Any ideas why the hulls would separate from the brass in the chamber of my pump 410? The shells are 3" and the barrel is stamped 3". Didn't do it the day I bought it (used) but was warned it would happen.... well today it did it. Plastic stays in chamber and brass extracts. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Brent
flinter@hotmail.com

Flinter,
I've shot a bunch of .410's and never had that happen. My guess would be the ammo. What brand was it? Send the junk shell to whoever made it and see what they have to say.
Stepchild

they are federal 6 shot. ?.? I really don't know if the shell is the problem.. the guy I bought it from told me that a shell would stick in the chamber sometimes, I don't know what brand he used in it. I guess I will just have to carry a dental pick while hunting to flick out the broken hull when it happens. Flinter

Hey flinter, Perhaps the shells do have a problem, have you tried any other brands?

Since it is a "pump", the barrel should be relatively easy to remove. Take it off and polish the chamber a bit. Use a 45cal brush wrapped with a Paper Shop Towel Patch and put some JB Compound on it. Chuck up a single section of cleaning rod in your cordless drill and spin it up and down the chamber.

If you don't have JB Compound, use one of the "tooth brightening" Toothpastes. They are more abrasive than regular toothpaste. Or Bon Ami, or Soft-Scrub. Don't use highly abrasive stuff like Comet, etc.

Or wrap the 45cal brush with good old "0000 Steel Wool" and do the same thing.

...

When the barrel is cleaned from the muzzle, as the Brush enters the chamber, it "flings" bits of residue and trash on the chamber walls. When you them follow the Brush with a "Tight Patch", it won't open enough to remove the residue. Then it dries in the chamber and makes it sticky.

This can happen in any firearm cleaned from the muzzle where the chamber is a bit larger than the Bore/Lands. But it seems to be more noticible in semi-autos and pumps.

Good luck to you.

Flinter.
What happens is that the chamber is on the max side and shells are on tme min. side. The metal part will expand, most of them are made from steel
now and the platic will expand with it. The plastic like rubber will spring back to it origional size while the metal cup will stay put and create a space. Off comes the metal. Try a different make. A Winchester or Remington shell that has a solid base wad and the metal molded or crimped in may not do it. This situation is often found with reloads that are loaded too many times. It is common with skeet shooters who load their 410"s until either the crimp or the base fails since the 410 hulls are hard to come by. A wrap of masking or scotch tape around the base may do the trick. Fred M.

[ 10-27-2003, 03:22: Message edited by: ZERMEL ]

Flinter,

I have had this happen hundreds of times while shooting skeet. My cause was reloading the hulls to the point were they got so weak they separated from the brass (steel). I generally got 6 or 7 reloads from AA Win 410 hulls then would get a "whistler".

I would take some measurements if your using new shells. If you know any machinsist have them use a "telescoping gauge" and a pair of 0-1 mikes to check the internal diameter. Compare that to the outside diameter of the new hulls. There "may" be to much clearance and that "may" be the reason somebody sold it.

Let us know what you find.

Don

The shells are brand new. But They separate exactly on the brass line. So I am going to try some other brands and carry a dental pick to get out the hull when it happens. I just don't like the never knowing when it could happen part. and never being able to let the kids carry it if I am not watching close enough to see if the brass ejects and the plastic doesn't. I have only fired the gun 4 times and it happened once. All federal shells. So I guess I will spend some cash on 410 shells and shoot a box or two just to see what does and doesn't do it. Mix the fedral in while trying other brands and just keep track of the brands, and how often it happens.
Thanks for the posts! Brent

LE270,

I should of added that I too use an O/U shotgun and can easily inspect the barrels. Like you said, the hull separates and usually goes out the barrel with the wad and shot. When the hull goes through the air it makes a whistling noise.

The 28 gauge is weird that way in that they cost the most to buy (new) and one gets the fewest reloads from them. I suspect if it weren't for skeet the 28 gauge would of died by now. It is a very efficient case though and sweet to shoot.

Don