A side by side whose barrels are not “on face”. What is that, how serious is it and how expensive to fix?

A SxS (or an O/U for that matter) that is "off face" no longer locks up tightly...the rear face of the chambers are not snug against the face of the standing breech when the action is closed. This can be observed by grasping the wrist of the stock in one hand, the forend in the other and feeling for movement between the barrels and the action.

If the looseness is due to a worn hinge pin, rotating the pin 180 degrees may solve the issue. A competent gunsmith should be able to do that very reasonably.

Mark

Hey Mark thanks for the information. I may take a chance on buying it and hoping it’s repairable.

Rodney

MidwayUSA has a couple of good videos on how to make the repair yourself....

Awesome SnakeWrangler, I’ll check those out.

Don’t, just don’t. Generally, a double gun that is off-face means the barrels are loose on the breach face of the action, which when held up to light you can see a gap between. This is typically easily identified by removing the forend, holding the barrels, and shaking back and forth to feel if there is any movement/rattling. This isnt 100% though as a gun can feel like it locks up tight, has no give, but can be off-face. Many things can cause this, most notably a improper job of tightening up or questionable seller.

The reason I say don’t fix this issue yourself is I’ve seen more improper repairs than proper, and even most trained gunsmiths can’t/won’t do it right. For a proper repair budget $500-$800 if the current hinge pin can’t be turned 180 degrees.