New Stoeger M3020, help

C

chris in va

New member
This is my first semiauto shotgun and having a few issues on the first trip out. Instructions mention to use 3” shells to break it in, but ammo is hard to come by and I had to use Winchester target loads.

The gun refused to load the second shell, single shot only. The bolt got most of the way back but would stop short. It also had a lot of ejection problems, even after two boxes.

I plan to clean off whatever oil it came with and use CLP, heard it helps a lot. I’m mainly confused about the ‘cartridge drop lever’ as with most other firearms you just hit the bolt release and it’s ready to go. I tried that but it doesn’t function the same. With my Mossberg 500, rack the action and it’s chambered. Not this one.
 
I didn’t clean it, was in a crunch to try it out for a bit. I cleaned and lubed soon as I got home.

As for the buttons, if I am to shoot doubles or more, do I drop a shell in the chamber and hit the button and then the ‘cartridge drop lever’?
 
When I've got mine, before first shot, I fully stripped it and cleaned everything with Hornady OneShot and then oiled it with Weapon Shield.
After above procedure, I had flawless function with different types of shells.
Now, I might just be lucky and you might need to follow manufacturer's recommendation and break the shotgun in.

In any case, I would not hesitate contacting the manufacturer with any question. In fact the support is provided by Benneli techs and they sound knowledgeable.

Regarding the action (Benelli Inertia), the buttons are indeed confusing at first. That's what I've learned:
1. Black button releases the bolt and chambers the round but doesn't strip the shell from the tube. During actual shooting, the shell is stripped automatically.
2. The silver button (near trigger) is the button that strips the shell from the tube. To be able to strip, the bolt must perform full cycle prior, to "wind" the mechanism.
3. There are 3 positions the shell might be in this firearm: in tube, under the bolt (ghost) and in chamber. My understanding is that rounds can be in any and all of those positions for normal operation. In fact that's what allows having 6 rounds (4 + 1 + 1), at least in 12ga. For some reason I wasn't able to do so in 20ga.
4. To eject the rounds from the tube, you do the following: cycle the bolt (to eject round in chamber and "wind" the shell lifter), press the silver button, cycle the bolt twice, repeat (skipping the initial bolt cycle).
 
Most semis are easy to operate; drop a round in the chamber and hit the bolt release button, then load your second round into the magazine tube and you'll be GTG.
Some guns, like my Berettas, have a mag cut-off button that allows you safely unload the chamber without another round loading from the mag tube (nice if hunting and you need to unload for safety); hitting that cutoff can turn my gun into a single shot inadvertently (don't ask me how I know).................
 
On the left side of my Beretta action is a small button/switch. By pressing it in, it prevents any ammo in the mag tube from being released and loaded into the chamber. This is useful when you need to unload the chamber, but you do not want to work the action to completely unload the magazine. I inadvertently hit that button one time while shooting sporting clays and didn't figure it out at first, thinking my gun was broken. Live and learn.

MOST semis are simple as stated before; drop one in the chamber, close bolt, load your other in the mag tube.
 
Thank you! I misread your post as saying somehow it was possible to inadvertently slam fire a shell by pushing the button and racking.

My mistake! Thanks!
 
I took it out today, managed to get a few double shots but still getting jammed quite a bit. The bolt isn’t coming back far enough. If this gun can’t cycle common target ammo it may have to go back to Stoeger.

I’m really wishing I had bought the o/u now.
 
If you didn't give it a good cleaning, there might be some gunk causing it to not completely cycle. The owner's manual will have the details for that and relubing
 
I have had the m3000 (12 gauge cousin of your gun) for just a few months. My manual says it needs 200 rounds of 3 dram or higher loads to break in. I’ve stuck with recommended ammo for about 160 rounds so far and it’s run flawless.
 
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