Ammo Question

[kgun12]

Went to the range today to sight in my sons Ithaca 12 ga. rifled barreled shotgun. We he was ejecting the spent round it's jamming. It has not done that before. Two questions, any advice and the barrel says 3in, can he shoot 23/4 in rounds out of the gun, my gun says 23/4 and 3 inch?

Thanks

 

[Bananabandit]

Yes. 2 3/4 can be shot out of any. 12ga. It can shoot 3" as well.

maay be something wrong with the extractor

 

[MilesTeg]

Yes you can shoot shorter shells out of a marked shotgun barrel. My guess depending on the type of shotgun, the 2 3/4" shells probably were less powerful than the shells your use to running and wasn't enough to fully cycle the action.

 

[Bananabandit]

Was it a pump or semi?

 

[kgun12]

The 3 in shell are jamming.

It's a pump.

 

[Bananabandit]

Hmmm...the 2 3/4 are fine though?
Whhat ammo were you using?

Hopefully not buckshot in a rifled barrel

 

[kgun12]

We didn't have 2 3/4 were going back to try them, just wanted to make sure we could. We had 3 different types Winchester, 2 types of Federal. One he has shot through the gun many times without issue. Rifled sabots

 

[MilesTeg]

Hmmm, pump jamming, that happen so little I didn't even think about it. Is it jamming when its fully into battery or when it actually throws the shell out?

 

[kgun12]

Throwing shell out and it patterned fine.

 

[Bananabandit]

for anything on barrel, you can always go smaller, not larger. Like the 3 1/2 chambers can shoot any 12 ga load.

If you have any snap caps, Id try to use those. But if I had to guess, perhaps (if not done yet) clean the chamber and check extractor

 

[MilesTeg]

Ok I will throw out a random thought measure a shot 3" versus the opening on the gun. There maybe a small chance someone put a different barrel on the receiver and the ejection window might be too small?

 

[Podmonkey]

Are the crimps of the 3" shells in question roll crimped or folded? For some reason my mossberg will stutter on longer roll crimped shells but does fine with shorter shells and any folded crimp shell.

 

[kgun12]

Ok I will throw out a random thought measure a shot 3" versus the opening on the gun. There maybe a small chance someone put a different barrel on the receiver and the ejection window might be too small?

We thought about all that, like I said we shot 3 shot 3 shots that were 3 in shell before and everything was fine, today they jammed.

We went back t the range and zeroed his gun 3 inches high at 50 yards and dead nuts center at 100 yards with 2 3/4 inch. He is going to wait until after the season to get it looked at. I'll let you know what they find. Thanks for all the advice and information, this site is the best!!!

 

[Acer-m14]

not hard to field strip and check for any burrs on the parts and give it a good clean and oil up ... still plenty of time before deer time ..

 

[Glenn B]

It is possible it is a failed ejector but the extractor could also be the culprit if not holding the shells at proper angle then extracting and the ejector thus does not hit them right. Then again, the most common reason a pump gun fails to eject is because not enough force is being used by the shooter when operating the slide. I have seen shooters do well at one range session and like crap at the next, or even from one set of shots to the next in the same session, because they were failing to use enough force when pulling the slide back. Shooter error is the first thing to check. If you operate it, is it failing for you too? If you are using a sufficient force, then I would suspect a part has damage.

First thing to do, disassemble and examine the parts. if nothing seems wrong, then clean it well and go back to the range and try it again using good strong pulling action when bringing the slide back and also when moving forward. If that does not fix it, and you saw nothing wrong with it as far as you could tell, take it to a gunsmith or contact the manufacturer. Guns not working properly are nothing to screw around with. Why you would wait until after "the season" (by which I imagine you mean hunting season) makes me think you or your son want to use it while hunting even though not functioning properly - that is a potentially big and dangerous mistake in the making.

 

[Glenn B]

One other thing, are you using a different brand of ammo - if so is it European? Some shotgun ammo from Europe does not function well in American guns. Awhile back, Sellier and Bellot was reportedly one of them but I forget if it was slug or shot loads.

 

[1911guy]

Have you considered the possibility of short stroking?

 

[tony]

Can you describe the jam? When the jam occurs look into the receiver, is the shell still partially in the barrel with the slide all the way to the rear? Is the empty shell tipped down and wedged between the bolt face the inside of the receiver?

Does the serial number begin with MAG? If yes it is a magnum receiver. Magnum receivers are 1/4" longer than a standard Model 37 and can fire and eject 3" shells. The standard M37 Ithaca receiver is too short for 3" shells. They will fit in but not always eject because of the extra length.

Compare a fired 2-3/4" shell to a fired 3" shell.