12 Ga VH sticky opening after firing?
 

I finally got around to checking to see if my VH is adequate for Turkeys out to 30 yards. After researching quite a few threads here I concluded that being a 2 frame 12 gauge with my rough measurement putting the chamber at around 2 3/4" that I would use Winchester 1 1/8 oz #4's that are listed at 1250 fps. Knowing that the wood is probably the weak part I only fired 3 round through it (one happened to be my handload from a few years ago that actually patterned better than I thought it would). After each round when I broke the gun open it seemed to stick for about 1/8" and I had to use a little force to get it open. Not a lot but it did not drop open.

Any thoughts?

could be the pins hanging on the primers

my Super Fox won't open with winchesters - works fine with anything else

i have heard of others having issues with other gun/primer combinatins

if you fired WW shells, did your reload also have a WW primer? if so- see if occurs with another brand

Inspect the primers on spent rounds for "drag marks" that would indicate the firing pins are protruding to the point they are dragging on the primer(s) thus the resistance.

I will have to double check, I do recall seeing the pin on the left barrel as I was opening the gun but it may have been after I opened it and re closed it trying to figure it out.

Sticky opening on a Parker Trojan 20 drove me crazy for a while, another one I owned close in serial # never had a problem. Took it apart cleaned everything still sticky. Switched to better quality factory loads and troubles went away. The sticky gun was nearly unfired other well worn. Tight and trouble with some shells was my problem .

Winchester steel head shells current production are terrible, try some AA or Remington STS before you do anything else

William

Are you sure it is just not the feel of the gun cocking?

If not, it can be the hull itself sticking in the chamber as it starts to be extracted.

If it is stiff from the get go and will not open at all, then it could be a primer/firing pin issue. If the gun opens a little and then the resistence is felt, then it is a cocking/hull sticking in chamber issue.

Well, I am not too humble to admit that Brian suggested I start from the start. Kinda like making sure that the computer that won't turn on is plugged in.
I hadn't realized that I had any 12 Ga snap caps around but I did so I just tried it. Same tight opening. I don't believe my 20 gauge Repro re-cocks that tight but I only use it for Turkeys too. It had been so long since I could get out and shoot that I did not realize they cocked that hard. My first instinct was that the loads were too much for the gun.

Thanks for the help.

But does it do the same thing with a hull? I have some inexpensive snap caps that do the same thing, they create some resistance when opening the gun even though the gun functions fine with various types of ammo.

I have had a 12 ga or 2 that were extremely stiff on cocking after firing. I disassembled and cleaned one vigorously down to the bare bones and no improvement. Some of them are just stiff.

Mine however, was very obviously stiff from cocking, not like the breech was stuck.

To test it you could just dry fire it.

Could the old problem of the shell rims sticking in the rim recesses. Winchester rims are all out of round. I can't use AA hulls in my DH12; Rem STS and any old paper shells work fine. Rim recesses are a bit tight and the rims of newer shells are poorly made and out of round. Turn a shell around and try to put the rim into the recess and see if it fits well or is sticky.