Stubborn safety switch

[FishyFolk]

I have not used my shotgun for at least 10 years. And it certainly did not see much maintenance during the years I was gone in Africa and Asia. Well, it was given oil and grease to protect it from rust etc. but that was it.

Been thinking of maybe going ptarmigan shooting in the autumn. So took out the shotgun after the kids went to bed to look it over (they don't know it's in the house for now).
And saddly the safety catch is next to completly stuck. I suspect the workings inside is completely gummed up by old grease and whatever I used to keep the stock pretty and dry...

Could I open things up myself and have a look see, or is it adviceable to leave it to a gun smith for a good make-over session?

It's a gun some of you are familiar with. A Star Bajkal mod 27, single trigger and ejector. Its a cheapie of a gun, so it won't take much of a repair cost before it's more cost effective to just get a new one, but I'd rather not have to go trough the hazzle, and the wife would go ballistic...lol

[Tony1948]

Hi Bud you could try boiling water,pore it over the safety catch,make shore its boiling so the heat will free up any guff and make the block hot enuff to dry it then reoil,hope this helps atb..........Tony.

[Dreward]

If it was working when you put it into storage 10 years ago it's a good chance it's gunked up. The components in a trigger/safety mechanism are machined to a reasonably high accuracy and so any lubricating oil inside can eventually congeal, especially after laying idle for 10 years, and cause the components to stick together. It's a similar problem in analogue watches. Seeing as it's the most Important part of the gun, the Safety switch, I'd be inclined to ask a gunsmith to give it a once over as it may only need a good cleaning of the components and reassembled.

[FishyFolk]

Thanks folks.
I managed to google how to get to the innards of the block. It was two screws, one inside the stock accessed by removing the butt cap. And the screw fixing the trigger guard in place. Once removed it was easy to pull the stock off, giving acess to the inner workings of the gun.

And man was that gunked up, with gun powder residue and oil/grease that had turned to a glue like substance. It all came off with some CRC carburator cleaner. The safety catch itself was stuck, but gave it a carefull wack with a rubber mallet using a piece of hard wood to take the force...and it came loose. Just have to go get some gun oil and grease to lube it all up, and I am ready to start skeet shooting...

...uh, ona spanner in the works. lead shot is now illegal in Norway. And I am not sure my gun is certified for steel shot (much higher pressure). Sp have to find out where that can be checked out...

[midas]

Glad you sorted the problem,Rune.Biakals are made for simple home maintanance.and are good work horses.
Secret with all gun locks is polish,oil,then wipe it off!!!Then iit doesn't mix with gases/powder residue,forming a heavy carbon deposit.Remember a "safety catch""only blocks the triggers,and it is possible for gun to discharche if dropped.
Take care!n good Hunting,Don't they also hunt Patarmigan with a small bore rifle.seem to remember my host poting a few in Norway a few years ago!!
PS.Baikals are built like tanks.and as long as your not firing your steel shot out of anything over half choke you should be ok.
And no one shoots skeet with choked guns.BISMATH is the other alternative .but uber expensive.
Are you not even allowed to shoot clays/skeet with lead shot.??????

[Silverback]

Hey Rune....good skills... army days paid off eh ?

[Tony1948]

Glad you sorted it out Rune,as said steel shot should'ant damage a Biakal Bud.

[FishyFolk]

Glad you sorted the problem,Rune.Biakals are made for simple home maintanance.and are good work horses.
Secret with all gun locks is polish,oil,then wipe it off!!!Then iit doesn't mix with gases/powder residue,forming a heavy carbon deposit.Remember a "safety catch""only blocks the triggers,and it is possible for gun to discharche if dropped.
Take care!n good Hunting,Don't they also hunt Patarmigan with a small bore rifle.seem to remember my host poting a few in Norway a few years ago!!
PS.Baikals are built like tanks.and as long as your not firing your steel shot out of anything over half choke you should be ok.
And no one shoots skeet with choked guns.BISMATH is the other alternative .but uber expensive.
Are you not even allowed to shoot clays/skeet with lead shot.??????

Lead shot is totally forbidden to use, own, import and export under any circumstance in Norway for environmental reasons since 2005. But there is hope, as it looks like common sense is prevailing and the law may be repealed...but most likely lead shot will still be banned on shooting ranges...we'll see.

My gun is so old school it has fixed chokes. Probably 1/2 and 1/1. I can't remember and cant find any marking on the gun to tell me how it is choked. Back when I was hunting, we shot skeet with whatever gun we had. So most everyone but those that only shot skeet did so with choked guns here.

Back to the steel problem. My gun is not certified for steel shot. and the alternatives cost a fortune...will probably have to resort to tin/zinc shot to get some training in...
Bismuth or wolfram shot cost about the same as a small car per shot...

Else yeah, Sapper. But the mechanism on the shot gun is far more complicated than on the MG-3, AG-3 and Glock-17 that I was trained on. So aint touching the stuff. Just spray it all with de-gunker, oiling it and wiping clean + aplying grease to a couple of parts.

[FishyFolk]

Hunting ptarmigan with small bore rifles. Yes we do. Ususally with a .22LR with a scope and a silencer. I own a Toz 17 that I used for that for winter hunting on skis.
But mostly it was used for duck hunting...when the ducks where far out on the lake.

The lake we used to hunt at had good back cover in the form of a hill. So we fired a shot with the .22 over the ducks. they took off, flew in a circle and landed again. When they did, it was often right over head, so w could take them out with the shot guns, lol

I guess we could get in massive trouble for that these days....

[midas]

Thanks for the info Rune.Officaldom making life difficult for the hunter.our associations are fighting so we do not adopt the euro way.Though when shooting wild fowl,n over water,or ground with a special perpose we cannot use lead.But luckly for all other shooting we are ok for now.(Fingers crossed.)Good hunting,Hope you find a solution.Be it borrow another gun,or take a hacksaw to the last few inch's of your barrels,removing the chokes.I'm sure the market has been ruined for old guns n family heirlooms when the ban came in.