Pawn Shop Circuit

I took Milady's shotgun to the gunsmith today. We've had it in the storage cabinet and I took it out last week for routine cleaning and function check. It didn't function correctly. The shotgun in question is a Savage/Stevens pump shotgun in .410. Milady got it as a gift from her father in about 1965. She used it to hunt squirrels with her daddy and when we got married it was stored with all the other guns.

I noticed that the action would cycle if you pushed the action release, but if you squeezed the trigger the action remained locked. It wouldn't cycle normally until you pushed the action release. I asked her about it and she said that it "always hung-up a little bit." The gunsmith said he'd give it a good cleaning, see if he could find the problem, and fix it if possible. I trust him to do the best he can.

Then, I hit the pawnshops, seeing what's available. There are several things I'm always looking for. I didn't find any of them today. If you're in the market for a pump shotgun or a .30-06 bolt gun, the pawn shops have plenty. If you're not in the market, the pickings are slim. I am starting to see more ARs in the stores and the supply of military surplus bolt actions suprised me. I saw a US Model 1917 with a synthetic stock. And Moisin's aplenty. But, I didn't see anything on my short list.

I kept my money in my pocket and came home.