I took my newly purchased (still almost new in the box) 20ga. Merkel skeet shooting the other day. I was shooting Rem. sure shot heavy dove loads, 1oz. shot. The action is still stiff...hasn't been used alot.
I noticed that the 20ga. barrels heated up real fast compared to the 12ga. After about 6 shots the gun didn't want to open until it cooled a bit. It would open maybe 1/16" but would be stuck until I waited for a bit then it would finally open.
I haven't had a chance to try some different ammo but thought I would ask if anyone else has experienced this type of problem...??
This was at a friends house and we were shooting doubles one after another...


You know , as I'm writing this it just dawned on me...The gun was getting hot as hell. Think I have plastic build up in the chambers and the plastic shells are sticking?

A 20 ga. will heat up faster than a 12 bore. This is normal as pressures are higher and a 20 is in fact a hotter load. OTOH, a Merkel shoudn't freeze after 6 shots. Maybe your gun is still a little tight and will loosen up with use. If it doesn't it may have been built with too little tolerances and could benefit from some tuning by a knowledgeable gunsmith.

The issue may be in the heads of the hull. The sure-shot hulls are steel, IIRC. If your chambers happen to be on the tight side, they may not spring back enough.

Try a brass headed hull (i.e. premium hull), and see if it does the same thing. HTH, Dutch.