Mossberg 500 SERIOUS Jam Or Something; All Help Appreciated?

A

adn258

New member
So I went to a gun show recently and bought what appears to be a new Mossberg 500 pump action 12 Guage Shotgun with just a pistol grip no stock i.e. cruiser like model which also has a heat sink on it.

I bought it because our other 12 guages like the Remington 870 3.5 inch chamber is WAYY to heavy and big to carry around the back country, where as I can put this is a scabbard and carry some 3 inch black magic slugs for bear protection (at least that's what I thought).

I bring it home clean it, everything seems to be great. I've never shot a Mossberg shotgun before, but I've only heard good things about the 500 so my uncle and I go out in the woods to go shooting.

All seems good right? I fill the gun up with 7 rounds of 2 and 3/4ths inch LIGHT LOAD, low brass, like number 7 bird shot just to get a feel for the gun and try it out right? I shoot it a few times and everything works fine up until round #4. All of a sudden I can't pull the pump back to eject the shell out...hmmm.:mad:

How I've had some shotgun and gun jams before but nothing that I couldn't figure out, and nothing like this. Luckily my shooting trip wasn't over as I brought the good ole Glock 19 9mm and we passed about 200 rounds through that problem FREE of course lol. :)

Glock = Austrian made; = Works Flawlessly. Mossberg 500 = U.S. Made = Screws Up After 4 Rounds.
Got me thinking; is stuff made in the U.S. like this Shotgun a pile of s*** these days?:mad:

Of course I've shot my Remington 870 12 Guage hundreds of times perfectly (those things seem to be built like a tank, but they're too heavy for the back country ).


So in any case I bring it home in frustration and of course I can't fix it and there's a shell still stuck in the chamber. :mad::mad:
I took pictures of the gun in the hopes perhaps people here can be of assistance. So the gun and the chamber appear to be too far forward for the hammer to even cause the firing pin to come forward. The elevator or something appears to be jammed up beside the barrel which I just don't get. The gun is NOT loaded and the round in the chamber is just an empty shell which I can't eject because I can't pull back the pump. Also the safety button that allows you to chamber the first round it pushed in and stuck. Below are some picture links . I thank you ALL so much for any help or ideas in advance.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/23/img2309go.jpg

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/691/img2310r.jpg

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/img2314y.jpg

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/5/img2324bf.jpg

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/img2325mr.jpg
 
From my experience I think that the Mossberg 500 is ****. Happy with plenty other US made guns as well as my flawless Glock.
 
If you are comfortable with doing it....

While in a safe area and keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction gently remove the takedown knob located on the end of the lower tube. Then very carefully remove the barrel from the receiver. It should easily slide out and off of the loaded round, which can then be removed from the extractor. If you encounter any resistance with the barrel, STOP. And, see below...If, not, then remove the remaining rounds and then drive the pin out that holds the trigger group in. Then you can assess your problem.

Or...just take it to a competent gunsmith. Call ahead and request advice on proper etiquette or leave it in the vehicle until you explain your situation to him/her.

Good luck and let us know what you find...
 
Thank you very much goofyfoot etc. for the help. What was I thinking? I forgot to say that I have tried to field strip the gun and what not by taking off the cap at the end of the magazine tube etc. however I can't get it too come off like it normally should. Something is keeping that from happening. I will probably have to take it too a gun smith and let you guys know what's up, that is unless someone knows something brilliant on here.
 
That happens when cheap ammo is being used.. What happens is that the metal casing on the shell splits causing it to expand inside the barrel there for getting stuck inside the barrel.. The easiest thing to do is to pull the pump and at the same time insert some sort of rod inside the barrel to push out the empty casing.. I had that happen to me and I took it to a gunsmith and thats what he did.. Then it happend again so I fixed it my self.. good gun, cheap or possibly old ammo..
 
That happens when cheap ammo is being used.. What happens is that the metal casing on the shell splits causing it to expand inside the barrel there for getting stuck inside the barrel.. The easiest thing to do is to pull the pump and at the same time insert some sort of rod inside the barrel to push out the empty casing.. I had that happen to me and I took it to a gunsmith and thats what he did.. Then it happend again so I fixed it my self.. good gun, cheap or possibly old ammo..
Click to expand...

So I got the shell out got the barrel off. For some retarded reason I can't get the pin back in for the trigger but I want to take it apart anyway. I'm trying to remove the trigger but you can't do that until you remove the pistol grip which I can't for the life of me do which is supposed to be done with an Alan Wrench from the butt of the grip. It won't budge no matter which direction you turn though I assume you turn it left. I don't want to ruin my gun anymore so I will probably have to take it too a gun smith.
 
