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Posted: 7/20/2012 12:42:44 PM EDT
| I was hoping someone could throw me some input on this issue. I recently purchased a Stevens 320 pump shotgun with the ghost sights and pistol grip. The problem with the gun is that you can rack the slide without pressing the action release button. I wasn’t sure if it was just mine so I went back to Big 5 and the 2 other Stevens 320 pump shotguns could do the same thing. I called Savage today and they said that this shouldn’t happen. So I was wondering if anyone else has this model and if it did the same thing? Or had this issue on any other shotguns and if it was safe to shoot? I have an 870, 500, and model 37 and they all lock up tight and cannot be racked unless the action release is pressed. I tried it on a Stevens 350 at the store and it also locked up and couldn't be racked unless the button was pressed. So I'm not sure if its just a problem with the 320 or what. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks |
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Yes, there is something wrong with your 320.
Is it an unsafe condition? Wellllll, safety isn't enhanced by the condition, so if it was mine, I'd get it fixed. A couple years ago a friend inherited some rusted up shotgun with an unknown history. I think it was a Stevens 67. It too wouldn't lock up. IIRC, we found that there was a spring that pushes the slide lock button down. Somehow that spring got bent. As a result, the slide lock lever wouldn't get pushed down to the locked position. A little judicious bending of the spring took care of that. I have no idea how similar the 320's trigger group might be to the 67's, so I could be off base. I would find somebody to take a look at the 320. |
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Yes, that's definitely strange that the other two 320s did it as well. Maybe somebody on the assembly floor was having a bad day and there's a whole batch that aren't right.
Even Savage says your brand new shotgun shouldn't do that, so I'd contact them about a warranty repair. Sucks, but unless you're comfortable disassembilng and troubleshooting your shotgun I'd do it. |
| Yeah I guess I should take it back to Big 5 that seems like the safe thing to do. I took it apart, cleaned it, and reassembled it but it still has the problem. No I'm not pulling the trigger and then racking the gun. It will be fully locked up and without using the action release button it will still be able to pump. It takes a little bit of force to do it but not a ton. So that's why I was unsure. But thanks for the input everyone. |
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