Tristar Viper G2 in .410 bore.

[Lil' Dog]

I bought the Tristar because it has choke tubes. Picked it up Monday, and shot it today. I had a lot fails to eject. I locked the action up twice. The spent round was half way back but not clear of the chamber, and the one in the magazine got lodged under the bolt and locked it up tight. I had some tools with me and was able to clear the jam. The gun is new and it tells you shoot magnum loads "3 inch" for the first box to break in the action. So I did. I started to have troubles half way through my second box. So I called Tristar and they are having me send it back. My other concern is in regards to ammo. The primers were falling out of the shells after I shot them and staying in the action on occasion. This was happening to brand new factory ammo from 2 different manufactures.Whats up with that?

[BigDog58]

I have a Tristar Raptor in 12 Ga and it has shot everything I've fed it. From 2 3/4" Low Brass target loads through 3" 00 Buckshot with zero issues. I did break it in by shooting about 2 boxes of 2/34" High Brass Bird loads. So far, I'm completely happy with it.

I hope tey get yours straightened out.

[Holland&Holland]

I would guess it is tough to get a .410 auto to run well with the best manufacturers.

[Lil' Dog]

Well, day 2 went smoother for breaking in the Tristar .410 bore. I completely tore down the gun and cleaned everything and put it back together. I shot a box of 3 inch ammo from Winchester and one from Federal without any problems. Every one of them fed and ejected. So I was much happier. The gun worked well. I tried using the other ammo that I had and it gave me troubles. It would stick in the chamber and the primers would be loose and rolling around in the action after being fired. So I am done with trying them in the semi auto. I do have a single shot Sears and Roebuck bolt action. It is a POS but I can probably use up the ammo.

The ammo that is giving me trouble is from Rio and PMC. I ordered it online from a warehouse. I am going to drop them an email and tell them about the primers falling out after being fired. That just can't be right. Maybe I can get some replacement product.

[Holland&Holland]

Well, day 2 went smoother for breaking in the Tristar .410 bore. I completely tore down the gun and cleaned everything and put it back together. I shot a box of 3 inch ammo from Winchester and one from Federal without any problems. Every one of them fed and ejected. So I was much happier. The gun worked well. I tried using the other ammo that I had and it gave me troubles. It would stick in the chamber and the primers would be loose and rolling around in the action after being fired. So I am done with trying them in the semi auto. I do have a single shot Sears and Roebuck bolt action. It is a POS but I can probably use up the ammo.

The ammo that is giving me trouble is from Rio and PMC. I ordered it online from a warehouse. I am going to drop them an email and tell them about the primers falling out after being fired. That just can't be right. Maybe I can get some replacement product.

Primers falling out would have nothing to do with the gun.

[Rip Van Winkle]

Primers falling out is a sign of extreme pressure, or worn out/poorly designed hulls.

[smurfman]

Primers falling out has little bearing on pressures when dealing with shotshells. That is one difference between shotshells and metallic cartridges. Odds are the "wrong" primer was used by both companies. Both companies assemble shotshells in this country but utilize hulls from elsewhere. Rio is part of Maxan which is European and PMC hulls are also bought from the Euro market from my experience. Euro hulls have the same diameter at the flange as U.S. hulls but are straight walled to the flash hole rather than tapered inward like American. This can make for a very tenuous fit if American primers are used in Euro hulls. Those that reload are very cognizant of this as well as using Euro primers in U.S. hulls can reshape the primer pocket causing U.S. primers to fit loosely.

Bean counters being bean counters, it would not surprise me in the least if U.S. primers were bought and used in place of Euro primers due to cost or availability. As the overwhelming number of 410 shells are used in fixed breech guns, the instances of primers falling out would be seldom noticed. This would be even more true for 3" shells as few 3" shells are shot compared to 2.5".

I have used both makes of shotshell in 410 quite a bit and have not had such problems with those manufacturers but have seen similar with other manufacturers. Those times the issue for poor ejection of empties were the result of a combination of steel or zinc case heads which do not contract as quickly nor are as "slick" as brass and chambers a little less finished than the norm. Both of these can make for a little more resistance in the extracting of the shells which could mess with the timing of the mechanism. Couple that with a new gun needing to smooth out rough spots through operation (rather than doing so during assembly) and one might have issues for a bit.

The other extraction/ejection problem is ammo related rather than gun. First off, the Rio/PMC may have a different gas volume curve than the American ammo which may affect the operation of your gun if it is gas operated. If the gas volume is on the bottom end of the specification then it may have some problems when new and work their way out as the gun breaks in. A different lot of ammo may produce different results too. And, this may apply to U.S. ammo at times. This might also be a problem when using 2.5" shells as the gas volume or recoil (depending on action type) may not be enough to operate properly. It is one of the balancing acts designers have to account for in gun development.

Other than shooting and ammo selection, not much can be done here. One might be able to smooth out the chamber with an electric drill, a bore mop, some steel wool, and time or one could use the mop with grinding compound though that might be a lot more work than wished if the chambers are chromed. One could also take pipe cleaners soaked in solvent to clean out the gas ports in the barrel (if any) as they could be obstructed to some degree. I wouldn't hesitate to run a drill bit through the ports with my fingers to check for burrs or other obstructions.

Or, just continue shooting U.S. brands as they seem to work- so far. In time your gun may work down the rough spots enough to use other shells. I would

[Lil' Dog]

Update on the Tristar .410 bore.

So far have put put over 100 rounds through it with no more problems. I even picked up some deer slugs and gave them a go. The 3 inch actually shot pretty good at 25 yards. The 2.5's were okay. But I do not intend to use it for deer hunting. Overall I like the gun. The fit, finish, and function seem pretty good. I have been shooting 3 inch game loads from Federal and Winchester. I did not have the best of luck with RIO and PMC brands.

I will also update my findings in regards to the problems I had with RIO and PMC. I had trouble with them in the Tristar. The primer would be loose in the action after they had been fired, and they would stick in the chamber. So with it being a new gun and not broken in, and maybe the shells not having enough or too much gas to operate everything I stopped using them. I did manage to borrow a single shot .410 and both brand of shells worked fine in that gun. So for now I will use what works, and maybe try them again at a later date after I shoot some more rounds through it.
Or I buy another gun and not worry about having a few boxes of ammo sitting around.

[Holland&Holland]

Glad it is working for you. Sucks when a new gun does not function out of the box.