My new Turkish made semi automatic is not cycling

By “factory” I mean factory rep in Arkansas.

now that i read your post about how you are shooting it, I’m going to guess i may be on to something.

your shotgun has an action spring coiled over the magazine tube. Its job is to return the action bar to a ready position. I’m betting the action bar connects to the breech bolt and other parts inside the receiver-those parts must move backward, which drops the carrier and allows a shell to drop on to the carrier, and the carrier then presents it upward to the breech bolt. This also draws the empty hull out of the chamber and ejects it. Then these parts must move forward to pick up the new shell. When this happens the carrier moves down out of the way. The bolt has by that point picked up the shell off the carrier and shoves it into the chamber and locks to the barrel for the next shot.

if you do not have a firm mount to the shoulder, with the butt of the gun seated firmly (not loosely) into the pocket of the shoulder, then the recoil of the gun causes backward movement that is sort of equal to the backward movement of the breech bolt. This means the bolt can’t reach its end travel point because the end point is now moving backward with the bolt. The bolt will then try to return to battery without having completed its full travel path, causing a jam like the one you describe.

Shooters that are unfamiliar with long recoil style actions encounter this problem sometimes. Working on a more solid mount usually corrects this.

shotgun07 said:

Interestingly, when I dropped the gun at the gunsmith a week or so ago (he has not started working on it yet), a customer there said "can i give you my professional opinion" I said sure, he said "melt it and make fishing rods and go fishing" A little nasty I thought. Hope he is not right.

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All Turkish shotguns are not created equal. The advice you were given may be on point or off base. I’d make a much nastier comment to LoonWulf if he were seen wearing skinny jeans. Maybe I have...

Anyway there is a first time for everything. I thought all foreign firearm manufacturers either had an office in the US or a US importer that managed warranty and repair issues.

shotgun07 said:

I think i now understand what you are saying sovblocgunfan. Stupid me before i thought you were talking about a shoulder sling. So you think I should press the butt of the gun harder on my shoulder so as to not let it recoil as much. Is that what you are saying?

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That is what he’s saying. The stock should be pressed firmly against your shoulder when firing.

Go get it. A gunsmith that charges $80 for a basic sneak peek is not one I would suspect to offer a good value for his services.

A truMy good gunsmith would likely glance at it and tell you what he thinks it is, what he thinks it will cost, and take your info to let you know when it’s ready or what it will cost once it’s fully diagnosed.

I suspect it just needs cleaned properly to get crud out of it, possibly minor work with a tool of some sort to remove burrs, and carefully put back together with everything nicely tightened. Then use decent ammo, and a nice firm hold.

In pistol lingo a short stroke with a semiauto is called limp wristing. Sounds like you may be doing the same with your shotgun. Lean into it and don’t let it move you around.

shotgun07 said:

I am done with warranty and manufacturers. The question is if I should let the gunsmith check the gun for an $80 minimum fee or pick it up and try shooting it again with a tighter grip and cleaning it again.

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I’d most likely have the gunsmith take a gander. Even a brand new inertia shotgun should cycle 2.75” long 1.25” slugs at 1600 FPS from the very first shot. The only caveat for me would be if you haven’t been holding the stock firmly against your shoulder. Then I might try it one more time before letting the smith dig in.

You’ll receive a PM from me in a second.

WestKentucky said:

Go get it. A gunsmith that charges $80 for a basic sneak peek is not one I would suspect to offer a good value for his services.

A truMy good gunsmith would likely glance at it and tell you what he thinks it is, what he thinks it will cost, and take your info to let you know when it’s ready or what it will cost once it’s fully diagnosed.

I suspect it just needs cleaned properly to get crud out of it, possibly minor work with a tool of some sort to remove burrs, and carefully put back together with everything nicely tightened. Then use decent ammo, and a nice firm hold.

In pistol lingo a short stroke with a semiauto is called limp wristing. Sounds like you may be doing the same with your shotgun. Lean into it and don’t let it move you around.

