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Joined: 31 Jul 2014 Posts: 4

I have a one year old Merkel 1620 sxs that has had issues with just dimpling the primer and not firing the shell on occasion. Happened quite a bit last summer on clays before hunting season.Used it on pheasants and only had one not fire in 62 shots. I used factory load in the right barrel and reload in left. Its still happening this summer on clays. Dealer says the tolarences are so tight that any powder that gets behind the ejectors could cause shells not to sit right.Granted there mostly reloads but that's what we have to use. Has anybody had this issue?

Rich

I have fired 100's of rounds through my 1620 combo, all in 16b and have never had a FTF when I had the lever towards the center. I once had a piece of grass caught and when I closed it the lever didn't move far enough to the left to allow it to fire. Once I found the debris it never happened again. I have shot Remington Gun Clubs, Westley Richards, B&P and some Winchester Super X.
I agree with the tolerances being tight, a thin piece of grass wouldn't let mine close.

AM

Several questions here. Which barrel is failing to fire? Does it happen with factory rounds, reloads, or both? Have you tried both barrels w/ both loads? If so, what happens?

Joined: 22 Dec 2004 Posts: 173 Location: S. E. Arizona

If this is a disc set striker, the striker (firing pin) may be cracked. However the usual cause is crud/dry oil/thick grease. If a thorough cleaning does not fix it, then delve a little deeper.

Joined: 31 Jul 2014 Posts: 4

I SENT THE GUN BACK TO THE MERKEL DISTRIBUTOR IN AL. HE ADJUSTED THE FIRING PINS TO PROTRUDE FURTHER OUT. I JUST GOT THE GUN BACK A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO - I MAY USE IT FOR DOVE HUNTING NEXT WEEK AND I'M PLANING ON SHOOTING A SXS EVENT IN ABOUT THREE WEEKS. I MAINLY SHOOT CHEDDITE RELOADS WITH CHEDDITE PRIMERS. I HOPE THIS SOLVES THE ISSUE.

*Last edited by skeettx on Fri Sep 12, 2014 6:16 am; edited 1 time in total*

FRBRITTS
Good luck and please let us know on how the
dove hunts are going and about the shoot
Mike

Joined: 05 Nov 2005 Posts: 219 Location: Sussex Wisconsin

now it will be harder to open after firing.... Rolling Eyes

When it comes to new shotguns, especially high quality ones like a Merkel, the problem usually lies with the ammo and not the gun. It's especially true with reloads.

I suspect the problem lies with how deeply your primers are being seated or the ones you've selected are slightly undersized for the primer seats in your once fired hulls. Primers which are too deeply seated can lead to misfires. In some cases, very loose fitting primers will be pushed deeper into the primer seat by the force of the striker without firing. That is why I asked the questions above.

Try laying a straight edge across the faces of some factory rounds (any gauge will do). Then do the same thing with several of your reprimed hulls. You should not see any more than a few thousandths of an inch of space between the edge and the primer cup. Use the factory rounds as a gauge.

If this is the primary cause of your FTF problems, then the solution is to mike some of the original spent primers from your once fired hulls to see what diameter they are. Then select a primer which is a close match in diameter to the spent ones. Check your primer seating depth as well. Set the ram so the primers are seated to match the depth of those of the factory rounds.

Joined: 10 Sep 2014 Posts: 1

this model is very nice and good for hunting. i own one of this model now and i was very thankful fr this gun for doing some good catch for me.

_______________________________________________
knuckle knives

Hello Janardenz
Welcome on your first posting
Where do you live?
What ammo do you use?
Again, welcome
Mike