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by tomo577:

re: bear action

this is a very unique action that was developed about the 20's when there was intense competition in the german gun trade to come up with something new that would scoop the market.

the large ovals are actually part of the locking system...... and they are soldered onto the outside of the frame. they have a curved cut inside that receives a matching curved piece on the sides of the barrel breech. apparently it was a new way to control side to side movement. also acts like a hercules reinforcement clamshell action.

bear must have tried hard to market his products. this one is marked "frank" indicating it was sold by them, not bear. i had owned 2 bear shotguns - one a double marked bear - the other a single bbl trap gun that was engraved and sold by some company in new england !!!
the double was top lever, the single bbl trap was a snap action underlever.

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