New Stoeger M3020, help

chris in va · October 12, 2020, 08:43 PM

This is my first semiauto shotgun and having a few issues on the first trip out. Instructions mention to use 3” shells to break it in, but ammo is hard to come by and I had to use Winchester target loads.

The gun refused to load the second shell, single shot only. The bolt got most of the way back but would stop short. It also had a lot of ejection problems, even after two boxes.

I plan to clean off whatever oil it came with and use CLP, heard it helps a lot. I’m mainly confused about the ‘cartridge drop lever’ as with most other firearms you just hit the bolt release and it’s ready to go. I tried that but it doesn’t function the same. With my Mossberg 500, rack the action and it’s chambered. Not this one.

wild cat mccane · October 12, 2020, 08:52 PM

Yes. Only slide will chamber. Not bolt release button as it does actually pop a shell up.

FITASC · October 13, 2020, 11:54 AM

Did you give it a thorough cleaning first?

chris in va · October 13, 2020, 07:55 PM

I didn’t clean it, was in a crunch to try it out for a bit. I cleaned and lubed soon as I got home.

As for the buttons, if I am to shoot doubles or more, do I drop a shell in the chamber and hit the button and then the ‘cartridge drop lever’?

eugenesan · October 15, 2020, 09:25 AM

When I've got mine, before first shot, I fully stripped it and cleaned everything with Hornady OneShot and then oiled it with Weapon Shield.
After above procedure, I had flawless function with different types of shells.
Now, I might just be lucky and you might need to follow manufacturer's recommendation and break the shotgun in.

In any case, I would not hesitate contacting the manufacturer with any question. In fact the support is provided by Benneli techs and they sound knowledgeable.

Regarding the action (Benelli Inertia), the buttons are indeed confusing at first. That's what I've learned:
1. Black button releases the bolt and chambers the round but doesn't strip the shell from the tube. During actual shooting, the shell is stripped automatically.
2. The silver button (near trigger) is the button that strips the shell from the tube. To be able to strip, the bolt must perform full cycle prior, to "wind" the mechanism.
3. There are 3 positions the shell might be in this firearm: in tube, under the bolt (ghost) and in chamber. My understanding is that rounds can be in any and all of those positions for normal operation. In fact that's what allows having 6 rounds (4 + 1 + 1), at least in 12ga. For some reason I wasn't able to do so in 20ga.
4. To eject the rounds from the tube, you do the following: cycle the bolt (to eject round in chamber and "wind" the shell lifter), press the silver button, cycle the bolt twice, repeat (skipping the initial bolt cycle).

FITASC · October 15, 2020, 01:55 PM

Most semis are easy to operate; drop a round in the chamber and hit the bolt release button, then load your second round into the magazine tube and you'll be GTG.
Some guns, like my Berettas, have a mag cut-off button that allows you safely unload the chamber without another round loading from the mag tube (nice if hunting and you need to unload for safety); hitting that cutoff can turn my gun into a single shot inadvertently (don't ask me how I know).................

wild cat mccane · October 15, 2020, 05:51 PM

Wait. Can you explain that to a novice with a semi auto shotgun. What does that do FITASC?

FITASC · October 15, 2020, 07:07 PM

On the left side of my Beretta action is a small button/switch. By pressing it in, it prevents any ammo in the mag tube from being released and loaded into the chamber. This is useful when you need to unload the chamber, but you do not want to work the action to completely unload the magazine. I inadvertently hit that button one time while shooting sporting clays and didn't figure it out at first, thinking my gun was broken. Live and learn.

MOST semis are simple as stated before; drop one in the chamber, close bolt, load your other in the mag tube.

chris in va · October 17, 2020, 12:06 AM

Thank you, I will try again tomorrow.

wild cat mccane · October 17, 2020, 10:13 AM

Thank you! I misread your post as saying somehow it was possible to inadvertently slam fire a shell by pushing the button and racking.

My mistake! Thanks!

chris in va · October 17, 2020, 09:41 PM

I took it out today, managed to get a few double shots but still getting jammed quite a bit. The bolt isn’t coming back far enough. If this gun can’t cycle common target ammo it may have to go back to Stoeger.

I’m really wishing I had bought the o/u now.

FITASC · October 17, 2020, 10:05 PM

If you didn't give it a good cleaning, there might be some gunk causing it to not completely cycle. The owner's manual will have the details for that and relubing

chris in va · October 18, 2020, 12:02 AM

I’ll strip it again and relube with CLP. Ammo is very hard to find, all I’ve seen so far is the weak target stuff.

FITASC · October 18, 2020, 10:06 AM

1200 fps is 1200 fps and it should work with that

deadcoyote · October 19, 2020, 03:40 PM

I have had the m3000 (12 gauge cousin of your gun) for just a few months. My manual says it needs 200 rounds of 3 dram or higher loads to break in. I’ve stuck with recommended ammo for about 160 rounds so far and it’s run flawless.

