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Model 12 woes


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So, my model 12 is a 3" gun. And as y'all know, the 3" guns don't like to run fast. If I try to run it faster that 1 round per second it doesn't feed right. How do I fix this? Can it be fixed? Hold it in my right hand and sell it with the left? I'd hate to part with it, I'm sure it was never fired before I got it and still looks brand new.
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If the new carrier isn’t made for a flag, it would need machined. I don’t use a flag. Just one more part to get in the way. You also need a 2 3/4” bolt, which I have.

 

What's the difference in the bolts? I have a buddy's model 12 torn apart right here next to mine to swap the guts and see if that solves my problem and other than his bolt is "patina" and mine isn't, I can't tell the difference between the two

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Yeah, I see the difference in the face now. Mine also has a lug that locks into the barrel that the 2 3/4" gun doesn't have. Good news is I may be trading a Mossberg 500 for a 1940's model 12!!!

 

What I don't understand is why my buddy's 2 3/4 gun loads and chambers 3 inch shells but my 3 inch gun doesn't like 2 3/4 shells...

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I don't understand why my buddy's 2 3/4 gun loads and chambers 3 inch shells

 

Couple of common reasons, both bad news:

 

Someone lengthened the chamber (or installed a 3" chambered barrel)

Gun is heavily worn and chamber has been blown out so that now 3" shells chamber.  I got one with a blown chamber, and had it sleeved by a gunsmith who has now passed on.

 

Is his ejection port large enough to cleanly pass 3" fired shells?  Sometimes "gunsmiths" "fixed" that also if they lengthened the chamber.

 

Good luck, GJ

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I don't understand why my buddy's 2 3/4 gun loads and chambers 3 inch shells

 

Couple of common reasons, both bad news:

 

Someone lengthened the chamber (or installed a 3" chambered barrel)

Gun is heavily worn and chamber has been blown out so that now 3" shells chamber.  I got one with a blown chamber, and had it sleeved by a gunsmith who has now passed on.

 

Is his ejection port large enough to cleanly pass 3" fired shells?  Sometimes "gunsmiths" "fixed" that also if they lengthened the chamber.

 

Good luck, GJ

A 3” shell will easily drop into a 2 3/4” chamber as most 3” shells are only around 2 5/8” long when crimped. It’s only when fired that it’s too long for a 2 3/4” chamber.

Saved a screenshot. No need to go edit it.

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Yeah, I see the difference in the face now. Mine also has a lug that locks into the barrel that the 2 3/4" gun doesn't have. Good news is I may be trading a Mossberg 500 for a 1940's model 12!!!

 

What I don't understand is why my buddy's 2 3/4 gun loads and chambers 3 inch shells but my 3 inch gun doesn't like 2 3/4 shells...

 

3” shells cycle through my 2 3/4” guns like they were made for them. But I am certain the chambers are only 2 3/4”. It’s because of the crimped length. Just don’t fire them!

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You're right, here's another good explanation from Shotgun World forum:

 

Do not, on any gauge, be mislead because you can drop a 3” shot shell into the chamber of a 2¾” gun. An unfired 12 ga. 3” shell is only about 2¾” in length and will drop into the chamber of a 2¾” gun because the chamber is sized for an opened up shell case not a closed one.
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The saga continues:

 

Got the new lifter, it's been jeweled and is gorgeous!!! Removed the old flagged 3" lifter and installed the new non flagged 2 3/4" lifter. Solved my old problem but created two new ones.

 

First the gun is much harder to close with the new lifter in it.

 

Second now the shells are jamming up against the front part of the ejection port when I cycle it fast.

 

To remedy problem one, I disassembled both guns, and I compared the 2 3/4 bolt to my 3" bolt. I noticed the channel that the operates the lifter on the 3 inch gun is much more angled than the 2 3/4 bolt. So I got out my trusty Dremel and got to work reshaping the channel.

 

SUCCESS! gun is much smoother to operate than before and it's actual smoother than the other one!

 

Next I removed the flag from my old lifter, took some measurements and got out the trust Dremel again and went to work. After about an hour of grinding, filing and sanding, I now have a flagged lifter.

 

Now the gun is slick as glass and I can hold it with the ejection port facing the ground and it cycles as fast as I can cycle it!!

 

Monday I'm going to the range and doing a live fire test. I don't foresee any more trouble with the gun now but if I do, I'm selling the damn thing...lol...

IMG_20190712_160813.thumb.jpg.aa497aa1600452cafb65941db9268b55.jpg

IMG_20190712_160607.thumb.jpg.3b44413dfda5ce6258d54bab9737b158.jpg

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