cannot break open my Parker after shooting
 

Just acquired a VH 12ga Parker, fired about 10 rounds through it and it froze up. It will not open, Top lever will move only slightly. Was shooting low pressure Winchester ammo. Any suggestions appreciated! Earl

First things first...

Be absolutely certain both shells in the gun have been fired.


Second...

Tell the seller of your gun that it has malfunctioned and ask for assistance from him in getting it repaired.

Could be firing pins puncturing the primers or it could be the chambers are a little tight and the brass is swelling after firing. Dean is right: contact the seller and give him an opportunity to address.

My money is on the brass washed shells I had two people in the last week tell me their pump guns wouldnt open . Alot more steel than brass , Winchester with the silver base ?

If the problem was the result of the shotshell or primer being used he would still be able to move the lever fully to the right. Mr Weidemueller tells us that the lever will move only slightly to the right.

Barrel chamber shell rim cut may not be deep or wide enough causing head space to be too tight when gun is close.
Had the problem with a 16. Recut and deepened the rim cut and all was fine.
Bob Jurewicz

Also, if the gun will not take down with forend removed, which is likely because the lever won't move, the gun will need to be placed in vise with padded jaws on top of barrels and bottom of receiver. Tighten very very slowly till lever moves to open.
Bob Jurewicz

Check the auto safety. See if it has full and free travel.

Problem resolved
 

Thanks to all for your thoughts and suggestions! I took Bob Jurewitz's advice and put the gun in my vise as he instructed. Slowly,very,very,very, slowly, tightened the vice with pressure on the lever, Voila! It opened. There were two spent cases in the gun from the same new box of Winchester Low Recoil,Low Noise Target loads--except one had a brass head, the other a silver steel head. It was marked "lite 9", something Id never used. I remember noticing it as I loaded the gun at #5 skeet station, was puzzled at the silver color, but shot my birds with it anyway. I should Have known better--that's when the gun jammed closed. When I retrieved the shell the silver case rim measured about .010 thicker than the brass. Thanks again Bob!

Bob J was spot on. I've had to do that to my Repro28 a number of times and have a D-grade and an older JD Dougal that have the same issue. It has NOTHING to do with the power of the loads. The issue is oversized and out of round extractor rims on the shells and/or rim recesses in the bbls that are undersized - at least for the poorly made shotshells made today. Old paper shells would likely work fine for you. This issue has been discussed on the forum here a number of times. You'll find that Winchester ammo has the most out of round rims. You can easily test this by putting a shell into the rim recess backwards and seeing if it goes in at all and if will rotate. I think you'll find some shells will not even go into the recess. Try shooting Remington STS shells. My D grade will digest those all day with no issues but hangs up on AA's constantly.

Yeah, I have had issues with cheap shells that have steel bases sticking some in guns. Mainly shells not ejecting in ejector guns.
The gun wasnt so much jammed up, just more difficult that normal to open. good you figured out the issue.

Richard:

How do you like your Dougall ? Is it a "lockfast" action ?

My little Dougall is a pretty little lightweight 12ga. 26", v little choke in cut bbls. 6# even. SG. Ejectors. Total redo. Very whippy little gun. Gorgeous dark wood w/checkered butt. Dimensions are a bit high for me so I rarely shoot it. Should just pass it on. Not sure what a lockfast action is but it seems a standard type mechanism. Made in London right around the time Mr Dougall passed away - maybe 1895-96, I think.

This shell sticking thing is pretty common, I think. All you have to do to test it is to stick the rim of a shell into the recess backwards and rotate it. Sometimes they won't go into the recess at all or if they do it will be tightly and your problem is at least figured out. Win AA's are by far the most inconsistent shells I've checked. STS are better. My guns with the issue will shoot old paper shells forever with no issues. It's the poorly made ammo pure and simple. I have a Clymer rim recess reamer for 12ga and used it on the Dougall, which fixed it for good. I haven't done the DH12 because, for whatever reason, the breeches are not orthogonal to the bore axis. When I put the reamer into the chamber the cutters do not hit all the way around the rim at the breech. If I were to ream the recesses part of them would be too deep by the time I got the other part reamed out and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Sounds odd I know but that's how it goes in. There's a pilot bushing on the reamer shaft that seats down in the chamber and dictates how the reamer aligns and it just doesn't seem to align evenly. I had no trouble reaming the Dougall.

Richard: I was going to post a few pictures of my Dougall with the Lockfast action, but I cannot figure out how to post a picture. The directions don't help much... I managed to get two images uploaded, and I can see them "stored" on my private message page/file. However, how to get them out of there - I have no clue and can't waste any more time trying...

Regardless, Dougall patented his own action, called the "Lockfast." The hinge pin of the shotgun was eccentric in cross section, for it acted as a cam. A lever was affixed to the hinge pin, and extended back toward the standing face of the action (along the right side). To open the gun, one lowered this lever, which caused the hinge pin to rotate counter clockwise (as viewed from the right side of the gun). This made the barrel assembly more away from the standing breech approx. 1/8". Then, the barrrels were able to be lowered in the usual manner. So, rotating the lever pulled the locking lug (under the barrels) from beneath the locking surface under the standing breech, and it also allowed the breech end of the barrels to each clear a raised circular "boss" that protruded from the stading breech, behind each barrel. I believe the action was patented in 1866. (My gun is ca. 1875, in 16 gauge). Mine is cut high in the stock too, and has cylinder bores. Heel & toe clips, nose-less hammers, back action Stanton locks & nice engraving, including the Prince of Wales plumed crown. Very light, but not one that I can shoot all that well...