honing a shotgun chamber

[Bruno2]

I have a rem 1187 20 ga shotgun . I am having trouble with the shells ejecting . My gunsmith buddy told me the chamber looks rough and probably should be honed . I was wanting to hone it my self . What kind of hone do I use ? Do I use the type of hone that has the clusters of little balls on it. Or do I use the style that I have used to hone master cylinders that has the three little whet stones that are spring loaded ? How far do I go inside the chamber ? What kind of rpm should I use ?

 

[rcmodel]

The gunsmith flex-hone is best.

A brake cylinder hone will also work if you have very fine stones for it.

But before I did that, I would try wrapping some 400 & then 600 grit wet or dry black paper on a slotted dowel rod and polish it by hand using in / out motions. (same direction the shells have to slip in & out.
Be sure and use oil on the paper to keep it cutting and not loading up.

If you look in the chamber, you can see where the chamber ends and the forcing cone starts. The chamber is where you need to polish. Not past the beginning of the forcing cone.

In actual fact, the only really critical part of the chamber is the rear where the metal head on a shotgun shell expands and grabs into the roughness.
The rest of the chamber where the plastic case is at is not as critical. Plastic shells are very slick & self-lubricating, except for the metal case head.

rc

 

[Bruno2]

This has been going on for well over a month . The gun has had about 300-400 rds put through . The gas ports are clear , the gun has been cleaned thoroughly , the gas piston hardware has been checked against the manual over and over . There is no evidence of gas leaking out the top of the O ring . The chamber felt like it could have used a little smoothing up . The loads that I am having trouble with is a win AA hull 14.7 grs of green dot , win waa20 wad win 209 primer and 7/8 oz of shot . The load is supposed to generate over 10,000 psi of pressure and that should be plenty to cycle a gas gun . I shoot one of the lightest loads I could find through my 391 Optima and never have cycling issues . The Rem will cycle the bolt far enough to lock it open , but , it will not eject the shell . The rem is chambered for 3" mags and the hulls I am reloading are 2 3/4" and have only been fired once maybe twice so I couldnt have imagine that they have stretched any let alone stretched farther than a spent 3" . There isnt anything wrong with the extractor it grabs the shells and sometimes even stove pipes them , but , very rarely throws them out of the receiver so another one can take its place .

 

[Bailey Boat]

Are you running the gas tube system wet or dry???? A new gun will need some lube to assist with the break in period. Once that's accomplished (4-500 rounds) it is possible to run it dry. When doing it wet expect a messy gunk build up with residue combined with the lube. Dry is used if shooting in very cold weather as it would slow the action and cause the issues you describe.
Your load sounds okay so it may just be a break in issue.... Also, what machine are you using????? If it resizes the brass then you'll be okay, if not then that could be some of the issue as well.... How do factory 7/8 loads work????

 

[Bruno2]

My smith buddy suggested I run it dry , however , I had been using a light coat of oil previously .

Hornady 366 progressive , Machine does not have a collet resizer like the Apex it resizes on the table not below , but , yes it does resize the brass.

I shot a box of Fed 7/8 oz and they worked fine . I read the specs in the load book and that particular load that I am shooting supposedly generates 11,000 psi . Even if the pressure is less I wouldnt think it would be under 10,000 psi

I dont think it has had more than about 300 maybe 350 rnds put through it .

 

[Bruno2]

I got a brake hone that was the corect size . I chucked it in a drill motor and srayed wd 40 on the hone and in the chamber . I inserted the hone into the chamber and gauged the distance of the force cone . I marked the shaft with a piece of tape . I ran the drill at a very low rpm while working it slowly and consistently in and out . I let my dad spray wd 40 into it while I was honing periodicaly . I did this for about a minute maybe minute and a half . After that I took an old bore brush on an old cleaning rod in the drill with a piece of 600 grit wet or dry sand paper wrapped around the brush . I used just about the same method mentioned above with the hone (chamber shined up like a mirror , no scratches). Then I cleaned it all up with solvent and oil . I reassembled gun , however , I need to take it to the club this weekend and try her out .
Thanks for all of the tips and tricks guys
Brandon Harrison

 

[Bailey Boat]

Let's hope you didn't "overbore" the chamber....... Let us know how it worked out.....