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On second thought I’d say go get it too.

shotgun07 said:

Interestingly, when I dropped the gun at the gunsmith a week or so ago (he has not started working on it yet), a customer there said "can i give you my professional opinion" I said sure, he said "melt it and make fishing rods and go fishing" A little nasty I thought. Hope he is not right.

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Oh, fer cryin out loud. "Nasty" is too generous. I know Turkey is no friend of the U.S. and I know I'm no friend of Turkey, but my totally unbiased (!!!) opinion is that they do make some pretty damn decent firearms in Turkey. I, too, happen to have a shotgun made in Turkey, and it functions just fine. You can have an outlier from any manufacturer located anywhere and it doesn't signify a damn thing. Don't come to any conclusion based on some random wise-ass interjecting his "professional" opinion (which you can be pretty darn sure ISN'T). Regards, and good luck with your shotgun.

wiscoaster said:

Oh, fer cryin out loud. "Nasty" is too generous. I know Turkey is no friend of the U.S. and I know I'm no friend of Turkey, but my totally unbiased (!!!) opinion is that they do make some pretty damn decent firearms in Turkey. I, too, happen to have a shotgun made in Turkey, and it functions just fine. You can have an outlier from any manufacturer located anywhere and it doesn't signify a damn thing. Don't come to any conclusion based on some random wise-ass interjecting his "professional" opinion (which you can be pretty darn sure ISN'T). Regards, and good luck with your shotgun.

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This.

Go get your shotgun.

with manual in hand, follow the instructions for disassembly and lubrication. It’s okay if you use a tad too much right now. You can dial it back later. Reassemble according to the instructions.

take a firm mount in the shoulder and dont let the gun move you around. YOU are in charge of IT. Don’t be afraid of it and don’t bother being gentle with it. Let things slam home of their own accord. The gun will do what it will do, but you control it.

perhaps we have a forum member who could accompany our new friend to the range in Virginia?!

shotgun07 said:

a customer there said "can i give you my professional opinion" I said sure, he said "melt it and make fishing rods and go fishing" A little nasty I thought. Hope he is not right.

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I'm willing to bet he has never owned one of those guns. I'm also willing to bet that he thinks any gun that is not American made or under a $1000.00 is not worth owning. The problem is there are very few gun companies owned by Americans anymore.

Took my Stoeger (Turkish) shot gun to a family clay shoot. Worked great until two adult grandsons shot it then it wouldn't eject properly. After they were told to hold the gun to their shoulder there were no more problems. Soft pawing a semi-auto doesn't work. You don't need to death grip it but it should be held firmly.

shotgun07 said:

Interestingly, when I dropped the gun at the gunsmith a week or so ago (he has not started working on it yet), a customer there said "can i give you my professional opinion" I said sure, he said "melt it and make fishing rods and go fishing" A little nasty I thought. Hope he is not right.

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Welcome to THR!

Sadly, there are far too many in the gun culture who lurk about at gun shows, sporting goods counters and shooting ranges who are very quick to offer unsolicited advice about your firearm(s) like you got from that clown.

Most of these self-anointed experts have a basic understanding of firearms (“basic” is the key word), but it is clouded by a particular brand/model and/or specific caliber that they’re utterly enamored with. Therefore, anything outside of their preferential wheelhouse is junk. They often go by derogatory nicknames like “fanboy” or “Fudd”, etc.

It’s been my experience that most of them are males between 40-70, but I have honestly seen them come in all ages, sizes and races. (22-28 year old newly minted officers/deputies can fall into this trap, too, I’ve seen it lots.)

I seriously think about a third of them really want to be helpful, especially to someone new to guns. They just don’t know how to be helpful without sounding condescending.

The other two-thirds float their boats trying to make themselves feel superior by purposely making others feel inferior. Buffoons like them can be found arguing with anyone who will listen pro (or con) that Glock (or a 1911, or a...) is the greatest thing for self defense ever, why the .45 is a “man’s gun” and the 9mm is for women or kids, how just the sound of a 12 gauge pump being cycled sends robbers running, etc. They are easily acknowledged and then dismissed with a smile and a thank you, then their comments are sent to your mental delete bin as you move on.

