*VIDEO* My shotgun won't pump?

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TV-PressPass

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Hey guys,

I have a Fabarm Martial 12g that won't cycle properly. The first round in the tube always releases, but after that its hit and miss. Depending on ammo, it misses more than it hits. I can see that there is a catch or lever inside that should let the shell drop from the mag tube into the receiver, but I can't understand why that catch releases some times and not others.

I've made a hi-def video illustrating the problem. Probably won't finish uploading for another hour though. Frackin internet and its slow ass. I'd love it if somebody had any ideas though.

This is pretty much my last shot before I take this thing to a gun-smith. I'm a strong believer in do-it-yourself though so I figured I'd consult the wisdom of the forum first and see if there is any ideas.

I've taken it apart, removed the barrel, pump, and trigger assembly and I can see the grooves on the pump that are supposed to activate those releases.

This is the first gun I ever bought, and I love the snub-nosed little bastard. But she drives me nuts when I put five rounds in the tube and only get 2!

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
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I was gonna smart ass you and say maybe it's a single shot,but I won't...

if the first 2 feed then the rest don't,consistently,it might be a spring or follower issue.
is the follower doing it's job and not binding up?
is there sufficient spring tension to feed the rounds properly when the mag isn't full?
just some thoughts...
 
Video is finally up.

The spring seems good to me. When I release the catch manually and have the . . . #### whats the word . . . feed ramp? Feed ramp pushed up the snap cap shoots out of there pretty good.

How would I check the follower? I can see the little red dome that is the end of the magazine, but don't know how it would be failing.
 
BrotherRockeye said:
I was gonna smart ass you and say maybe it's a single shot,but I won't...

if the first 2 feed then the rest don't,consistently,it might be a spring or follower issue.
is the follower doing it's job and not binding up?
is there sufficient spring tension to feed the rounds properly when the mag isn't full?
just some thoughts...
Click to expand...

I was going to say it is a semi...lol. Sorry dude, I have no idea.
 
This is the first gun I ever bought, and I love the snub-nosed little bastard. But she drives me nuts when I put five rounds in the tube and only get 2!
Click to expand...


Do you feel an equal amount of resistance on the shell if there is one two or three rounds in the magtube? If the gun is at full capacity, does it fail only after the first two or three rounds? If so then I'd say your mag tube spring is weak sauce.
 
+1 on the mag spring and follower. I'd open the mag tube and take out the spring and follower to see if there's anything wrong with them. The follower could fail by causing unwanted friction or being in the tube at an odd angle or being chipped or damaged in some way. Maybe the spring is bent or tweaked or someone left something in the mag tube the last time the gun was taken apart? Worth a check.
 
Depending on ammo, it misses more than it hits.
Click to expand...

I'd definitely get it fixed by a gunsmith if the follower/spring are fine. All 2 3/4" ammo should cycle 100% reliably. (Except snap caps, the cheaper plastic ones don't cycle in my 870's.)
 
The snap caps I'm using are 3" beasts. I did take it out shooting with the girl not long ago, and it cycled remington low recoil slugs just fine. Is it possible that this is a 2 and 3/4 inch thing? I'm pretty sure I've had cheapie Winchesters fail in there before.

The spring feels fine and strong. And even when the magazine is full I've had it fail to cycle the second shot . . . and every shot after.

What would I look for on the follower that might indicate a problem?
 
Fabs are all 3 inch chambers.

You either have a dirty or damaged release tab (or spring).

Look at the exploded view parts list for the Fab Pumps:

http://www.fabarm.com/pdf/manuals/esplosopumpshotguns.zip

You are looking at the little tabs below the receiver, parts H-001/002 and H-32-A.

H-32-A is a simple spring returned tab, and it is released by the slide rail as it slides into the receiver. Only possible issues there is either dirt or that the spring is missing or broken.

H-001 sounds like the part you are having issues with, and it is released by the slide striking behind it (H-002 is the spring). If that tab or spring is missing/broken/dirty, or the slide itself is bent, it won't release reliably. I can see from the video that your manual slide release lever (in front of the trigger guard) is working and resetting fine, so the trigger end of the mechanism is not likely the problem.

Take the slide out and inspect it thoroughly (Part G-029, etc...), and then as a last resort, push the retainer pin holding H-001 out towards the ejection port to remove the slide release and inspect/clean it as well. I would only go that far if you are very detail oriented and have a few precision tools, or you will likely lose something...
 
Now that is a detailed response!

I have to confess I actually looked at this PDF before when I was trading stocks around. But with a little guidance I think I can actually try to clean that out. Thanks for the assist, and I'll report back in the morning
 
Those Winchester cheapies with the low metal casing give a lot of shotguns problems. Do all high brass rounds cycle fine ?

Don't worry about snap caps cycling, just worry about real ammo. I only throw a snap cap in the chamber and pull the trigger after I'm done cleaning and oiling, because even the expensive a-zoom snap caps will sometimes hang up if I fill the mag.

If you cycle all high brass real ammo fine, then just avoid that cheap winchester low metal cased crap.
 
TV-PressPass said:
Now that is a detailed response!

I have to confess I actually looked at this PDF before when I was trading stocks around. But with a little guidance I think I can actually try to clean that out. Thanks for the assist, and I'll report back in the morning
Click to expand...

Be sure to take any parts with springs apart with your hands and the part in a large plastic bag. I use the largest Zip-Locs I could find and pre close the middle then slip my hands in. There is nothing worse than the sound of some tiny spring hitting the floor:redface:
Kim
 
diemaco said:
I disagree. I know of many guns that don't cycle snap caps well even though they perform just fine with real ammo.
Click to expand...

7.62mm said:
I agree! I had no ends of problems with shotgun snap caps......I ended up making my own dummy rounds minus the powder and primers.

I that is not it, the timing is off, or the release has been bent out of spec..
Click to expand...

+3, my wingmaster has problems with the plastic snap caps double feeding out of the mag, but no issues with live ammo, even the el cheapo bulk pack Federal ammo.

Mark
 
Could be a spring issue if the first is ok but the second won't load.. obviously the first loads because there's enough tension to force the shell out into the loader but not the second.. interesting...
 
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