Fox Collectors

Shot the family 12 Ga Sterlingworth yesterday on clays. Gun performed well if I did my part, however I often was experiencing hard opening, particularly after firing both barrels. Virtually no problem when only firing the right barrel.

The load I was using was 23 gr of 800 X in an AA case, 1 oz lead and WW primers. (1200 FPS, 5900 LUP). The case heads all seem to fit comfortably in the extractor recess. It has been suggested that AA head diameters are often not true, and may have been jamming in the extractor. Doesn't appear to be the case. Is it possible that the primers are soft, and that the firing pins are hanging up in the dimpled primer?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide

Your thought on the Win. primers is what I experienced. I now only use Rem. or Cheddite and my hard opening stopped.

Mike

Good guess. I have 3 Fox guns that hang up on Winchester primers. CCI or Remington will cure that. I've never used them with 800X, you'd have to check on that for compatability.

If the pins are sticking in the primers, there be drag marks on the primers.

I have a pre-war 16 Sauer that was hard to open when shooting the right barrel. No drag marks. Filed a little more clearance on the ejector ends to where a thin piece of paper could slip in and problem solved. If the ejector gets snug right when it meets the cut-out in the breech, that could be the problem.

My 16 gauge SW behaved similar to yours. Had the gun stripped and cleaned. That put an end to the hard opening after firing. A very inexpensive fix!