vole Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Just been to the clay ground to try a second hand gun for the 1st time.Bought some 28gr cartridges(a brand I,d not seen before) and was chuffed that they nearly all cycled,in future it will be fed only 32gr and bigger in the field. I decided to have a bash at unloading unspent shells by working the action and found the last one sticking in the mag tube.It cycled nearly flawlessly so why should one stick? I have little experience with semis,am I missing something? Could it be the cheapy looking cartridges? Thanks chaps . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Fox Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 My old franchi did the same, mine was really badly crimped when it was restricted to a 2 shot mag by a poor gun smith?, could be that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted February 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Cant see any irregularity on the magazine at all.Will try it tomorrow with some Eleys.Otherwise its a great gun.Scored ok with it but back it goes if cant empty magazine I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusk2dawn Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Just been to the clay ground to try a second hand gun for the 1st time.Bought some 28gr cartridges(a brand I,d not seen before) and was chuffed that they nearly all cycled,in future it will be fed only 32gr and bigger in the field. I decided to have a bash at unloading unspent shells by working the action and found the last one sticking in the mag tube.It cycled nearly flawlessly so why should one stick? I have little experience with semis,am I missing something? Could it be the cheapy looking cartridges? Thanks chaps . My Franchi is sect 1 and when used alot started to cycle badly, I used not to clean it as often as I should and was advised to use Hoppes no9 semi auto solvent. After stripping, degunking and using this regularly now it goes right through the cycle on any carts. Hope this helps. D2D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted February 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Thanks D2D.Do you mean cleaning inside the magazine tube?Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Bingo! Found a catch inside the loading port that lets the carts out when pressed in.Handy as can change the chambered round if I need without empting the magazine.Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 if you can put 28 gram though a franchi, good luck mine would not, so got rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Think had 3 fail to cycle.Only shot 25 so about 12 of those was from the magazine.So roughly a quarter.Expect no probs with the game loads fingers X ed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 You could try cleaning the magazine tube then oiling it. Occasionally the 'plunger' end that pushes the cats can stic or feed at a funny angle Gun or sewing machine oil should do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throdgrain Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 My Benelli is amazingly reliable, 3 jams in at least 8000 cartridges! But two of those jams were today at the clay ground, so I stopped, borrowed a squirt of lube and all was back to normal. I know the Benelli system is different to yours, but are you sure its cleamed and lubed properly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Yep.Seems ok since I discovered the little metal retaining dooda at the outlet of the magazine which needs pressing flat to let them be unloaded.Excuse my ignorance but apart from having a Fabarm semi for a couple of weeks I know diddly about them.Am gradually getting to like them though.The Franchi light as a feather and the lack of recoil is amazing too.Might be converted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunk Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Ive got a Franchi 612. If you can release the last cartridge by pressing the internal catch then i would suspect there is a bit of fouling in the mechanism. The internal catch is a rocker, and can be pressed using the bolt release also. The mag tube unscrews. Give it a right good clean, together with the follower and spring. If its like mine there are a couple of pins holding the trigger group in . Knock these out and drop the group. The shell lifter will come clear with it giving a good working space. Get some solvent and a toothbrush in and clean it right out. Cheers Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Thanks Andy.Just checked out the 612 and it looks different to mine which is recoil operated.The catch seems to release when it should when shooting but needs pressing to unload manually.Will use your tip to check out the magazine tube ta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Vole, Do you have an AL-48? Sounds like it when you say that it is light as a feather and recoil operated. If that is the case there are a few things to know. (1) You can't empty the magazine by racking the action. This is a design feature from Franchi. To unload the gun you have to empty the chamber first. Flip the gun over and press the magazine release open. Then you have to push on the shell catch next to the mag tube to let the shells out one by one. If you gun is allowing you to rack the action to unload, there is something wrong. The parts in the receiver have a small latch that is part