what am i doing wrong?

[old fart]

i have a 12 gauge pardner pump protector, i've had it a few months and have fired several rounds of buckshot through it. it fires great and its very accurate with the low recoil buckshot that i use, i deer hunt with it using slugs and it is accurate with those too. my problem is when i fire the slugs at times it will fire and the forarm will come back as soon as i fire, which will eject the fired casing but it won't release another shell up to be put in chamber. i push the forarm forward then release it back and it puts the shell in. i tried pushing forward on the forarm as i fire and then when i fire i push back and it ejects and puts a new round in. but its unnatural for me to do it that way, i prefer to holding back on the forarm. it doesn't do it everytime but does it quite regular with slugs, doesn't do it with shotshells or buckshot. whats going on?, i love this gun and its got so smooth on its action that it feel like its sliding on butter. thanks

 

[DAP90]

When recoil causes the forearm to move but a shell is not released from the magazine do you fully cycle the forearm the rest of the way back and see if a shell is released? When you run the pump under normal conditions when is the shell released in the pump cycle? Does the recoil movement cause the forearm to move past that release point?

 

[old fart]

i haven't tried sliding it farther back, it comes back a good ways but it may be able to go back a litle farther. the action is just so smooth now, when i got it it was stiff and by working the slide slowly it was hard to chamber a round. but now its so smooth that i can take my time real slow and chamber one quietly. is there such a thing as too smooth and easy? thanks

 

[DAP90]

Usually with a pump the next shell won’t release until the forearm is near the back of the pump cycle. It might be different with each model but that’s been my experience anyway. The action needs to throw the fired shell out before loading a new one and the bolt cycling all the way back during the pump cycle is part of that ejection process.

I’d say let the slide release under recoil and then just finish the pump stroke normally; all the way back and then forward. If another shell doesn’t release when doing it this way there’s something mechanically wrong with the gun – not necessarily something you’re doing wrong. If you don’t get the slide all the way back that’s a technique issue.

The slide moving under recoil isn't anything to be concerned about.

 

[Hunterdad]

Same thing happens with my pardner pump slug gun. You have to complete the cycle by pulling the forend all the way back. Remember, you bought a pump gun, so you need to pump it

 

[roadchoad]

I'm betting that with the slug, you are unknowingly pulling back on the forearm as your body moves with the harder recoil. The rearward momentum of your pump arm continues it moving and just pulls the forearm back, but not through a full cycle. It's not the gun.

 

[Jason_W]

My motto with a pump action is, "work it like you hate it".

 

[Fred Fuller]

Sounds as if you aren't cycling the action fully and releasing another shell onto the lifter, by closing the action from the spot where it stops on its own. Next time, try pulling the forearm briskly all the way back until it stops, then push it forward and see if that fixes the situation.

Since the design is essentially an 870 clone, the action should remain locked until the forearm moves forward a bit upon firing. That's usually accomplished by recoil, and the shooter is not conscious of it happening. If you want to test this feature, make sure the chamber and magazine are empty (triple check!), point the muzzle in a safe direction and pull back firmly on the forearm as you squeeze the trigger. When the hammer falls, the action should stay locked until you 'bump' the forearm forward a tiny fraction of an inch, then it should release and allow the action to open.

 

[old fart]

Update!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well it ain't the gun, kinda figured it was me. took it to my local gun store and we went outside and did some testing. here is what the gunsmith said to me. when i shoot slugs i have a habit of pulling back on the forarm which isn't a bad thing except i'm a small guy and the heavy kick flies the forarm back so fast the shells in the magazine are still reacting to recoil and didn't have time to settle to release. we tried low recoil buckshot and regular shot loads and the gun was perfect. with the slugs i had trouble 3 out of 5 times, the two times i didn't have trouble i hadn't brought the forarm all the way back during the kick, there was still about half inch movement left. when i brought it the rest of the way it released the next round. i was using winchester slugs but have remington too which i haven't tried yet. the smith wanted me to try something, he said just hold the forarm in my hand firmly and use my stock grip to pull back on the gun. i fired 10 perfect rounds, the forarm released but only came back slightly till i cycled it which was flawless. thanks for everyones help and by the way i got a buck yesterday on the last day of the season. thanks again

 

[Captcurt]

Same thing happens with my pardner pump slug gun. You have to complete the cycle by pulling the forend all the way back. Remember, you bought a pump gun, so you need to pump it

My Winchester 1300 does it too.