Sport II Forend Cap Self-Destructs

[Lazarus]

Working out the "little bugs" in the Sport II. The forend cap on this Sport II literally shaves metal filings from the magazine bolt, forend and forend cap. Since it has to be taken off for gun cleaning I can see that I'll be replacing these parts quite often unless I can re-design the cap a little. Part of the problem is the click stop device that is supposed to keep the cap from unscrewing. It is cutting away at the metal cap and the threads in the mag tube are also wearing away after just a few disassemblies. Perhaps there is a forend cap from another model that will work better....suggestions?

-Lazarus

[Geno]

Lazerus, sounds like you got a lemon. I realize these guns take a bit of time to season but if you continue to discover these little problems, I'd be losing confidence in this particular shotgun. You'll need to bring a back-up gun wherever you go to shoot!

[Lazarus]

The forend cap on the Sport II is designed to look rakish, but with the massive spring you must compress, it is not designed correctly to allow a good purchase on the cap. Initial improvements:

Remove forend. Gently snap out the front plastic ring that contains the detent spring and plunger. Unscrew the detent retaining plug, chuck the detent plunger in a drill press or drill. While spinning the detent, use 220 wet/dry paper to recontour the sharp point to a much larger ball point. Finish smooth with 600 paper while still spinning the detent. Either install a lighter detent spring, or turn down the original to about 1/2 its former weight. Apply choke tube lube to the bottom of the forend cap and mag tube threads. Next I think we have to replace the forend cap with the standard round one from an SBE model.

-Lazarus