how common is this problem?

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bullseyebob47

bullseyebob47

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i was at the range shooting mossberg 12ga 500 pump with these buckshot:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/15...plated-pellets-box-of-10?cm_vc=ProductFinding fiocchi 4 buckshot.

shot several and liked the patterns up to 25 yards. but one time i didn't pump the empty shell out right after shooting and the extractors must have slipped off the rim of the shell or the shell expanded and was stuck in the chamber. i had to pump it about 8 times before the extractors caught it and ejected.

so can i blame the problem on not pumping right after the shot, blame ammo, blame gun, or is it just the nature of pump shotguns? this is for home defense, kinda important.

i need to say that i do unload my shotguns and rub some ballistol in the chamber every couple months even if i haven't shot them. they are not rusty.
 
How old is the shotgun?
If it's got lots of experience, maybe the extractor springs are getting tired.
Or maybe the ammo is suspect, with too small a rim.
How does the gun act with other ammo?
If it happens again, instead of lots of pumping trying to extract the empty case, use a ramrod to see if the empty case is actually stuck in the chamber.
Whether or not it is could be a clue as to what to look for.
 
There could be a few different causes for that to have happened. Ultimately, and for what ever reason, the extractor managed to slip off the rim of the shell.

Now as for the possible causes, it could have been that the extractor was dirty, brass, grit, or other debris prevented it from completely engaging / grabbing the rim.

Is this a new 500? If so did you clean the barrel, bolt, and extractor before shooting it?

Was the chamber dirty? If you had run a bunch of shells through it without cleaning, that could certainly contribute to the problem.

Is it possible that the shells might have been gritty / dirty?

Also, the chamber may be a bit rough or the extractor may have a weak spring.

Some shells can cause extraction problems also. Some don't have brass bases and will sort of fuse to the chamber wall. I don't know about Fiocchi, but I've had a similar problem with all my 870's using Winchester Universals, in which they would had to be tapped out with a cleaning rod, but the extractor didn't pull off the rim.

If the problem happens with other shells, I would replace the extractor spring, and polish the chamber with some 0000 steel wool and solvent. Put the steel wool on a cleaning brush with a short section of rod, chuck it in a drill and polish it up nice and smooth. I had a 500 that was pretty rough when new and solved the problem in this manner.

Hope this helps you diagnose the problem.

GS
 
Most likely a steel base that got heated, expanded, and did not return back to normal. That can happen with any brand using steel bases, even cheap target ammo.
 
yea the shotgun is kinda old but that was the only time that happened out of a few hundred shells. are federal buck/slugs brass based? i read that somewhere. would those swell less?

would low recoil federal buck have less chance to swell? i have the 34 pellet low recoil for hd.
 
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I will say that in my experience your problem is much less common than the one of a shell not ejecting when you tried to immediately after firing. Often if you let a cheap hull cool it will then extract. Of course if your barrel was hot, that might have contributed to the problem, too. All the other potential issues are real too, but occasional problems with a Mossberg 500 with one type of shell only says shell issues to me.
 
shotgun is kinda old but that was the only time that happened out of a few hundred shells.
Click to expand...
Then Maybe the bolt needs a good cleaning under the extractors.

If you don't want to dissemble the bolt and remove the extractors and springs?
Solvent soak, then pick at it with a wood toothpick or dental pick and get All the crud out of it.
Also pick out the extractor cuts in the barrel face.

But it would be better to drive out the roll pins and actually clean the extractors & springs and spring cavities in the bolt.


And the steel wool chamber polishing would be a real good idea too.

It my be fouled with carbon and plastic residue making sticking more likely.

rc
 
I haven't had that problem. I shoot weekly with my mossberg. As others have said, give it a good cleaning. If it happens again with a different brand of ammo give Mossberg a call. Turn around time was less than three weeks to fix a minor problem for mine.
 
A magnet will easily tell you if you have real brass or just brass-washed steel. They all expand, but brass retracts faster than steel. Cleaning everything can't hurt and might help as well.
 
its fiocchi shells's fault. i found a box of spent shells of all brands. spent federal, winchester, and remington go in and eject out my chamber smoothly and easily. spent fiocchi shells have to be pushed in all the way and do not eject most of the time.

don't buy fiocchi for defense! or hunting.
 
