My 835 is 'dropping' shells...

[BigRedBowtie]

I have a Mossberg 835 that is about 6 years old. It is my go-to gun. I use it for duck, pheasant, deer, geese, HD, sporting clays, black bear and skeet. It gets used- a lot.

Last night on the skeet field, it chucked a shell out the bottom when I cycled the action on a double. Broke the low bird from station 6, then pumped and went after the high bird, only to get "the loudest *click* in the world." I wasn't paying particular attention to how I pumped it, but when you're shooting skeet with a pumpgun, you're not exactly paying real close attention to *how* you cycled the action, just that you do it ASAP.

What could cause this type of mis-feed? The empty was thrown from the gun, so I don't *think* that I short-stroked it. Thinking about it, it seems that the elevator must have never lowered to direct the fresh shell from the magazine to the chamber. It didn't happen again last night, but it has happened before, although I don't remember the circumstances of the earlier happenings.

any suggestions?

 

[The Deer Hunter]

Maybe you didn't fully insert the shell into the magazine.

 

[Upriver]

Your shell stop is either worn out or bent (the stop that interupts the shells as they are fed from the tube), so the empty ejects and a live shell drops on the ground. There was a thread a while back about Mossberg Mavericks doing the same things. My 835 doesn't do this (although it's not as old) but a buddy with a brand new maverick would have it happen whenever he pumped the gun vigorously, i.e., pretty much all the time.

Opp - here's the thread:

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=225264&highlight=maverick+shell

 

[BigRedBowtie]

Maybe you didn't fully insert the shell into the magazine.

You know, I'd like to think that I wasn't the problem, but I'm open to the idea. I'll have to see if there's any way to get the shell *almost* in, where it would stay, but isn't behind the shell stop.

Your shell stop is either worn out or bent (the stop that interupts the shells as they are fed from the tube), so the empty ejects and a live shell drops on the ground. There was a thread a while back about Mossberg Mavericks doing the same things. My 835 doesn't do this (although it's not as old) but a buddy with a brand new maverick would have it happen whenever he pumped the gun vigorously, i.e., pretty much all the time.

Doesn't the elevator move to the "down" position pretty early in the pumpstroke? I was thinking there might be some problem with the elevator not moving into position. Then again, when you describe a "vigorous" pump... well, if you've ever shot skeet with a pumpgun, vigorous would describe it fairly well. Is there any way to test or measure the shell stop?

Thanks for the ideas so far- I appreciate the input. Keep it flowing!

 

[SteelyNirvana]

I had the same problem with my Mossberg 500. Same situation as yours, brand new gun dropping shells to the ground. Someone told me to slightly bend either the shell stop or the other bar in until I got it right. I had to try several times as the first few times I went to far and couldn't load shells into the mag. I finally got it right and while I had it apart I went ahead and cleaned all the factory lube off of everything and re-lubed. Haven't had a problem sense.

Here is the link to what I just said. I posted it over at TFL

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232910

 

[mnrivrat]

Shell Stop adjustment needed. Do it sooner rather than later to prevent damage to the slide action bar or shell stop.

When out of adjustment the ramps on these parts can clash causing unrepairable damage. (requiring replacement parts) If your unsure on which part to adjust ,and how, you may find the procedure in the arhives here. If not, you can PM me for details.

 

[BigRedBowtie]

alright, guys... will-do. Thank's for the pointers!

btw- shooting skeet with a pumpgun is a BLAST! It's fun to clean a double and shock the whole group!