October 12, 2020, 08:43 PM	#1
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	New Stoeger M3020, help This is my first semiauto shotgun and having a few issues on the first trip out. Instructions mention to use 3” shells to break it in, but ammo is hard to come by and I had to use Winchester target loads. The gun refused to load the second shell, single shot only. The bolt got most of the way back but would stop short. It also had a lot of ejection problems, even after two boxes. I plan to clean off whatever oil it came with and use CLP, heard it helps a lot. I’m mainly confused about the ‘cartridge drop lever’ as with most other firearms you just hit the bolt release and it’s ready to go. I tried that but it doesn’t function the same. With my Mossberg 500, rack the action and it’s chambered. Not this one.

October 13, 2020, 11:54 AM	#3
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	Did you give it a thorough cleaning first? __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

October 15, 2020, 01:55 PM	#6
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	Most semis are easy to operate; drop a round in the chamber and hit the bolt release button, then load your second round into the magazine tube and you'll be GTG. Some guns, like my Berettas, have a mag cut-off button that allows you safely unload the chamber without another round loading from the mag tube (nice if hunting and you need to unload for safety); hitting that cutoff can turn my gun into a single shot inadvertently (don't ask me how I know)................. __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

October 15, 2020, 07:07 PM	#8
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	On the left side of my Beretta action is a small button/switch. By pressing it in, it prevents any ammo in the mag tube from being released and loaded into the chamber. This is useful when you need to unload the chamber, but you do not want to work the action to completely unload the magazine. I inadvertently hit that button one time while shooting sporting clays and didn't figure it out at first, thinking my gun was broken. Live and learn. MOST semis are simple as stated before; drop one in the chamber, close bolt, load your other in the mag tube. __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

October 17, 2020, 10:05 PM	#12
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	If you didn't give it a good cleaning, there might be some gunk causing it to not completely cycle. The owner's manual will have the details for that and relubing __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

October 12, 2020, 08:52 PM	#2
wild cat mccane Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2011 Posts: 3,627	Yes. Only slide will chamber. Not bolt release button as it does actually pop a shell up.

October 13, 2020, 07:55 PM	#4
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	I didn’t clean it, was in a crunch to try it out for a bit. I cleaned and lubed soon as I got home. As for the buttons, if I am to shoot doubles or more, do I drop a shell in the chamber and hit the button and then the ‘cartridge drop lever’?

October 15, 2020, 09:25 AM	#5
eugenesan Junior Member Join Date: October 31, 2019 Posts: 7	When I've got mine, before first shot, I fully stripped it and cleaned everything with Hornady OneShot and then oiled it with Weapon Shield. After above procedure, I had flawless function with different types of shells. Now, I might just be lucky and you might need to follow manufacturer's recommendation and break the shotgun in. In any case, I would not hesitate contacting the manufacturer with any question. In fact the support is provided by Benneli techs and they sound knowledgeable. Regarding the action (Benelli Inertia), the buttons are indeed confusing at first. That's what I've learned: 1. Black button releases the bolt and chambers the round but doesn't strip the shell from the tube. During actual shooting, the shell is stripped automatically. 2. The silver button (near trigger) is the button that strips the shell from the tube. To be able to strip, the bolt must perform full cycle prior, to "wind" the mechanism. 3. There are 3 positions the shell might be in this firearm: in tube, under the bolt (ghost) and in chamber. My understanding is that rounds can be in any and all of those positions for normal operation. In fact that's what allows having 6 rounds (4 + 1 + 1), at least in 12ga. For some reason I wasn't able to do so in 20ga. 4. To eject the rounds from the tube, you do the following: cycle the bolt (to eject round in chamber and "wind" the shell lifter), press the silver button, cycle the bolt twice, repeat (skipping the initial bolt cycle).

October 15, 2020, 05:51 PM	#7
wild cat mccane Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2011 Posts: 3,627	Wait. Can you explain that to a novice with a semi auto shotgun. What does that do FITASC?

October 17, 2020, 12:06 AM	#9
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	Thank you, I will try again tomorrow.

October 17, 2020, 10:13 AM	#10
wild cat mccane Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2011 Posts: 3,627	Thank you! I misread your post as saying somehow it was possible to inadvertently slam fire a shell by pushing the button and racking. My mistake! Thanks!

October 17, 2020, 09:41 PM	#11
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	I took it out today, managed to get a few double shots but still getting jammed quite a bit. The bolt isn’t coming back far enough. If this gun can’t cycle common target ammo it may have to go back to Stoeger. I’m really wishing I had bought the o/u now.

October 18, 2020, 12:02 AM	#13
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	I’ll strip it again and relube with CLP. Ammo is very hard to find, all I’ve seen so far is the weak target stuff.

October 18, 2020, 10:06 AM	#14
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	1200 fps is 1200 fps and it should work with that __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

October 19, 2020, 03:40 PM	#15
deadcoyote Senior Member Join Date: April 13, 2009 Location: northern CA Posts: 674	I have had the m3000 (12 gauge cousin of your gun) for just a few months. My manual says it needs 200 rounds of 3 dram or higher loads to break in. I’ve stuck with recommended ammo for about 160 rounds so far and it’s run flawless.