of the barrel/recoil assembly which trips the shell release and allows another shell into the chamber. You can cycle the action my putting the butt of the (unloaded) gun on the ground and pushing the barrel straight back into the receiver. You will feel the different parts click through as the action goes through. The same when you release the action. (2) Since the gun is recoil operated, there are differences between different loads. If a load doesn't have enough recoil then it may not cycle the gun. A really heavy load will 'over cycle' the gun and cause premature wear. In a long-recoil design like the AL-48 and Browning A5, there is a recoil friction ring on the mag tube. When you take the fore end off you'll see a metal ring (normally a soft metal like copper or brass) between the barrel lug and the receiver end of the mag tube. If you remove that ring you'll see that it is not symmetrical. There is a heavy load side and a light load side on the ring. Magnum loads (such as a 36g heavy game load at high speed) should be used with the friction ring in the magnum position. Normal loads should have the ring flipped around. If it is in the magnum position and you try to shoot 26 or 28 gr loads through it, it may not cycle. (3) Additionally, the barrel is what cycles the action. The barrel lug on the magazine tube is what needs to move smothly (which is governed by the friction ring). The owners manual of the 48 AL says to keep the mag tube clean and dry. Myself and everyone that I have talked to all agree that a tiny bit of oil helps the cycling with light loads. Clean the mag tube as normal and put a drop or two of break-free, rem-oil, or similar on the tube and spread it around. You really only need one or two drops on the whole mag tube (and that is for a mag tube that holds 4 shells). (4) Finally, the action itself can get gunked up inside. My AL sat in the box in a cupboard for years befoe I started shooting it. My dad bought it when I was 3 and set it aside for me. I started shooting it at 12 so it sat in the cupboard for 9 years in its original packaging. You'd think it would be like brand new, but over time the lubricants evaporate and collect a little dust. At first the gun would cycle all loads. Then it would only cycle heavy loads. Then it would only cycle one shot with heavy loads and not second. Then it wouldn't cycle at all. After doing all of the above, I pulled apart the receiver and gave it a good solvent soaking (isopropanol) over night. That cured all of the cycling problems and it will take any load that I have found including some 7/8 oz extra light target loads which are basically superlight subsonics. On shotgunworld.com forums there is a franchi forum. You'll find a number of threads about the 48 AL and cycling. It always comes down to either the friction ring or the dirt/cleaning. Thanks, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted February 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Thanks Rick.You describe my gun exactly.The dealer said to rack the action to unload so was confused when it didnt work.Then I found the shell release which did just as you say. I had no problem with most of the clay loads and guess it will cycle just fine with 32g game loads.I will save your reply as I didnt get a manual with it,will help immensely.Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 if you check over on shotgunworld in the franchi forum I think someone has posted a manual in the past. It is useful to have. they are nice guns for carrying all day. I have a 12b and it carries like a normal 20 b. It is one of the two lightest 12b semi auto's made. If mine had multi chokes I'd shoot it more. The 20 b is an awesome all around upland game gun for walking up pheasant, grouse, and quail. you can carry it all day and not be tired. Most semi-autos will let you rack the action to empty the gun. Even the long recoil A5 browning (which the Franchi is based on and almost identical to) will let you do that. In 1983/4 my dad bought an A5 lite and the AL-48. I guess he let me pick which one I liked at the time (even though I was 2/3). I picked the Franchi because it had engraved side plates (it is the 35th anniversary edition deluxe) and gold trigger. He took the plain browning, had 2" cut off the butt and then put a 1" recoil pad on. His gun has killed more game than I care to count. Now I need to start catching up my franchi. thanks, rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nav54 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 the only time my franchi jammed was when i used hull special pigeon 6 shot 32 gram seems to be fine on eley, rottweil, gamebore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 nav, which franchi do/did you have? thanks, rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nav54 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 i have the 712 raptor mate would not get rid of it i can shoot so well with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 nav, What action style is it? Is it a gas gun or the inertia? Thanks, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nav54 Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 it is the gas style model mate. I have had it now about three years probaly fired around 2000 carts. through it thats just decoying and roost shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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