My shotgun won't retain shells in the tube (pics included)

[ijosef]

I have a cheap Hiawatha 12 gauge (same as Stevens model 30) that won't retain shells in the tube. I don't know the terminology, but the little retainer clip on the side of the receiver just stays flat against the side and doesn't stick out at all to hold the shells in. On my other shotguns, in order to unload shells from the magazine tube you have to depress the little metal tabs on the side (the Remingtons I use at work have one on each side, whereas this shotgun just as the one), but this one seems permanently stuck in that position. I've taken some photos to illustrate where the issue is. The red circle is around the screw that holds in the retaining tab.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't know how much I want to spend on fixing this gun, as I only paid $100 - which is about all it's worth.

 

[dfariswheel]

Looks like the cartridge stop is either bent or broken.

Gun Parts Corp sells most parts, including the cartridge stop for about $8.00.

http://www.e-gunparts.com/model_new.asp?catID=5515

There are a good number of versions of the Model 30, but most internal parts are the same.
Replacement should be fairly easy.

 

[kirbythegunsmith]

Details

This style of mechanism mimics the Winchester Model-12 in shell feed function, in that the shell exiting the tube is control-fed by the tab at the lower face of the bolt (primary shell stop) and the shell following from the tube is limited from exit by the actuation of the secondary shell stop initially thought to be bent or non-functional.
It will be in the way to stop the next shell from feeding if you look when the pump is partially stroked, so you can easily verify that this part is working as designed.
If the shells feed one at a time and don't create other non-recognized problems, your shotgun is working, not defective.
If you search for similar questions about the Winchester Model-12, you will see that many new owners have the same unfamiliarity with the mechanism operation and think that a problem exists where nothing is actually wrong.

Hope all else is OK with your gun function.

[email protected]

 

[ijosef]

I'll check it out tonight after work. If I'm reading you correctly, there has to be two shells in for it to hold? I can feed one shell using the "speed feed" technique (feeding from the ejection port of the receiver when the slide is back, but the tube won't hold one shell.

 

[rcmodel]

With the action closed.
Put one shell in the magazine.
When you release it the lifter should pop back down,
The shell should then come back out of the tube and be stopped by the rectangular projection on the bottom of the bolt.

If you want to load more shells, the V on the front of the lifter pushs the first shell back in the tube again when you press it down with the second shell.
Etc. etc. etc, until the tube is full.

When you let the lifter come back up, the last shell in the tube will come out of the tube until the projection on the bolt stops it again, ready for the lifter to raise it up to chamber it when you open the action again.

rc

 

[1KPerDay]

I love this place.

 

[ijosef]

Aha! I get it now. Thank you very much gentleman. Having only operated modern Mossberg, Remington, and Winchester pump shotguns, I mistakenly assumed that they all loaded the same way. I cycled shells through it and everything seems to work as it should. The only caveat is that if you load one shell and let it pop back until stopped by the little piece at the bottom of the bolt, pushing the lifter back down won't push it back into the tube without a little extra help. Either way, I'm glad my $100 shotgun is working.