha' know, {:o).
For those that have ever worked with metric, it's a much more precise and more accurate system of measurement. Takes a bit of getting used to, but after years in Au doing all kinds of restoration and renovations, there's good reason for most of the world to be working in metric.
Cheers,
R*2

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2349 Location: West MI

For those that have ever worked with metric, it's a much more precise and more accurate system of measurement. Takes a bit of.........

OK, I'll stir the pot, just for some fun, can't hunt for a little while.

"More Precise and More Acurate"?!! UH...Hmmmm?!! Wouldn't this boil down to the indian and not the arrow? or measuring tape in this case?

Hope this doesn't Russ11 up too many feathers. Rolling Eyes

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

flat,

The post war guns showed high quality as a lot of the machine tools were replaced right after the war.

In addition the cross block safety came out in '51 and the two piece lifter in '53 and these are about the only mechanical improvments made in the 100 years of production.

Finally, the blue was changed from rust blue to caustic blue (looks like patent leather) and the wood finish from hand rubbed varnish/oil to Fullerplast (looks like a bowling pin finish) in the early 60's.

So for tight tolerances and the nicest finishes I like the early post war guns and for mechanical conveniencesI like '53 and after.

Jeff

Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 185 Location: Boulder,Colorado

Grouse gunner: I just sentyou a PM

Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 596 Location: 17603

Hope this doesn't Russ11 up too many feathers. :roll:[/quote]

Putz,
Nah, np. Just that if you're measuring with a tape, working to a millimeter is much tighter tolerance than even a 1/16", and have you ever tried to work out how to equally divide 3' 7 3/8" into 4 equal spacings? Dunno' about you, but I got 10 fingers, not 12 feet. {;o)
R*2

Member Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 451 Location: La-Tx

The metric system is not more accurate than the inch system. Accuracy in machining comes from the quality of the equipment and skill of the human using it. Just because one system may make the actual doing of math problems easier for some people does not make it more accurate.

Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 596 Location: 17603