Colleagues,

I have an H&R 20ga. Ultra Light Slug Hunter purchased new approximately 5 years ago that has been giving me persistent troubles as of late. When I bought it, everything was fine for a good period. However, after around 100 rounds, the rifle would intermittently refuse to fire. I didn't do anything about it at the time, but this year, after trying to sight it in at the range, it won't fire at all. The hammer retracts fully, seems to snap forward fully and definitely makes contact with the case, as evidenced by a very apparent mark on the primer. It would seem it's just not hitting the primer hard enough to detonate. I will be totally honest and say I Duracoated the gun during the off-season, though the problem existed before the coating process.

Does anyone have any thoughts on why the firing pin would be hitting the primer with less than full force? Thanks in advance.

Check these first; mainspring tension, firing pin for wear or breakage, and headspace. If all these are right, it has to fire.

these rifles use a tranferr bar firing system... I think something is broken ... mine was..

quote:

Originally posted by jimatcat:
these rifles use a tranferr bar firing system... I think something is broken ... mine was..

Thanks for the lead. What was the problem with yours?

its hard to describe without showing you, the firing pin would not hit the primer...the hammer fell when I pulled the trigger, it cocked like normal... so I took it apart...the pivotpins will drive out of the receiver to one side... that's when I found out it was a transferr bar setup.... there was a small piece of linkage missing, you could see where it had been broken off...if you go to numrich arms, they have exploded views of all the parts.. in a breakdown picture.... ive got several complete actions...a friend buys them, sells the wood, and barrels, I sell the actions for $50... sometimes you get lucky and a barrel fits... most times the barrel need some fitting...

Ah, if it has a transfer bar,, you should be able to see it in rise between your hammer and the firing pin. Look at that and see if it is forming a complete "transfer" between hammer and firing pin. It will be activated when you pull the trigger.

Didn't think of that, guys. Jimatcat, the symptoms are exactly as you described. It cocks fine, drops fine, but just doesn't seem to hit the primer with enough force - almost like something is blocking or restricting it. I know it hits the primer because there's a noticeable indentation but just not deep enough.

I'll check out Numrich for that diagram and compare it to what I have on the bench now.

everything you say is what mine was doing.... except I didn't even have a primer strike.... I bought the shotgun for $80 at a local gunshow, intending to resell it at the next one.. for some reason I decided to shoot it... that's when I found out something was wrong...good luck with yours... let us know what you find...

Wasn't the muzzle loading "converted" H & R Huntsman withdrawn from sale because of issue with it being unsafe?

Aside from that a light strike could be either a damaged firing pin that has a gall or burr that is slowing it down or stopping it from fully exiting the striker hole.

Can you use a gauge to see how far the pin is sticking out of the hole when it is at its maximum "sticking out"?

I'm guessing like most shot guns it should be 40 to 45 thousandths of an inch?

If it is less then it may be worn or something inside the action. If isn't less that something is slowing it down such as the mentioned gall or burr.

That's probably what's causing things. I have a free weekend coming up, so I'll check it out. Thanks for.the feedback, guys.

Got in on this one kinda late. Be sure you're maintaining a full pull of the trigger to the rear. With too "light" of a pull the transfer bar has already started to retract and you get a light strike. GW

I used to work on a lot of these. The transfer bar was a frequent problem.

yup. Dry firing these tends to break the transfer bar. Weak spot.

Sounds like a lot of this is surrounding the transfer bar. Is that a part that needs repaired or replaced?

There was one or two in the family years past. Weak springs ended up as the culprit.