Gun wont open far enough....

[Pa SxS]

To insert shell's ,but only by the slightest fraction

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you saying that the gun hardly opens at all or that the gun opens almost all the way but not quite far enough to insert a shell? If it's the latter, that extra little bit is when the hammers catch on the sears to fully cock. Could be dirt or something broken internally.

[chris dawe]

Apology's...it open's almost all the way,with just the rim of the cartridge catching.

I'm thinking it's dirt of some type.

[Pa SxS]

It sounds like something is restricting the barrels from dropping down completly just prior to the end of stroke. The barrels should drop down (assuming the gun is cocked) with no resistance. I'd try taking the extractor out and give it a good cleaning, then put a little oil inside the receiver well where the bell crank rides in it's cutout on both sides. If those two things don't fix the problem, I'd try and loosen the floor plate screws and give it a try. The cocking slide rides just under the floor plate and might be binding. If all else fails and you can take the gun apart, give it cleaning. Other than that or other suggestions from the forum, a trip to the gunsmith is needed.

Good luck

[Autumn Daze]

I have a 20 gauge VH extractor gun that has the same problem. I never bothered me enough to worry about it. The gun functions perfectly otherwise.