Got another gill-gun (Springfield 87A)

[Catt57]

Maybe next summer I'll dig out and sell some of these. I got 20-30 disassembled around here in a storage container.
I'm never going to do anything with them.
I got thousands of gun parts from 20+ years in the gunsmithing biz I need to get off my butt and sell.

I could always use a few boxes of spare parts for these..
In fact I'm looking for a cheap front sight for one of them. And the sideplate scope mount for another.

 

[Mack45]

I had to google "gill gun". Very cool, I had never heard of one before. Do they fire from open bolt?

 

[Catt57]

I had to google "gill gun". Very cool, I had never heard of one before. Do they fire from open bolt?

No, not open bolt. There is a bolt and a hammer. But instead of the hammer hitting the firing pin, the pin locks into a notch and groove in the hammer and is just driven home by the hammer via a matching groove in the bolt.

It is a very unique action.

Check out my post here to see a video of these in action.
https://www.okshooters.com/threads/savage-stevens-click-clacks-gill-guns.215922/

 

[Mack45]

Thanks for the video. I see (hear) where they get the click-clack nickname from too.

 

[gfercaks33]

Where do you find them? I recently read the 87a has a tendency to go full auto, how does one fix that? I’ve seen you post about these and now I’m interested.

 

[Catt57]

Pawn shops, Armslist, etc. I've never had one try to go full auto. Can't say that I've ever heard of that issue.

 

[rawhide]

The first gun that was really my own was an 87A that I still have. Given to me along with 3 other guns after a family friend's house fire. I was able to save 3 of the 4. Haven't fired the 87 in at least 20 years but shot thousands of rounds through it as a kid and will never part with it. Too many great memories tied to that rifle.

 

[Skyking90]

Unrelated but since you seem to be into these...my great grandpa had one of these he kept behind the door of the mud room. After he passed, the house was passed on to my grandparents and then purchased by my parents, and the rifle stayed there the whole time. Went to shoot it last year and it got stuck open, so I took it home and it needed a thorough cleaning from sitting behind the door for decades. Dried lube/dust, what have you made a mess in there. When I took the stock off, he had the receipt between the barrel and barrel channel of the stock from when he bought it. I thought that was kind of cool.

I went to the house this weekend to check on a few things for my dad and noticed the original owners "manual" is sitting in the cabinet still, about 2 feet from the door it has always lived.

I know this is a long shot but would you be willing to copy the manual I would be willing to pay

 

[RAD501]

I could always use a few boxes of spare parts for these..
In fact I'm looking for a cheap front sight for one of them. And the sideplate scope mount for another.

I ran across this thread while trying to locate a lifter mechanism for a Springfield J. Stevens 87A I inherited from my grandfather years ago. After leaving it the gun cabinet all these years I pulled it out and started going through it, as I vaguely remember that it wouldn’t feed. I do remember hunting with it as a young boy a few times and it was a much, much better shot than my Marlin, even while having to compensate for the missing rear sight step. How’s that for a bit of nostalgia.

Turns out that it is missing the lifter, it’s pin and washers and spring, from what I can tell. Looking at the diagram and parts list on the Numrich site, the 87A apparently has two variants of lifters - “new style” and “old style(spring style).” Mine apparently takes the old style, as my magazine guide does not have a cutout for the tip of the new style lifter to pass through as it lifts the shell.

The Numrich folks show to have those in stock, so I’ll be ordering the parts. If you have any advice on the orientation of the old style lifter I’d appreciate it. It’s hard to tell from the parts diagram.

 

[HoLeChit]

Where do you find them? I recently read the 87a has a tendency to go full auto, how does one fix that? I’ve seen you post about these and now I’m interested.

Big boys guns has a couple. According to @Catt57 none of them are really a steal. Worth going and picking up to get a feel though.