[ArmedBear]

I have a bunch of Remington hulls I've shot in a Browning BT-99 then reloaded a couple times. I use a Mec Sizemaster, so in theory at least, the bases should be resized, though I haven't checked them.

They jam about half the time in my 870 Express, which feeds great normally.

Does firing these hulls in the Browning break-action chamber enlarge them enough to make them too tight in a Remington pump gun? Can the plastic be resized?

Or should I be looking at other things, like the crimp?

Do I need to keep my reload hulls shotgun-specific (i.e. only reload hulls from the Remington for use in the Remington)?

Thanks to anyone who knows about this!

[TrapperReady]

Where do they seem to be hanging up? Is it when the brass is going into the chamber, or further forward on the shell? I've had issues a couple times where the plastic portion of the hull bulges out ever-so-slightly and makes it difficult to chamber. It could also be that the sizing collet might need to be brought in a hair.

Also, have you recently cleaned the chamber of the 870?

[ArmedBear]

I keep the 870's barrel semi-clean all the time, wiping it after I shoot it, but I can do a deep cleaning. It could be that the gummed-up oil in it held fouling in the chamber.

I did notice a slight bulge in the plastic just above the brass. There's no problem putting the shell in the Browning, but maybe it has a slightly larger chamber.

The worst hang-up seems to be 1/2" to 1/4" before the bolt locks the shell in the chamber, and/or initially extracting it from the chamber. I sometimes had to wrestle with the gun to get it to close completely, or to eject a spent shell.

I suppose that would lend credence to the bulge in the plastic hypothesis. I'll have to go home and check.

Maybe I'll have to switch to more expensive hulls... These are Sportsman or Gun Club ribbed plastic, softer than STS I think.:)

Could higher-end hulls possibly solve this problem? Did you find some other solution to the bulging hulls? Thanks again!

[TrapperReady]

AB - I found that if certain wads were seated with too much pressure the shell could bulge a bit just forward of the brass. Personally, I've not used the Gun Club hulls, but I know quite a few folks who do... and they seem to get quite a few reloads out of them.

One last thing, are these brass-based hulls or is the metal silver in color? If it's not brass, then maybe it's not working right with the sizing collet.

[ArmedBear]

Remington has changed the colors of its hulls and bases back and forth recently, but, silver or brass colored, they all can be collected with the official trap range magnet-on-a-stick, except for the STS line. I think that only the STS and expensive high-brass hunting loads are honest-injun Brass, whatever their color.:) So I've been using steel bases, AFAIK, except for the few STS hulls that snuck into my pile.

I have a good-sized stash of STS and AA hulls; I'll try those next.

I did initially load a few boxes of rounds with too much wad pressure, when I was figuring out the machine (found by another THR member in someone's garage). I could have some hulls that are deformed, and some that aren't, no matter what I do with them now. I'll check that, too. I have half a mind to examine some for signs of bulge, crimp a few empties with dead primers, and just see how they feed in the gun.

That's why I'm using the cheap hulls; I figured I'd get my hard knocks on the cheap ones rather than the good stuff.:D

Thanks again! Will report back.

[kudu]

Does the Sizemaster have the ring that runs down over the hull? If it does, it may be building up a ring of brass at the base that keeps it from chambering all the way. I use all Grabbers that use fingers that squeeze the brass uniformly down without pushing the brass to the base. If you have a pair of micrometers you should measure a factory new shell and one of the problem reloads. Just a thought that might solve your problem. :)

[Black_Talon]

Another thing to consider is that 870 Expresses are semi-notorious for having a fairly sharp edge at the mouth of the chamber. This, combined with some residual bulging of the plastic and/or brass of the reloaded shell could easily be causing your chambering/extracting issues.

[Dave McCracken]

I've had trouble with NEW Gun Clubs hanging up in a couple of my 870s. No probs with STS hulls at all. I used to load GCs one time and pitch them but have since abandoned them completely.

Also, I replaced the sizing ring on my old 600 JR and found hulls cycled a bit smoother through my already smooth shooters.Untold thousands of reloads wore the old one a bit off spec.

MEC makes a shell gauge with go/no go holes in all gauges. You may want to spring for that.

[mswestfall]

I'm between 5-7 times fired on about 1,500 hulls of red and gray AA's. My MEC 9000G sizes them fine but...... If the hull is split at the crimp it will fit tightly into my Browning O/U chamber.

No brass problems yet. None have split or deformed.

I do have a friend that loaded Gun Clubs on his fathers home made reloader. It doesn't size the brass. Each shell bulged at the steel "brass" and wouldn't fit in his Browning XT chamber. They were jamming in the extractor.

Never have had the bulging just above the brass problem.

More info on what part of the shell is jamming where would help alot!