# Question for gunsmith



## TomC (Aug 14, 2007)

I have an older single shot ward's Hercules single shot 12ga. I love rabbit hunting with the gun but its having an issue. Some shells will eject, some will not. On the shells that dont eject, they are stuck in the chamber. I noticed that this happens after the round has been fired. Some rounds/brands eject after i have fired others do not. I'll load a dummy round in it and it ejects while others dont. 

Im located in New Carlisle


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## C.Keith&Co (Aug 28, 2010)

im going to take a guess and say the ejector is wore out and slipping under the shell when it tries to push it out. I dont know if you would ever find a replacement one for that old gun. the fix would be to tig weld the old one hand fit it back into the locking block and then run a 12 ga. reamer into the chamber to re-cut the the ejector so it fits under the shell again. that would not be a cheap venture. you could try lightly smacking the bottom of the ejector with a small hammer to bend it up ever so slightly that may be enough to fix it. I have done that before and it has worked.


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## TomC (Aug 14, 2007)

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/274240B.htm ????????


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## Troy Dave (Jan 26, 2007)

Tom,
If these are reloads be sure to resize before you load. Some guns have tighter chambers than others. I have seen reloads that just will not go in and others that stick after fireing if they were not resized.
Dave


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## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

some brass expands more. if it shoots a certain brand w/o hanging up,then stick with those. could also be a burr in your chamber. or try a few different other brands. shell that have been exposed to high humidity or damp conditions could also be a cause.


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## C.Keith&Co (Aug 28, 2010)

TomC- i dont know if that is the right ejector id take the old one out and look at it it looks like it should work though. the face would still have to be cut for the shell though


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## TomC (Aug 14, 2007)

Well I got to looking at it last night and I think Dave may have it with a tight chamber. I checked my loads with the sizer, and a few were tight. So i used a couple dummys that were loose, and it would launch them when ejected. Then i tried a couple that were a little tighter. I would open the action and there would be a delayed ejection with those, but they would eject. After that, i found the tightest ones i could find and well, those wouldnt eject at all.

Guess the next question what can i do to open the chamber up just a smidge?


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## dodgeboy75 (Feb 20, 2007)

Midwayusa has reamers under 40$ I think you may need a pilot tool also. I have that same issue with my iver Johnson 16ga. Older gun, newer shells.


There's a gun shop in Tipp City, 3G I think, has gunsmiths.

Sent from my iPhone using Ohub Campfire


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## krustymc223 (Jul 19, 2009)

How about polishing the chamber?


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## buckeye dan (Jan 31, 2012)

If we are dealing with reloads...
Before tampering with the chamber on the gun I would be suspect of the die you are using. Resize a series of shells and mic them to see if they are consistent and properly sized.

I would also cast the chamber and measure that before I tried to hone it. If your cast is in spec then you have a die or ammo problem.


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## TomC (Aug 14, 2007)

I'm gona find a gunsmith close to new carlisle and take it there to see whats up. Any sudjestions on where who is close?


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## C.Keith&Co (Aug 28, 2010)

sorry i do not know anyone out that way.


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## buckeye dan (Jan 31, 2012)

TomC,
The things I suggested aren't as technical as they sound. There are several youtube videos that demonstrate the process. Just Google chamber casting or Cerrosafe. You make a cast and measure it with calipers. 

Anyway, the thing that you can do without removing any metal just to eliminate chamber buildup suspicions is to, take a bronze bore brush and screw it into an old section of cleaning rod. Slather a liberal amount of Hoppes #9 into the chamber and chuck that rod with brush into a cordless drill and work it back and forth in the chamber. Run some clean, dry patches through the chamber. If they are coming out dirty, then you are removing buildup. Lather, rinse and repeat. This process is usually worth .001" which can make a pretty big difference assuming there was buildup.

Best of all, you can't damage your chamber or permanently alter it. It's a great way to get lead and melted plastic out of your shotgun barrel too. It will even remove slight surface rust. Sometimes what looks clean isn't really 100% clean and the solvent soaked barrel with the power brush will reveal all.


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## joebertin (Mar 26, 2010)

buckeye dan said:


> TomC,
> The things I suggested aren't as technical as they sound. There are several youtube videos that demonstrate the process. Just Google chamber casting or Cerrosafe. You make a cast and measure it with calipers.
> 
> Anyway, the thing that you can do without removing any metal just to eliminate chamber buildup suspicions is to, take a bronze bore brush and screw it into an old section of cleaning rod. Slather a liberal amount of Hoppes #9 into the chamber and chuck that rod with brush into a cordless drill and work it back and forth in the chamber. Run some clean, dry patches through the chamber. If they are coming out dirty, then you are removing buildup. Lather, rinse and repeat. This process is usually worth .001" which can make a pretty big difference assuming there was buildup.
> ...



Good advice here. Removing metal from the chamber is a bad idea, as the metal in a barrel doesn't shrink. If anything, it would expand.

Sounds like some of the shells are out of spec. Repeated reloading will "bulge" the lip on the head of the shell, the extractor will have a hard time grabbing the shell because the edge is angled. 

Try resizing the brass multiple times, rotate the shell 90 degrees each time for four hits. Make sure that the resizing die is "flattening" the lip on the head against the shell plate.

I've seen some shells with soft brass bulge with one shot to the point that the extractor wouldn't be able to extract the shell.


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## TomC (Aug 14, 2007)

We, the problem i think has been solved. I bought a new resizer and that made a big difference. I also took it up to the shop and had the chamber polished/cleaned real good. Took it and the sizer back to the house and started checking. The hulls were good but the brass was the issue. Some of the brass was out of spec (expanded slightly from previous use?) with the new resizer, i found some that were in spec with it and be amazed, those worked flawlessly and ejected every time.


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