I was at an event last weekend involving a non-competitive clays shoot. Guys brought their field guns. I shoot a breakaction so no problem, but several of the guys that had various brands of self-loaders had to cycle them by hand since the target loads were insufficient to operate them. About half the self-loaders failed to function. Would this have been a problem with gun-setup or has the loading of target loads (I saw WW, Fed & Rio) factory loads gotten anemic?

I by mistake picked up some WW super lights and they would not cycle my Berettas.

I was loading a lite load of red dot and about one out of 4 would not cycle my super M1 90.

I up the powder charge by 2 grs no more trouble.

My 1100 will not eject the 1145 FPS loads if it is a little dirty. A quick wipe down of the tube and a little oil will solve the problem for a while.

If you want to shoot light loads in a field gun you need to install a gas valve fron a target gun in it for proper cycling and if you shoot a lot of of field loads thru a target model you will see wear fairly quickly

What is a "light load"? In 12 ga. which I assume you are talking about, light loads can mean a lower shot weight eg. 7/8 or 1 oz. as well as a different velocity eg. 1200 fps. Both can change the cycling characteristics of a semi auto.
Peter.

Bought a NIB Beretta 303 DU 20 for my wife. Beautiful gun but marked "magnum" only. $450.
Would not cycle standard or light loads.
Gave it to my smith and a box of light loads. He enlarged the gas ports in the barrel and it works great.
"Don't put magnums in it or you'll wreck it."
Few gas semi's will handle both the high and low pressure extremes.

Depends on the gun and, most importantly, how clean it is and how long it has been since it was cleaned.

The real light loads are made for O/U's or pumps. If you want to use a semi-auto I suggest getting a purpose built gas barrel or using an inertia gun with a lighter action spring. If you have a Rem 1100 you can get a barrel and have a 'smith bore out the gas ports until it will cycle.

My SX3 cycles everything from light 2 3/4 to 3.5 inch shells without any issues. (Light being 1 oz loads; never tried anything less.)

Light in semi autos depends on what kind of semi auto.

If its a gas operated gun, its purely a function of pressure and you may find some light loads that are at low PSI that won't work without doing some modification to the gas system, but some will work fine- it will be lot to lot... Typically dirty loads (when talking target loadings) mean low pressure and will likely not work in a Beretta or Remington.

If its a recoil operated (like Benelli) then its needing enough recoil to work the gun. Reducing the recoil spring can work for dedicated light loads but will get the gun all beat up when you use heavy loads. (such as setting it up to handle the WAA ultra light loads (about 7/8 oz of shot at 1145 FPS)) My experience with Bennellis is that some (non SBE) will work standard velocity (1200 FPS) 7/8 oz loads and some won't. Almost none will work with the WAA FL load unless you modify it or its been shot a bit and has a worn recoil spring. More will handle 1 oz 1200 FPS loads, and most including the SBE's will handle a handicap trap load (1 1/8 oz at 1200 FPS)

At the trap and skeet range here, 1 oz 8's from RIO are lately not cycling Beretta autoloaders (they rent them, and lots of customers have their own). They think they must have changed powders or components as this load ran pretty consistently through auotloaders until the most recent lot of shells they've purchased. HTH.

In general, though, I load superlight 3/4 oz loads for my light SxS shotguns, and they won't cycle in my autoloader. There's a gun at the range who had the gas ports on his 1100 enlarged so his ultralight load would cycle, but he knows he cant shoot heavy field loads in it anymore. All gas guns are tuned to a certain range of ammo. Some are ingeniously tuned to adjust to several levels of ammo with gas bleeds,etc. But in general you can find loads that won't cycle.

Steve

Gas guns care about pressure, yes. But we need to be more specific. They care about port pressure. You can overstress and lock up a gas gun (391, M-16, garand) with an overload of fast burning powder that won't generate sufficient pressure at the gas port to cycle the gun. Think of something like Red Dot in a Garand, though that example is extreme........you might rupture the barrel before bullet arrives at port.

Examples in practice: my 20 ga 391 will cycle 1170 fps 3/4 oz weenie loads all day if I use 20-28, Univ, or Unique. If I use faster Green Dot or Int they barely cycle even at 1250+ fps. Interestingly, I need a higher charge of faster burning powder to make it cycle.

Back to factory loads - promotional loads often contain lighter charges of faster burning powders (vs best quality stuff). Saves money. They also uniformly employ less elastic steel base rims. That adds a measure of stickiness (slower relaxation against chamber wall). Even Win Model 12 guys understand that well.

All the above said, and on average, gas shotguns do a better job cycling light loads than do inertia and long-recoil guns - most of which are built for field use with heavier loads.