99octane
Member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2020
- Messages
- 34
Hi everybody, I'm writing as I have a problem with my Hatsan Autodefend 14" shotgun that I can't seem to figure out.
As it comes to its mechanism, the gun seems to be a replica of the Remington 1100, with some slight modifications, such as a self-regulating gas piston that allows it to function both with standard and magnum loads.
The gun is new.
It shoots ok (very accurate with slugs, actually) and very pleasant to shoot.
Only problem: when firing the second from last shot, the last shell often (not always) remains stuck halfway to 3/4 out on the shell carrier, the bolt almost to the rear, not locked open, just held there by the stuck shell, as it tries to rise the carrier.
A simple pull with the finger while holding the charging handle back and it will pop out on the shell carrier and, releasing the charging handle, the gun loads the shell just fine.
Very good for practicing clearing this kind of jams.
Not so fun or good for actual use.
TESTS I MADE
1)
it seems to do that just with light loads like 28 grams shot and target slugs.
2)
Problem almost disappears with loads > 32 grams
3)
Problem disappears with magnum loads.
4)
It won't do that manually cycling the action. The shell just gets ejected quite forcefully.
5)
If while manually cycling the action I push upwards against the shell carrier, it rubs against the shell and it becomes stuck as it does at the shooting range. Maybe a timing issue? (see below)
MY FIRST CONCLUSIONS
The magazine spring is for some reasons weak, and it doesn't manage to push the shell on the carrier fast enough before the bolt comes back and tries to lift it to the breech. Thus, jam.
So, either
Hypothesis A)
with heavier loads the recoil simply inertially "shakes" the last shell out of the magazine, circumventing the problem.
Or maybe
Hypothesis B)
with lighter loads the bolt doesn't go all way backwards and starts forward a tad sooner, engaging the carrier an istant sooner than it does with full power loads, so that it starts to rise with the shell still halfway out?
Other people with the same model didn't have this issue, so I tend to be suspicious about B).
FIRST ATTEMPT TO FIX THE ISSUE
I bought a new magazine spring for a few bucks, cleaned the magazine tube, cleaned the plastic follower, lightly deburred all corners in the action where the shell rim rubs.
Also lightly polished and deburred the shell carrier end to make sure it doesn't "bite" into a shell and the shell is free to slide out.
Tested the spring with scales and a dowel, new spring reads about 500 g more than the old one, at the same length of push, so I'm positive it's stronger.
I tested the gun at the range, and the issue was still there.
SECOND ATTEMPT TO FIX THE ISSUE
Since the problem arises with the last shot in the magazine, I just inserted at the muzzle end of the magazine a spacer the length of a shell, so that the spring is now compressed as if a shell is always present in the magazine (i.e.: the last shell behaves like the second-from-last).
This worked and the issue disappeared.
Obviously this turns a 5 shots shotgun in a 4 shots shotgun.
Less than ideal.
WHAT PUZZLES ME
Is that the springs were both OK: the first one new, the second one new and for a 5-7 shots magazine, so even tougher.
So, it's not the spring, it must be something else that interferes with the last shell being pushed from the tube to the shell carrier.
I noticed that the shell rim rubs against the shell stop on the right side of the receiver, looking inside the loading gate. But it seems designed to do so, to guide the shell while it gets loaded.
I'm at a loss.
Any ideas?
As it comes to its mechanism, the gun seems to be a replica of the Remington 1100, with some slight modifications, such as a self-regulating gas piston that allows it to function both with standard and magnum loads.
The gun is new.
It shoots ok (very accurate with slugs, actually) and very pleasant to shoot.
Only problem: when firing the second from last shot, the last shell often (not always) remains stuck halfway to 3/4 out on the shell carrier, the bolt almost to the rear, not locked open, just held there by the stuck shell, as it tries to rise the carrier.
A simple pull with the finger while holding the charging handle back and it will pop out on the shell carrier and, releasing the charging handle, the gun loads the shell just fine.
Very good for practicing clearing this kind of jams.
Not so fun or good for actual use.
TESTS I MADE
1)
it seems to do that just with light loads like 28 grams shot and target slugs.
2)
Problem almost disappears with loads > 32 grams
3)
Problem disappears with magnum loads.
4)
It won't do that manually cycling the action. The shell just gets ejected quite forcefully.
5)
If while manually cycling the action I push upwards against the shell carrier, it rubs against the shell and it becomes stuck as it does at the shooting range. Maybe a timing issue? (see below)
MY FIRST CONCLUSIONS
The magazine spring is for some reasons weak, and it doesn't manage to push the shell on the carrier fast enough before the bolt comes back and tries to lift it to the breech. Thus, jam.
So, either
Hypothesis A)
with heavier loads the recoil simply inertially "shakes" the last shell out of the magazine, circumventing the problem.
Or maybe
Hypothesis B)
with lighter loads the bolt doesn't go all way backwards and starts forward a tad sooner, engaging the carrier an istant sooner than it does with full power loads, so that it starts to rise with the shell still halfway out?
Other people with the same model didn't have this issue, so I tend to be suspicious about B).
FIRST ATTEMPT TO FIX THE ISSUE
I bought a new magazine spring for a few bucks, cleaned the magazine tube, cleaned the plastic follower, lightly deburred all corners in the action where the shell rim rubs.
Also lightly polished and deburred the shell carrier end to make sure it doesn't "bite" into a shell and the shell is free to slide out.
Tested the spring with scales and a dowel, new spring reads about 500 g more than the old one, at the same length of push, so I'm positive it's stronger.
I tested the gun at the range, and the issue was still there.
SECOND ATTEMPT TO FIX THE ISSUE
Since the problem arises with the last shot in the magazine, I just inserted at the muzzle end of the magazine a spacer the length of a shell, so that the spring is now compressed as if a shell is always present in the magazine (i.e.: the last shell behaves like the second-from-last).
This worked and the issue disappeared.
Obviously this turns a 5 shots shotgun in a 4 shots shotgun.
Less than ideal.
WHAT PUZZLES ME
Is that the springs were both OK: the first one new, the second one new and for a 5-7 shots magazine, so even tougher.
So, it's not the spring, it must be something else that interferes with the last shell being pushed from the tube to the shell carrier.
I noticed that the shell rim rubs against the shell stop on the right side of the receiver, looking inside the loading gate. But it seems designed to do so, to guide the shell while it gets loaded.
I'm at a loss.
Any ideas?
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