Pond James Pond
New member
My 12g is a Franchi clone semi-auto. It dates back to the 60's I think.
I've shot it little and have never worked out how to load it correctly.
It is a long-recoil action where the entire barrel slides back under recoil to catch the next round from the tube. I have never been able to load it differently than loading the shells into the tube by the bottom gate-feed but then, if I want to actually shoot it, I have to load the final shell directly through the breech.
It does not appear that you can chamber a round manually straight from the tube.
Does this sound right and does loading it my way pose any risk to the gun, such as the extractor claw being forced over a rim every time I load the gun?
I've shot it little and have never worked out how to load it correctly.
It is a long-recoil action where the entire barrel slides back under recoil to catch the next round from the tube. I have never been able to load it differently than loading the shells into the tube by the bottom gate-feed but then, if I want to actually shoot it, I have to load the final shell directly through the breech.
It does not appear that you can chamber a round manually straight from the tube.
Does this sound right and does loading it my way pose any risk to the gun, such as the extractor claw being forced over a rim every time I load the gun?