Hopefully your gunsmith can diagnose and address the issues you had with your new shotgun, then when you come in to pick it up take a few minutes to show you the ins and outs of how it works and the basic takedown/reassembly. Little things like that may take 20-30 minutes of their time, but often result in creating a repeat customer who not only comes back... but tells his friends about their services, too.

Good luck and again, welcome, These guys here have a wealth of knowledge and the patience to explain the what’s, whys and wherefores to beginner and expert alike.

Stay safe.

If memory serves (I'm on the road) back around 1453 the Turks (Ottomans) made war on the Byzantines who were led by Constantine XI. He was approached by an Hungarian named Urban who said that he could build a 26' cannon for defense, but Constantine said his price was too high.

So Urban approached Mehmet, the leader of the Turks, who paid him four times as much.

The cannon was able to send rocks a mile that penetrated 6' of wall.

The Byzantine Empire fell. Constantine died in battle.


I have a couple of Zeniths and a shotgun. Turkish guns kick butt!

shotgun07 said:

..., but I am not confident to take it totally apart into little pieces, one mistake putting it back together and it could
lead to a dangerous situation, ...

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I still think you're a little too reluctant in your ability to disassemble your firearm. I've disassembled and reassembled many and I started from a position of no experience, same as you. My general observations on gun disassembly / reassembly are that: 1) guns are designed so that you can't reassemble them with parts in the wrong places; 2) if you could force the wrong parts into the wrong places the gun simply won't function. So your mistakes are not likely to lead to a dangerous situation; the worst you could do is to break your gun where it will need the services of a gunsmith to repair it.

shotgun07 said:

This is not something that was purchased from us. You will have to
contact your seller. We do not allow our items to be sold by dealers on GunBroker. Anything sold of ours on GunBroker has no manufacturer warranty or support.

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That’s not good for you. I’m glad you posted it though because it lets me know to never purchase anything from FedArm. It’s not that they won’t warranty the shotgun, it’s that the won’t help at all.

shotgun07 said:

This range is not the best for shooting a tactical gun but it will do. The range only allows 71/2-8 shot loads nothing smaller and no slugs. I will take the advice you all gave me and see what happens. If it Jams again, I will take it back to the gunsmith and wait my turn for it to be fixed. I will clean the gun as much as possible before shooting it, but I am not confident to take it totally apart into little pieces, one mistake putting it back together and it could
lead to a dangerous situation, I still have mouths to feed. I will keep you all posted.

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No no no, it's new, it's a berika/fedarm semiautomatic self defense model, anything lighter than pheasant loads won't cycle anyway, I got a buddy that had problems with his cheap target loads. As we consulted over the phone, I suggested he grab his most powerful loads on hand (high brass 6 shot) and try again, he called back a few minutes later to inform me that he had hope again (he had started pretty downtrodden) as these loads cycled much better! A few months later we got together and he brought his shotgun, I threw him some #2s, slugs, and bb shot shells and she chewed through EVERYTHING beautifully. Those shotguns were designed to be abused with true stopping loads, I know you had a bad experience with the slugs but that was the best thing to do to that shotgun, I'd strongly suggest waiting until you can get to a different range. In the interim, break that puppy down, no need to disassemble the trigger or bolt assembly, just read the manual, take the barrel/action off the stock, and look for blatantly obvious rough spots on every metal piece you can see. First time I had to field strip a semi auto, it took 30 minutes with the manual. I understood what had to come off but nothing else. You can do it too.
Ultimately, a return trip to a place where you can test heavy shells with a better grip and stance will tell you plenty. Watching the light loads fail to cycle will tell you nothing, if you lived closer, I'd bring you along for some educational fun, both the field stripping and field testing should be approached with more grins and less frowns.
There are probably members here willing to assist, I don't know many folks on that side of the country and really, the only one that jumps to mind from here is @627PCFan . Perhaps you could start a new thread with "Shotgun lessons, Virginia?" in the title? Some new york hunters found a bunch of conversation with a similar thread awhile back, just a thought....

Is this similar to your shotgun?