New Member, New Firearm owner and a semi-auto shotgun question...

L

Lugrov

New member
Greetings Gun Nutz!

I'm a new firearm owner, but have been shooting off and on for more than 40 years, more often than not with my now departed father, who left me a couple of old shotguns. Almost all of my shotgun shooting has been using my dad's over/under 12 or 20 gauge firearms. I just purchased a new 12 Gauge Winchester SX4 Defender, which is a semi-automatic gun. I understand (after having purchased the gun) that semi-auto shotguns may have trouble cycling (spitting out) spent, low recoil ammunition and may require breaking in to improve the cycling efficacy.

Can anyone comment on how one should break in a firearm of this type, and confirm (or deny) that breaking in the firearm will improve the cycling of low recoil ammo.

Apologies if my terminology is wrong, I'm kind of new to doing this kind of research.
 
Hi there. Not an expert, but have broken in a few guns...Apologies if I am stating the obvious; I don't know your experience level.
1. Check the manual and/or online SX4 forum. There should be gun-specific advice out there.
2. Strip the gun down, clean and lube. Do not shoot it as it came from the shop; the shipping oil is a preservative, not a lube.. Make sure all the screws and pins are tight; there are a lot of guns turning up with finger-tight screws these days.
2A. Take some tools, a flashlight, a cleaning rod with you to the range. If you're ready for trouble, it's less likely to happen!
3. I would try to do the break-in in one block of time, say 150ish shots. Why all at once? Because you want to watch for trends. You want to see if cold action versus hot makes a difference, you want to see if low recoil birdshot gives you trouble while full throttle slug doesn't. Shotguns have a lot of variables, so write a plan and try to get through the ammo in a logical sequence.
4. Many break-ins recommend high brass loads. I actually recommend birdshot first, just in case. For example, if your action isn't locking properly, I'd rather find out with a light load than a heavy load. It's also pretty much a worse case for cycling; if your birdshot works straight away on a new gun, great, you're having a good day. If a couple fail to eject, you have a data point. Come back to the same load at the end of the day and see if it got better.
5. Move to the heavy loads after 20 birdshot. Shoot, say, 100 slugs, ideally of the same type. Why the same type? Because we want to limit variables. If your gun suddenly starts playing up, you don't want to be guessing if the gun has a problem or it's this random ammo you're feeding. Why slugs? Because most ranges prefer you use them, and you can get a better idea of accuracy issues than you will with buckshot.
5a...but...if you're having a lot of cycling problems, or the accuracy is terrible, have some other manufacturer's slugs on hand to check if they do better.
6. Come back to the birdshot and shoot another 20. Compare to the first 20. Same, better, worse?
7. Go home and think about what you learned. Plan your next trip and line up the ammo for any data gaps.
8. Enjoy!
 
Ooh; forgot to answer your question. Does it help with reliable cycling. Maybe. Each gun is different. You may have a small burr that's dragging on the action and it needs rubbing off. Or you might not. I have found all my guns have worked more reliably after the first 200 rounds. Except my VZ61. That thing needed 500 rounds to settle down! That's an outlier, the 22lr version of that gun is notorious for the world's longest break-in.
 
Hi and thank you for your responses. I will try to do as you suggest (to the extent I am able to use birdshot in a range) but wow, I imagine a reasonably sore shoulder after 150-12gauge shotgun shots in a day.
 
Lugrov. On your birdshot point. Most ranges will let you shoot into the ground or the berm, but not the target. Ask what they can live with. If you're shooting indoors, well, that's going to be a short conversation :)

And yes, 150 shots is a lot. Hopefully you will see a trend and not need the whole lot. It's not a problem to do it over several range trips, it just means you'll have to make better notes as you go along.
 
Thanks SwampyOttawa, I will look for a nearby outdoor range, I live in downtown Toronto, so it's not going to be TOO nearby lol, I lived in Ottawa for half a decade, probably easier to find such places nearby there but... Toronto is where they pay me, so I'm stuck here for a few more years.
 
Welcome to Nutz from SEOntario. As an old veteran shotgun shooter I would just shoot whatever you plan on using. I have a SX3 that I’ve put tens of thousands of rounds thru and never “Broke It in” I just shot it and keep it clean and maintained. I own or have owned more than I care to count and have never done Break in for a shotgun. They either work and are a good design or a pos and you buy a different one. The SX4 is a great gun!! My SX3 is one of my most favourite semis of all time!!
 
Welcome! I've never followed a specific break in protocol but second that it's best to strip the gun down, clean and lube and to not shoot it as it came from the shop. That's what was recommended in my sx4 manual and it cycled light loads for me np
 
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