Does loading and unloading a pump damage the shell?

[Legasat]

I keep my Mossy 590 loaded. But when I transport it to the range, I just rack the slide until it's empty.

Is it OK to reload those same rounds after doing this? How about twice or 3 times?

Thanks.

Gary G

[colostomyclown]

it's fine

[inSight-NEO]

Im no expert on this, but Ill take a stab at it. As far as I know, ejecting a shell or in this case shells, over and over may blemish the rounds a bit, but thats about the extent of it. Regardless, if you are in the habit of racking the forend (repeatedly) to eject live rounds, just take the time to inspect these rounds and make note of any obvious damage. If there is none, other than cosmetic scratches for instance, Id say it should be ok. Also, if you havent considered this already, just dont let the shells go flying out haphazardly. Rather, keep the ejection port tilted down, and in close proximity of, something soft such as a bed, carpeted floor, etc. I dont know about you, but the idea of live rounds flying out and potentially landing on a hard surface makes me a bit squeamish.

Now, even though your un-loading method is certainly the easiest (I have used it many times myself), you might consider another way which could minimize wear and tear on the ammo and would probably be a bit safer.

This other way, as mentioned in the Owners Manual, would be to unlock the action, slowly pull the forend back until the chambered round is fully visible and then remove it by hand. Then, with the ejection port facing down, pull the forend all the way back into full battery and allow the "released" shell to fall through the ejection port. After that, turn the shotgun over (trigger side facing up), insert your thumb into the bottom of the receiver, depress the cartridge stop (opposite side from ejection port) to release the remaining shells, one at a time, still located within the magazine tube. Finally, inspect the chamber/weapon to insure all rounds have been removed.

So, unless you are in a massive hurry, this method might be the best choice if you are needing to regularly load/unload the same rounds or any rounds for that matter. Also, as mentioned before, its just a bit safer.

[rantingredneck]

You can do that, or you can flip it over and depress the shell stop by hand and eject the shells one at a time out the loading gate.

loading and unloading does not cause any appreciable damage to your shells. You will notice that, over time, your ammo that you leave stored in your shotgun will be compressed by the spring pressure. This opens the crimp slightly and with ammo that uses buffer material you'll see some of that material in your magazine and action of your gun.

[inSight-NEO]

You will notice that, over time, your ammo that you leave stored in your shotgun will be compressed by the spring pressure. This opens the crimp slightly and with ammo that uses buffer material you'll see some of that material in your magazine and action of your gun.

This brings up a good point about spring compression being far more responsible for ammo damage vs the ejection thereof.

For my HD shotgun, for instance, I tend to download to 5 rounds (even though the tube will generally hold 8), swap the ammo "position" within the tube every 2 months and fire off/replace these rounds every 4 to 6 months, depending on how lazy Im feeling.

[rantingredneck]

I just shoot a lot..........

[Legasat]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Gary G