Mossberg 85 spitting 2 snapcaps out at once.

[DrScaryGuy]

I seem to have found a 20ga mossberg 85 in my safe.
I have 2 snapcaps in 20ga, so i put them in the mag, pressed them down and let the bolt slide over them. Then when I pulled the bolt back, expecting one shell to pop up to be ready for chambering, both snapcaps went flying out the top.

Okay...

loaded both back in, let the first one go into the chamber. pull the bolt back again... first snapcap ejected and the 2nd one came flying out after.

Anybody know anything about this 80+yr old scattergun?

 

[DickFord]

There is a part called the interrupter. It may need to be replaced or bent.

 

[georgel]

Maybe that's why it's been hiding in the safe.

Is that a removable magazine? Do the rounds stay in the magazine when separate from the gun? Do the rounds stay in the magazine if you don't keep pressure on them? I would think it was a magazine lip problem.

Sometimes the snap caps are different enough from real shells to not function properly. Have you tried cycling real or full weight dummy shells?

Could be a great single shot.

 

[DrScaryGuy]

magazine is part of the receiver.
it has a strip of metal that hangs over the internal magazine that gets pushed out of the way by the bolt when it slides forward. That may be the interrupter that DickFord mentioned...
it looks like it's doing an okay job holding them snapcaps in when you load them... but when they pop up, it all goes wrong.

Maybe i can post pictures in a couple days...

 

[DickFord]

Did you fix this?

 

[RR]

Here is another thought....

Not all snapcaps are created equal and they don't dimensionally replicate a shell exactly.

Do you have a place where you can test this with actual ammo, safely? Outdoors, ear and eye pro, safe direction, backstop, etc.

You may be chasing a phantom issue if the snapcaps is your only data point.