Browning shotgun help

[JohnMarston]

hey guys,

I have a 20ga browning gold hunter and today I took it out to patern it with a couple of different loads...only to have the gun not fire. I am by no means an expert, but I took the gun apart to see if there were any visible problems (which there weren't). I tried and tried again to get it to fire to no avail. I thought it might be dirty and wasnt returning to battery fully, nope...fully returning all the way forward. Does anyone have any ideas? This is bar none my favorite shotgun and I really want it to work correctly. Prior to this the gun had sat for a bit but none of the mechanisms seemed dirty, gunked, or unlubricated

HELP PLEASE!!!!

Dom

 

[JCat]

Take the safety off...

No, but in seriousness you'd have to go through a process of function checking and give us more detail in order to really understand what is going on...

 

[smokey-seven]

More info needed!

Does it go click when you pull the trigger?
Are the primers in the shells hit?

 

[JohnMarston]

the primers are not dinged, i have taken everything apart and to my knowledge is functioning. the trigger breaks, launches the hammer, it strikes (you can hear it go "PINK!") Ive chambered 2 3/4" shells, 3" shells, checked to make sure the barrel was seated correctly, made sure all the gas components were existing and correctly installed...

 

[MisterHappy]

Sounds like a broken or blocked firing pin

based on the schematic:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=0/sid=408/schematicsdetail/Gold-12-20-Ga


You say, "[you've] taken everything apart", but was that just dropping the trigger group?
If yes, I'd remove the bolt carrier, and see if it's all crudded up, or if you have a broken part. Gas operated guns tend to get dirty, fast.....

 

[JohnMarston]

no, i know how to take the gun down to nothing, ive had the bolt carrier, bolt, trigger group out. had her stripped, i think the firing pin is blocked or broken as well. i can see the hammer drop and fall all the way forwards. Should I send it to Browning or to a good smith?

Dom

 

[Sweeney]

Pull the firing pin and inspect it.

 

[JohnMarston]

will do when i get home, is there any special way to remove it?

 

[Sweeney]

I've never taken one apart (only because I don't have one) but there is always a way...

 

[md2020]

hmmmm.... missing spring?

You lost your spring inside that holds the firing pin BACK. Don't laugh, but I lost the spring to my semi-auto shotgun and didn't notice it until I took it to the range. I pulled the trigger - hammer hit and everything. I was like WTH .... field stripped it at the range and noticed the firing pin didn't seem right. I get home and look at exploded parts list and notice the spring was MIA! I am glad I found this out at the range and not sea duck hunting. I haven't used the shotgun in a number of years and must have lost it when I cleaned it last.

I found my missing part from Brownell's.

 

[JohnMarston]

the spring is still there i remember, although it may be damaged! i will check it.

 

[smokey-seven]

Misterhappy supplied the link. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=0.../Gold-12-20-Ga

Part # 39 is the firing pin retaining pin, you will have to drive that out and then remove the pin. That said, with the bolt removed, the back end of the pin should protrude from the rear of the bolt. Press the pin forward and see if it shows past the breach face. If the pin moves freely and cannot be seen at the face, then it most likely is sheared off at the front.

Pins do break.

 

[MisterHappy]

Misterhappy supplied the link. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=0.../Gold-12-20-Ga

Part # 39 is the firing pin retaining pin, you will have to drive that out and then remove the pin. That said, with the bolt removed, the back end of the pin should protrude from the rear of the bolt. Press the pin forward and see if it shows past the breach face. If the pin moves freely and cannot be seen at the face, then it most likely is sheared off at the front.

Pins do break.

My pre-war A5 suffered a firing pin break.....Numrich informed me that a replacement was about what I paid for the damn gun! Gunbroker, on the other hand, was much more reasonable.

 

[jarhead66]

I had a Browning BT100 trap gun. The same thing happened at an ATA shoot. The firing pin was broken. It seems some models were prone to this. I ordered 2 new ones and found the original design had a square shoulder on it and the new design had a radius between the two different diameters. The new design was much stronger and never broke again.

 

[JohnMarston]

i can push the firing pin out of the orifice by hand, and it doesn't bind. something else is wrong as the firing pin, spring and the rest of the assy is intact...

 

[smokey-seven]

If the hammer is falling fully, and the leading edge of the pin is not deformed, the bolt may not be in full battery. If it is, then the barrel cannot be fully engaged to the receiver. There has to be a gap between the primer and the pin or something holding the bolt away from full battery.