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Browning BPS Hunter Pump Jamming

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MidTennFisher

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Joined
Jul 23, 2012
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1,231
Location
Upstate South Carolina
I bought a brand new Browning BPS Hunter pump shotgun, 12 gauge with a 28" barrel. After shooting only 122 rounds through it at the skeet range to get ready for doves, the thing completely locked up after firing a shot. I couldn't eject the shell and the release by the trigger that is pressed when cycling the pump to load a shell had no spring tension at all. Prior to this gun being fully frozen, I did have a few times where I tried to cycle shells after firing and it would feel stuck at first, I'd pull back on the slide a second time and the shell popped out. After talking to a few guys about it they seemed to think it was just a matter of cheap, thin brass target loads expanding and getting stuck and that this can often happen with cheap shells. Last night I decided to pull back on the pump with a bit more force and out came the shell, no problem. I then cycled the action several times and it was as smooth as can be.

The question for the experts is - do you agree that this was just a cheap shell and this won't happen with "real" shells? I want to take it to the dove fields this weekend more than once. Do you guys think it will fire and cycle with no problem using Federal game loads? What I was shooting at the range were 2-3/4" shells, 9 shot, 2-3/4 dram equivalent and I believe it was 1oz of shot. Some off brand I had never heard of before, definitely not top quality stuff. I borrowed my father's over/under just in case but I really prefer to shoot my pump. All input and advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
Ammo type absolutely makes a difference. The red Winchester Universal are probably the worst for extraction issues.

Give the chamber a good cleaning just to be sure. ;)



The button by the trigger (action bar lock) didn't have spring tension because you had fired the gun.
 
Funny thing is Browning told me cheap shells absolutely shouldn't cause that gun to jam and that I'd need to send it in to them to get fixed...and wait 4-6 weeks to get it back. That's kind of ridiculous. 4-6 weeks without my hunting gun can cause me to miss a lot of good season.
 
MidTennFisher":3mw0cq7e said:
Funny thing is Browning told me cheap shells absolutely shouldn't cause that gun to jam and that I'd need to send it in to them to get fixed...and wait 4-6 weeks to get it back. That's kind of ridiculous. 4-6 weeks without my hunting gun can cause me to miss a lot of good season.
Click to expand...
I have a BPS. It's never missed a lick. Nice guns.
 
Yea that's what I expect out of that brand. It's not some WalMart cheap-o. I'll be shooting some heavier Federal rounds through it for doves this whole weekend and expect it to work flawlessly. Now if only I can aim a little better.
 
I bought one around 1998 new that did the same thing. It got to where you couldn't move it. It did it with heavy duck loads and buckshot all the way to light dove loads. I sold it to a guy who said he could fix it. I was so ticked off I didn't ask him any questions except where's the money.
 
Remove the barrel and polish the chamber with a bronze brush wrapped in 0000 steel wool. You can do this either by hand or with a drill. There is the possibility that it is factory defective. If this is the case it will do it with any shell you fire. I have seen several Remington shotguns with this problem.
 
Thanks for all the info. As an update, since forcing that cheap target shell out I've fired close to 100 rounds through it while dove hunting and it worked without a hiccup. I'm going to blame the cheap shells for my issue and hope everything keeps working well. I really like this gun so far.
 
Glad it is working for you but hope your decision doesn't haunt you. If the shell stuck, the chamber likely has some debris or is not "polished" smooth. Higher quality shells are much less likely to swell and cause issues, but..... Cleaning the chamber well and shooting it may eventually polish the chamber but it might also bite you. Wait til you get a cheap steel shot load hung in there. My $0.02.
 

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