I've posted this same entry on a few other gun forums hoping for suggestions to lead me in the right direction. I may take the gun to a gunsmith after all, but I'd like to try to fix it myself if possible...I value the learning experience.
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I've inherited my grandfather's old 12 gauge that he used to hunt quail with.
It's a J.C. Higgins #20.
We've taken it out to shoot clay pigeons a couple of times and it worked great. Recently, the trigger has failed to reset. Racking the shotgun (using the action release) does not reset the trigger. Trying to manually pull the trigger forward does not....it won't budge.
I disassembled the entire internal assembly, cleaned it inside and out (very thoroughly), and reassembled it. The trigger won't budge. Nothing "appears" broken or bent, but the trigger just stays locked back all the time.
I would really like to get this gun operational for use as a pigeon-shooter and a possible loaner gun for SHTF.
Any thoughts? Thanks.