Stuck Hull's

[Glanceblamm]

What does it mean when those spent shells start sticking, or won't extract?

The shotgun in question is just an old Western field 12ga pump complete with a polychoke

It has had more than a life time of use and the high brass started sticking at first, but then the low brass started doing the same thing.

It is my guess that it does not lockup as tight as it used to and allows the brass to flow where it shouldn't...is this correct?

There is absolutely no "spitting" of smoke or particals out of the action and those extractor's appear to be sharp and clean with the whole shotgun being clean inside & out. It is my (guest) gun as I have been shooting an 870 Wingmaster for at least the last 10yrs. My potential (guest) whether it be a realitive or co-worker now has to use either my Savage 24 combo or an older Stevens model 94
Thanks

[PA-Joe]

I would start by polishing the chamber and giving it a good cleaning.

[Tn Jim]

You may be on to something Glance, but try this just for the heck of it. Take a wire 12 gauge brush and wrap it with 0000 steel wool. Put enough around it to make it a good snug fit. Spray it with gun oil or WD-40 and chuck the cleaning rod in a electric drill. Put the wool wrapped brush in the chamber area and let the drill spin it for a few minutes, then clean the barrel as normal. Sometimes the chamber gets a little plastic build up or maybe a little aluminum from todays cheaper shell bases. That can cause the problem you describe in a older gun that used to work just fine. I have used this method before and it does work. Let me know if it helps.

[Glanceblamm]

You may be on to something Glance, but try this just for the heck of it. Take a wire 12 gauge brush and wrap it with 0000 steel wool. Put enough around it to make it a good snug fit. Spray it with gun oil or WD-40 and chuck the cleaning rod in a electric drill. Put the wool wrapped brush in the chamber area and let the drill spin it for a few minutes, then clean the barrel as normal. Sometimes the chamber gets a little plastic build up or maybe a little aluminum from todays cheaper shell bases. That can cause the problem you describe in a older gun that used to work just fine. I have used this method before and it does work. Let me know if it helps.

That barrel had recieved a good cleaning of course but I am going to give your method a try. Thanks

[thxmrgarand]

My own problems and observed problems with extraction from 12 GA pumps all have to do with the shells and the extractor.  Sometimes our gun club buys cheap Fiochhi (spelling?) ammo, and most pumps - M12's, 870's, Nova's, Mossberg's, etc. - have problems extracting those while break-open trap guns do not.  There are different theories but it looks to me like the rim is too small and too rounded.

On the duck flats it seems that a little rust on the rim of shells can allow the extractor to tear out a piece of the rim.  Then the empty shell is stuck in the barrel until I shove a stick down the muzzle to pop it out.

[JBlk]

Are you shooting factory ammo or reloads? Paper casing will stick if they are exposed to excessive moisture.Dose the brass split on any of the rounds?

[Glanceblamm]

No split brass although I have seen this happen on an old side by side I owned once.

Plastic hulls and factory or reloads do not seem to matter.

Still have not got around to polishing that chamber yet.

[huntswithdogs]

I bought a 12ga chamber brush for my 12s. It's got stiffer bristles and is a little larger in diameter than your normal 12 brush. I use some of that foaming cleaner to fill the chamber and let it stand for a short while then using a short rod, scrub the crap out of the chamber. My Nova started hanging shells after I'd been shooting skeet with it. Now it's "fixed".

Another thing to look at, if a good cleaning doesn't work, would be your extractor. It may have weakened or the prong that grabs the shell rim may be worn off.


HWD

[dukkillr]

No split brass although I have seen this happen on an old side by side I owned once.

Plastic hulls and factory or reloads do not seem to matter.

Still have not got around to polishing that chamber yet.

I'd file 13 that dude.  There's only so many hours in my life, and I don't want to spend them trying to fix a gun that ultimately is a piece of junk.

That being said, I've dealt with stuck shells in both old and new winchester pumps (some of which would fit the above recommendation).  In general, they become stuck when the brass expands into an already very tight chamber.  My experience has been that AA shells don't expand much and won't hang up.

[Glanceblamm]

I'd file 13 that dude.  There's only so many hours in my life, and I don't want to spend them trying to fix a gun that ultimately is a piece of junk.

That is what I was thinking but thought to post about the problem for suggestions first and the Chamber polishing (still not done) is going to be worth a try for sure.

I was the one who gave that Western Field a lifetime of use. Helped Dad pour a 10' x 14' concrete pad with a mixer & wheelbarrow one morning to late afternoon and I was working harder than him or my older brothers to get the job complete. With the job done, this adrenalin charged youth grabbed the old Savage double and headed out across the fields and returned home at dusk with a pair of Phesants. Dad was impressed but I told him that the dble had started cracking the brass casings around the outer edges, The next evening he bought me the Western Field...I was in the 8th grade at that time.

That pump was all that I ever needed for many years after that. The quick reflexes and hand\eye cordination of a youth, then young adult, more than made up for any short comings of the design. I was shooting right up there with my older brothers autoloading Francies cept my pump never jammed

I have been shooting an 870 Wingmaster for at least ten years as said. The old Western Field feels like I am shouldering a four by four post in comparison but I would like to save it, or at least reserve it for guests.
The 10yrs with the 870 has actually been 23yrs because my intent was to buy an autoloader and the Rem 1187's had just came out...It did not fit (that 1187) as the front bead seemed to be looking at the sky with the shotgun shouldered. An 1100 (which no one had new) fit perfect as did the 870 so the 870 it was.

[mrbigtexan]

i had a mossberg pump that absolutely did not like winchester shells. stuck 2 out of 5 times. everything else shot fine. i still do not buy winchester because of that and i dont have that mossberg shotgun anymore.

[dukkillr]

Did you try the AA winchesters or just the cheapies?

[spikehorn]

I had an older mossberg 20ga pump that would pull the spent hull out of the chamber but not eject it. The extractor claw looked clean and sharp, but that's what the problem turned out to be.