[DG45]

I have an old Forehand SBL shotgun. The patent date is 1896, so it may be just like yours. If it is, it should have a shell ejector mechanism. The ejector mechanism on mine will kick a heavy lathed RMC brass shell out of the gun so hard that I try to to be careful not to get hit by it. If your gun has the same setup, when you load the gun, the shell lies with its rim on the ejector lip which protrudes about a quarter of an inch out of the breech end of the barrel until you snap the barrel shut. As the barrel begins to close shut, it forces the ejector rod forward into a hole under the gun barrel, and that rod moving forward pulls the ejector lip into the breech along with the shell. As the gun snaps shut, the shell seats firmly in the breech. When you want to eject the shell, you break the barrel and the ejector throws the shell out by the reverse motion of the ejector rod.

I'm wondering if whats keeping your brass shell stuck in the barrel is a mechanical failure of that ejector mechanism? If your gun has one like mine, and if its working properly, the ejector lip should pop out of the breech end of the barrel and protrude from it about a quarter of an inch when the barrel opens and it should slide back into the barrel when the barrel is closed. If your gun has this same type of ejector mechanism, but its not coming out of the barrel carrying the shell with it when the gun breaks opens, the ejector may be the problem.

PS Welcome to the Forum!