I've seen this type of jam happen in both 870's and 500's. It's most commonly complained about in newer 870's where the chambers may not be as highly polished as older versions and they're not broken in from use. Oddly enough I've seen it most often in Older 500's and 835's that have had literally thousands of rounds through them. Never had one of my 500's or my 835 do it but several of my hunting group have in my presence. If it's a spent shell and you're in the field, hold the pump and whack the buttstock downward on a somewhat yielding surface (cornfield works great :D) and the shell will either come out or the extractor will tear the rim off. If the latter happens use a cleaning rod to knock the shell out of the chamber and go back to work (until it happens again).

In the 500's and 835's I've seen it happen with it's been an intermittent problem and it's happened with more than one type of ammo, usually 3" or 3.5" 00 buckshot of one flavor or another. Never seen it happen with birdshot.

In 870's I've had it happen with one particular barrel that hated Brenneke KO slugs for some reason, but never with any other barrel (out of a few dozen that have come through my hands over the years) on any other gun. It's been widely posted on the internet to be a common problem to newer 870 expresses, particularly when combined with cheap value pack birdshot loads.

It goes without saying that if you end up with a LIVE round in the chamber, disregard everything I said in the preceding paragraphs.
 
I've seen this type of jam happen in both 870's and 500's. It's most commonly complained about in newer 870's where the chambers may not be as highly polished as older versions and they're not broken in from use.
Click to expand...

Its not that they aren't polished well enough, some of them are undersized and have to be reamed out to function properly... My new wingmaster had that problem...
 
I didn't see you say what specific ammo you were using, but if I had to guess, I'd say you were shooting inexpensive Winchester shells. I have a mossberg 500, and my brother shoots a Remington 870. We've both had our guns jam up on those shells. The brass must be a little too wide or something.
 
The Allen bolt for the PGO likely has blue loctite. It may help to get the wrench in good deep and square and tap it in the CC direction to free the bond.

When you reinstall it, add a washer to assure that you do not get it in too far to affect the action...

When you say you cleaned it, did you do a thorough strip and deep cleaning? Bronze brush to the bore and chamber?

Have you got it back together?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TekCslIUWMQ
The above is the video I refer to and refer others to.

Brent
 
The Allen bolt for the PGO likely has blue loctite. It may help to get the wrench in good deep and square and tap it in the CC direction to free the bond.

When you reinstall it, add a washer to assure that you do not get it in too far to affect the action...

When you say you cleaned it, did you do a thorough strip and deep cleaning? Bronze brush to the bore and chamber?

Have you got it back together?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TekCslIUWMQ
The above is the video I refer to and refer others to.

Brent
__________
Click to expand...


Thanks for all the help--I'm in a better position than I was yesterday. So to answer some question the gun is reassembled via the slight disassembly it went through (not even field stripped just removed the barrel and the pin to hold the trigger). I want to completely field strip the gun and check all the parts etc. Clean them thoroughly and make sure all parts are in moving order so to speak. I still CANNOT get the pistol grip off, why I don't know. It's on their ridiculously tight I've even tried using some Remington gun oil etc. No luck yet.

AS FAR AS THE AMMO I was using; Yes, it was cheap they are called Estate Loads. Tiny Bird Shot loads 2.75 inch small, light load ammo. Any ideas on removing that bolt would be loved at this point lol.
 
Oil will do no good as it cannot really get there to the threads.

An allen with 3/8th socket so you can use a regular ratchet... The do the pre-load on the wrench as I suggested above and "ring" the bolt with hammer taps... A "deadblow" hammer is best for this.

It cracks the loctite bond.

Loctite is simply super glue aka:cyanoacrelate in predetermined max strength...

Brent
 
Oil will do no good as it cannot really get there to the threads.

An allen with 3/8th socket so you can use a regular ratchet... The do the pre-load on the wrench as I suggested above and "ring" the bolt with hammer taps... A "deadblow" hammer is best for this.

It cracks the loctite bond.

Loctite is simply super glue aka:cyanoacrelate in predetermined max strength...

Brent
Click to expand...

Took it out shot it today, works just fine. Got the Grip off too :). Probably just some freak thing with that round as I put through like 30 rounds today. I don't think the gun was broken in. In any case it does feel like a decent quality pump.
I really appreciate everyone's help.
 
I know this thread is old, and Ive noticed that the trigger group assembly pins can cause the action to seize if they are not completely flush in the areas/channels that the bolt slide rides. This can happen during disassembly and reassembly. I recently stripped my weapon to hone action parts and one of the trigger group pins came out about 1/16th inch. Although the trigger slid back into place easily, the pin was causing the bolt slide to stop. after flushing the pins, the action racked smoothly. Hope this helps anyone with a similar "JAM".
 
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