Model 1889 - A Little Help Please

Topics related to Pre - 1898 Remington Shotguns
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John Hutterer
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2017 9:15 pm

Model 1889 - A Little Help Please

Post by John Hutterer »

Hello,

I recently purchased what I think is a model 1889, 10 gage. exposed hammer, double barrel shotgun. I bought it, sight-unseen, from an on-line auction house. Maybe not the smartest thing that I have ever done, but probably not the dumbest, either. I figured that, if it was shoot-able, I would have a functional shotgun; and if it wasn't, it would be a great wall-hanger. Anyway, when I got it home, I checked to make sure that it would function. The left barrel is fine - the hammer cocks, and the trigger releases it. The right barrel is a different story. The hammer will cock, but the trigger won't release it. I thought that I could take the side plates off, find the problem with the release, clean the interior, and put it all back together. Also, the stock is broken in the area around the action. Yeah, it needs some work, so what else is new?

I have removed every screw that I can find, and the side plates will still not come off. I noticed in another post that one guy said that there should be a screw underneath one of the hammers. No such screw exists on my gun. It appears to be pinned together, and at least some of the pins seemed to be peened over.

I can see what looks like the transition from the chambers to the actual barrels when I look through the breech end. However, I have tried using the "tail" tang from a digital caliper to measure the depth of the actual chamber, and I can't get a good feel for the point at which the chamber ends, and the barrel begins. It seems to me that there ought to be a fairly noticeable "ridge" at this point, or am I mistaken. The best estimate that I can come up with for chamber depth is 2 5/8". Is that reasonable?

I have looked all over the gun and here is what I was able to find. It says "Remington Arms Co." on both sides of the action, and I think that is what is stamped into the flat between the barrels, but that is checkered (knurled?) and hard to read. In the area that would be covered by, and below, the barrels, when the action is closed, there are the numbers "2", "80207", "63", and three lines spaced closely together. The underside of each barrel has the number "2" stamped on it, with a "+" sign below the number. There is also a small letter "p" stamped into the underside of the barrels near the lug that is latched to secure the barrels in the closed position.

I have used the drawing that was produced by Remington, showing the various hammers, and the hammer from my gun fits perfectly over the drawing of the 1889 hammer, so I assume that is what it is.

Can anyone provide me with some advice in getting the side covers off? If I'm really careful, I think that I can keep from having parts go flying everywhere. I would really like to clean out the mechanism, get the trigger to release properly, and repair the stock.

I think that the gun has Damascus barrels, but I'm not sure. I've read the notes that say the some of these guns were made with a process that produced a "fake" Damascus image in the steel, and I'd like to know what kind of barrels I have.

Is there a way to up-load photos to this bulletin board? I'd be happy to do so, but I can't find any instructions on how to go about it.

I may come up with more questions, as this project proceeds, but this ought to do it for now. Thanks in advance for your help.

John
2shooter
Posts: 228
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2007 5:42 pm
Location: ohio

Re: Model 1889 - A Little Help Please

Post by 2shooter »

John Call me I can help you and you are going to need some parts you are missing. 330-669-2138.don't force it you will break it. There is only one screw that holds the lock plate in place. You said something about a pin peen over if that is in the side plate its got to come out if you drill one end it will push out the other side do not drill very deep and use under size bit or you will ruin the side plate. The chamber length for Model 1889 in 10ga. is 2 7/8 in.
Last edited by 2shooter on Mon Oct 23, 2017 3:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
dieNusse1
Posts: 400
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2013 5:12 pm
Location: Mishawaka, IN

Re: Model 1889 - A Little Help Please

Post by dieNusse1 »

Welcome to the club.

First with respect to the chamber length - I don't recall what it is for a 10 Ga but Remington usually had a 2 5/8" length for 12 Ga. There should not be a "ridge" but rather there is a smooth transition from the chamber to the forcing cone and then another smooth transition to the barrel.

According to the S/N (80207) your '89 left the factory in 1897. In addition, the '89 is the only hammer gun that has Remington Arms Co. stamped on the lock plates.

Remington did not provide fake Damascus barrels. If you look at the water table just to left of the S/N there should be a 1, 2 or 3 stamped. The '89 was offered in three off-the-shelf grades. #1 has decarbonized steel barrels, #2 (better) has twist steel barrels and #3 (best) has Damascus steel barrels. All grades were guaranteed for nitro (smokeless) powders. In addition to the barrel material the wood quality improved a bit as the grade increased. Grades 4 - 7 were special order only.

As to lock removal -- the screw head is covered by the left hammer. You need to cock or remove the left hammer which will expose the screw head. Unscrew that and both locks will come free.
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