There are NO hard and fast rules for shotgun shells. I have seen Winchesters with no powder. Some Remingtons with no lip on the base. Federals with apparently reduced powder charges because they were shooting over a foot low and wouldn't punch thru the pattern paper and a piece of cardboard backing. Some Activs with dud primers. Any manufacturer can produce a bad box, bad case, or bad lot. All the glowing testimonials in the world won't change this one iota. They are made on automated production lines and occasionally they mess up. I have messed up one... maybe two, handloading.
 
There are NO hard and fast rules for shotgun shells

Is that ever true.

Inspect carefully ANY ammunition you plan to use for serious purposes before loading it into the firearm.
 
Really?

shot several and liked the patterns up to 25 yards. but one time i didn't pump the empty shell out right after shooting and the extractors must have slipped off the rim of the shell or the shell expanded and was stuck in the chamber. i had to pump it about 8 times before the extractors caught it and ejected.
Click to expand...

...or you may have short-stroked it, but that only explains the empty shell not ejecting.

I'll buy into your scenario if the magazine was empty at the time of this continuous pumping action.

If there was at least one loaded shell in the magazine when you performed this action, you would have had a loaded round on top of the shell lifter after racking the slide the first time, impinged under the bolt, and that would have not made for an easy 2nd racking of the slide.

So, enlighten us as to the specifics, please?

Not trying to be a jerk, just trying to understand, sir.

Jim
 
Yup, I have that problem with my 500, regardless of ammo. Several times I've taken my Mossberg to the sporting clay course and after about 100 rounds it gets gummy, then if I keep going I'm rewarded with a stuck shell. Well it may not be entirely regardless of ammo, usually use federal or Winchester bulk target loads, which my not be the cleanest stuff available, but either way, take it all the way down, clean the bolt, rails, the whole shebang, and she's up and running good as new. I have noticed the longer I have it, the less of a problem it is, must be getting worn in (maybe 1200-1500 round count) Also, check the chamber for rust before shooting, I've had that cause a stuck shell years ago in an Ithaca, back in my responsible youth, from not properly cleaning my gun after a wet day of hunting.
 
after about 100 rounds it gets gummy, then if I keep going I'm rewarded with a stuck shell. Well it may not be entirely regardless of ammo, usually use federal or Winchester bulk target loads,
Click to expand...

Gummy?? As in "I use WD-40 on my guns" gummy, or something else. Cheap ammo is steel, not brass. Steel expands like brass in the chamber, but sometimes it doesn't constrict back like brass does...ANY decent gun should go WAY past 100 rounds before that happens anyway.
 
Not WD40 gummy...I don't use WD on internals, its just powder fouling, seems to get in between the receiver and extractors mostly. What it feels like is when I bring the slide back, it starts to want to bind up as the slide comes all the way back. After a little while longer, i'll have a shell that just sticks in the chamber. I assume its just from being dirty, as cleaning (with hoppes #9 and a little CLP) resolves the issue. But, then again this is my first Mossberg, and first shotgun that I ever bought new. All my other shotguns are well worn used, or hand me downs. I'll typically go through 100-125 rounds in about 2-3 hours out on the course, so its hot and filthy when it happens
 
Actually, never thought about it, those are steel rounds ive been using. I'll have to get some brass target loads and put it through its paces and see if I get the same results. Either way, as a left handed shotgunner, think it might be time to trade the 500 in on a left-handed Remington or an Ithaca, always liked the bottom ejection on my 16ga featherweight, but shooting 16ga on the clays course will land me in the poorhouse
 
Another thing is that Fiocchi is a European 12ga, which is spec-ed differently from North American 12ga. Namely European shells, are .725, while US specs are .729. This can cause minor headspace issues and stuck shells on some US shotguns that tend to be a bit looser in their tolerances (.805 diameter chamber as opposed to .800). European 12ga shells also tend to have a slightly thinner rim the US 12ga, but I don't know the exact measurements.
 
Why is the action getting so dirty?

Could it be those lowrecoil/ sub-sonic rounds that operate at lower pressure? The case does not have enough pressure to seal against the chamber walls and powder gasses are blown back into the action?

The Fiocchi shells are loaded to SAMMI spec's. You have no idea what pressure levels those "trick" shells are loaded to. I would expect the cheaper valu-pack stuff loaded to minium pressures to.

After shooting all the dirty stuff then shooting a Fiocchi shell it is understandably that it will be stuck in a dirty chamber or action!
 
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