If you have had a shotgun that has worked perfectly well for years but is no longer doing so, you will be bound to ask whether it is time to have it deactivated and replaced, or if you can actually get it fixed and made good as new.
There are a few questions you might reasonably ask to start with. The hardest one is whether it is you. If you are missing the target, it could be due to your eyesight or physical strength declining. So it’s worth establishing if that is the issue.
However, there is a pretty good chance it’s the gun that has a problem. This is not likely to be a problem of age; maintained well, a shotgun can work well for decades or even centuries. The key, therefore, is to make sure your gun is looked after. This may prevent problems from occurring in the first place.
However, when issues do arise the question will need to be asked about whether the gun can be fixed with a few repairs or parts replacements, or whether it needs to be deactivated.
Shotgun care can be as basic as stripping it after use, then drying and gently cleaning it, removing dirt and drying out any moisture inside. However, this needs to be limited as excessive polishing can wear down its working parts and can cause damage.
Common problems include loose or dented barrels, loose barrel ribs, damaged springs, or cracks. In some cases, these can be costly to repair if the damage is bad, on other occasions less so. But an experienced gunsmith can be needed to help repair them.
However, if the cost of repair is too high, or there is too much to fix, you might decide it is time to have the gun deactivated. That has to be carried out by a licensed gunsmith and means the weapon is no longer capable of firing a bullet or cartridge.
That will ensure the weapon is safe to perhaps have a new life as a display item while you invest in a new shotgun. The old one might be put in a museum, or displayed at home or in another building.
Many people will remember the comedy film Shaun of the Dead, in which the eponymous hero’s response to everything, even a Zombie apocalypse, is to go down to the Winchester pub and “wait for everything to blow over”. The pub took its name from the Winchester rifle above the bar which, it turned out, was still loaded and capable of being fired.
While that made for an amusing plot twist, in reality, such a scenario would be no more plausible than the zombies. A gun like that would have had the ammunition removed and also would have been deactivated to ensure any trouble taking place in the pub would not lead to it being used in anger.
It may come as a great disappointment if a damaged gun cannot be fixed or if repairs are prohibitively expensive, but if you do have to replace your weapon or simply want to stop using a shotgun at all, it is important to make sure it is rendered safe in the best possible way.