Stevens 77 mag tube won't feed

[zakmatthews]

I just picked up an old Stevens 77A 12 gauge pump shotgun for cheap at an auction. Problem is the tube won't release the shell to feed into the receiver. The left side cartridge stop keeps catching each shell and will only release if I push it aside with my finger. Another problem is the slide won't release after firing a shot. You have to manually hit the slide release button each time.

Any ideas on what's going wrong here?

 

[zakmatthews]

After studying the action, I figured out the problems, which were mainly due to fatigued parts.

I filed and re-bent the left side cartridge stop lever so that it disengaged properly when the slide was racked back, allowing a shell to be released from the tube. Then I filed/reshaped the slide release lever and reshaped a corresponding spring so that it disengaged properly after the trigger is pulled and the hammer is released, allowing the slide to be racked back without hitting the release button after each shot.

Works like a dream now. Not bad for a $70 gun.