New to shotguns, possible problem with action bar lock on my 1st purchase....

singer15510 · March 16, 2012, 10:41 PM

I'm new to shotguns, and I just purchased up a "tri-star cobra" pump action shotgun. I haven't fired the gun yet, but I'm concerned that there may be a problem with the action bar lock.

After cycling I can still cycle the gun with just a modest amount of force WITHOUT depressing the action bar lock button--the act of cycling the gun causes the button to be depress itself.

The action bar is engaging correctly, and it does take a bit more force or some "jiggling" to recycle it after the gun is locked, but I'm worried that may be loose or poorly aligned since it was my understanding that it should be impossible to recycle the gun without depressing the action bar lock button (or firing).

Like I said, I haven't fired this gun yet, and I'm not going to until I know it won't blow up in my face. :-0

Any help would be appreciated.

zippy13 · March 17, 2012, 12:25 AM

Greetings singer15510, and welcome aboard.

The Tri-star Cobra has an unusual for-end return spring that's supposed to make cycling easier/faster -- the jury is still out on that one. As far as the action lock is concerned, the generic instructions (available from the Tri-Star web site) indicate that the action should be locked until the trigger is pulled or the action release activated. Your concern is justified -- I wouldn't shoot the gun without first contacting the Tri-Star folks.

March 16, 2012, 10:41 PM	#1
singer15510 Junior Member Join Date: March 16, 2012 Posts: 1	New to shotguns, possible problem with action bar lock on my 1st purchase.... I'm new to shotguns, and I just purchased up a "tri-star cobra" pump action shotgun. I haven't fired the gun yet, but I'm concerned that there may be a problem with the action bar lock. After cycling I can still cycle the gun with just a modest amount of force WITHOUT depressing the action bar lock button--the act of cycling the gun causes the button to be depress itself. The action bar is engaging correctly, and it does take a bit more force or some "jiggling" to recycle it after the gun is locked, but I'm worried that may be loose or poorly aligned since it was my understanding that it should be impossible to recycle the gun without depressing the action bar lock button (or firing). Like I said, I haven't fired this gun yet, and I'm not going to until I know it won't blow up in my face. :-0 Any help would be appreciated.

March 17, 2012, 12:25 AM	#2
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Greetings singer15510, and welcome aboard. The Tri-star Cobra has an unusual for-end return spring that's supposed to make cycling easier/faster -- the jury is still out on that one. As far as the action lock is concerned, the generic instructions (available from the Tri-Star web site) indicate that the action should be locked until the trigger is pulled or the action release activated. Your concern is justified -- I wouldn't shoot the gun without first contacting the Tri-Star folks.