Baikal IJ-18 unreliability

[Riverboy]

I tried this on the gunsmithing forum, but got nothing. Maybe somebody here will know something about this :

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Bought a cheap shotgun to see if the wife likes to trap shoot. Turns out, she does. The problem is that I bought a Baikal IJ-18 single shot 12 gauge, and it is misfiring quite a bit. I thought the firing pin might be broken, but it doesn't appear to be. ( I have taken it out through the breech face, it looks normal, although I don't have anything to campare it to, or measure against) I have just about completely disassembled the receiver, except for the underlever assembly, and I cannot see anything that strikes me as 'not right'.
Does anyone have any experience with this model of shotgun, if so, what should I be looking for ?
The gun would typically fire about 3 - 5 in a row, then misfire the next, and may misfire the next 2 or three. The misfired shells are very slightly dimpled (just a mark, really) on the primer. The shells that actually fire, have a normal looking, large dimple on the primer. It is difficult to troubleshoot, as it does not happen every time.
Any advice or insight would be much appreciated.

Edit : I left the safety out when reassembling, thinking that maybe the trigger was not moving far enough for the sear to completly release from the hammer. After reassembly, we took it out to the range and put a box of shells through it with no problems. The next day at the trap range, it started misfiring again. The gun is not worth sending anywhere to be repaired, and since I had to cut about 2.5 inches off the buttstock to get it to fit her, I doubt the guy I bought it from would like it back.

Any thoughts ?
Ryan
Ryan

 

[brybenn]

When you close the action don't be gentle. Slam it or switch to a shell with a softer primer. I've never heard of anyone having troubles with a baikal single or any baikal for that matter

 

[Riverboy]

I've tried gently lifting the finger lever and closing, then release the lever.
I've tried gently closing without the lever.
I've tried gripping just infront of, and just behind the receiver and snapping.
I've tried the above just about as hard and as fast as I can.
I've even tried the one handed flick the barrel up, but the finger lever pinched my finger and I started swearing and bleeding.

RYan

 

[fat tony]

I never took one of these apart. maybe there is a bit of dirt or a burr on the side of the firing pin or in the firing pin recess? Maybe the hammer spring has lost some tension? If so perhaps you could take the spring and stretch it out slightly and try it again.

I had a problem with a Stevens 58D *yes, a bolt action* shotgun that did not have enough force to set off the primers, it would just dimple them. I found out the problem was that the sear slot was way too narrow for the sear. consequently, when the trigger tripped the sear, the cocking piece would go forward, but slowly as the sear was not going down fast enough (friction with the sides of the sear slot in the receiver). The remedy in my case was to drawfile the sides of the sear recess and it worked reliably after that.

Maybe a roughly similar scenario is happening with your shotgun. I hope you get it figured out. I too have not heard of any problems with the IJ18 action.

I guess it's possible that something is rubbing on the hammer or striker as it's on its way to the firing pin.

 

[Penny Shed]

Just for the record, I have the same trouble with my Baikal IJ-18E 20 gauge, had a close look inside nothing seems to be burred, noticed a slight indentation on the hammer, doesn't look like much, could it be enough to misfire every so often?

By the way, new to the site, have found it very helpfull so far!

 

[Riverboy]

I'm going to take it apart again tonight. I'm starting to suspect sear/trigger issues, based on advice here and my own observations. I don't think it's the hammer spring, as I had a pretty hard time compressing it to get the gun back together. I didn't notice any denting or marks on the hammer itself. We'll see.

 

[Penny Shed]

On my IJ-18E 20 guage, when cocked, the hammer spring get compressed and there is a hole that becomes visible, i slipped a small punch in, relieved the pressure and it came right out, then its already compressed to put it back in.

 

[Riverboy]

Mine is the same, except I (stupidly ?) removed the pin I used, thinking the spring might be getting hung up in the guide. It wasn't so much fun getting it compressed again so I could reinstall it.