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Stoeger 3500 Cycling Issue

82K views 64 replies 39 participants last post by  Maxus_74 
#1 ·
I bought a new Stoeger 3500 before the season started this year and have been really impressed with the gun. But recently I've been having an issue with the cycling and I think it's due to the cold (20 this morning). I had no problems earlier in the season and have put almost a case of shells through it. After the first shot the action sometimes stays in the open position like there's no more ammo in the gun. Of course this happens when there's birds in the decoys and I'm all out of sorts trying to get it working. I can't recreate the problem operating the action manually so I'm not sure what's going on. It happened this morning on a flock of geese and I slammed the action shut after the first shot and realized I had no shell in the chamber. I know the magazine was fully loaded. I'm not sure if it is dumping the 2nd shell somehow or what! :huh: Anyone had this problem with this gun or any other semi? I clean and lube the gun after every hunt. I've been shooting a mix of Hevi Metal and Kent 3" #2 shells.
 
#4 ·
I don't own a 3500 so not sure how much I can offer. Does it feed the next shell from the mag tube? If not it sounds like something is not letting the cartridge drop lever to move up and do its job, so the gun thinks its empty and stays open. I would have to see it to comment much more as I have not worked on one yet. If you can you could try making it operate with spent shells to see how it works normally and see what that might tell you.

Good luck man

Rob MacK
 
#5 ·
I have a 2000 its essentially the same gun. What type of lube are you running? I have had the same issue that you have described. According to the smith at the local gun range I was running the gun to dry. I clean and wipe dry and then coat the mag. tube inside of the reciever, bolt groves etc with a light coat of oil (I use CLP, in the colder weather). More oil than I would ever leave on a gas gun. I have never had an issue as long as the gun is run wetter than normal. At the skeet range when the action slows up or starts to stick I spray rem oil on the mag tube and In the reciever and it gets it going. They are great guns but the fit and finish is a little rough. Some of the guns take more shells than others to fully break in. I can tell you that a case of shells might not totally break in smooth every thing out. Clean, lube up real well and she if she will run
scott
 
#7 ·
2500hdon37s said:
take it apart and clean it very well and relube with a much thinner oil, chances are the factory stuff (or stuff you've used to clean it) is thickening up in the cold.

but IMO its a stoeger so its a POS.
Understanding that everyone is entitled to their own dilusional opinion, find me another gun in the price range that shoots 3 1/2s consistantly.

I am a stoeger owner. I have both a 3500 and a p350. Both of them are great guns. The only two problems Ive had was the 3500 going fully auto twice (not a good feeling when you have 3.5in T shot loaded). A good cleaning after the hunt and the problem vanished. Hasnt happened since.

Im not a gunsmith, nor do i claim to be gods gift to shooting. I had this same issue with chambering the 2nd round. How i fixed it, and have since kept doing this, was when you initally load your gun, load 1 in the chamber. load the other two in the mag, and hit the button that releases the next shell to the area below the action.

What shells did you use to break in the gun? Manufacturers spec says to use a high brass, heavier shell. I have yet to shoot anything less than 1 1/2oz in my gun, so i dont know how it will do. I now have around 300+ rounds through my gun, and its shooting great.
 
#10 ·
maineducker said:
Thanks for the no brainer advice and calling my gun a POS. Love you guys on these forums who are total jerks with nothing good to say. If you have nothing good to say keep your damn mouth shut.
Right on Maineducker. Looking for solutions is not an invitation for invective sarcasm.
On the real note: you might be very surprised to found out just how sensitive some lubricants are to extreme temperatures and conditions. Some folks have offered excellent advice, but the best you can do is research the subject and pick out what works best for you. Good luck, Sir.
 
#11 ·
go get the bird said:
. . . .
I am a stoeger owner. I have both a 3500 and a p350. Both of them are great guns. The only two problems Ive had was the 3500 going fully auto twice (not a good feeling when you have 3.5in T shot loaded). A good cleaning after the hunt and the problem vanished. Hasnt happened since. . . .
Dude! Be thankful there weren't more rounds good to go. The trouble you mention regards a little thing in the trigger group called a "disconnector". I bet the experience(s) were somewhat invigorating.
 
#12 ·
maineducker said:
Thanks for the no brainer advice and calling my gun a POS. Love you guys on these forums who are total jerks with nothing good to say. If you have nothing good to say keep your damn mouth shut.
So did you clean it really well and lightly lube it and does it work now? I don't believe the advice you were given is in any way shape or form "invective sarcasm", too many times guys write in about problems and a very large percentage are due to insufficient cleaning. What you described probably was solved by a major clean job...................... Lost
 
#13 ·
I've had the 3500 for this season and it worked well right out of the box but then the bolt locked back and the only way to correct it was to disassemble and it returned to normal. Had it happen one more time but then was able to push it back without disassembly. Not used it much since then but will keep an open mind...
 
#14 ·
I havent had one cycling issue with mine and I have been using clp, and pb blaster lube. the only issue I had was a cleaning issue where a stick got lodged in the saftey mechanism and would not fire immediately. I took the saftey apart and found this and havent had an issue since that was 5 boxes ago, I would imagine that the problem would arise again if it were mechanical. Glad that you are back in good working order after a thorough cleaning as well.
 
#15 ·
first off im not a big believer in semis.i own an uplander sxs and it is awsome.stoeger makes good guns.its not your $1000 + gun but they produce.they are finicky,and have their moments.but im sure we all have those.i have taken more game with my sxs than any of the other 4 higher end shotguns i own.i dont have a 3500 but it sounds like it is a break in period problem.i would not think a gun was broken in until 500 or more shellls.my point being is that with the high priced guns,you pay for somebody else to find your guns personallity.
 
#16 ·
Stoegers can have their rough edges and is often a reflection of lower QC and/or cheaper grade of materials. You probably should go through the cycling (or have a g'smith do so) components and look for things that have obvious friction wear, are bent abnormally or exhibit excessive slop/tolerance in movement. If the general history of the 2000 series is any indicator, the 3500 will be relegated as a throw away model after a few seasons of heavy useage as well. That's (unfortunately) the norm for weaponry of this quality.
 
#17 ·
Hey people. Ive been looking at buying the Stoeger 3500 for a couple of months because its a nice gun that shoots 3 1/2 shells for the price. I recently purchased one last week in max 4. 28 inch barrel. Took it home and was excited to shoot it so i put it together and went outside. started to shoot some 2 3/4. 7 1/2 shot, Federal target loads. put one in the chamber and 2 in the magazine. Shot it fired the first round went to fire the next (CLICK) didnt eject the round. attempted to shoot it again done the same thing except it ejected the shell but didnt put one in the chamber. i thought to myself i wonder if its the shells im using. went back to the store and bought some Winchester 2 3/4, 8 shot rounds. put them in done the same thing as the federal rounds. well after all that, i took it inside and took it apart cleaned the bolt and the spring really good with some gun oil. I put it back together went out shot the same Winchester rounds and it shot flawlessly. So people when you buy the gun make sure you clean it good when you buy it. The factory puts some very thick grease in them that way when they sit on the shelves ready for sell they don't corrode. So people save your money and don't go out and buy 50 to 100 rounds of 3 1/2 inch shells to break it in. Just clean it and you will have your jamming problem solved.
 
#18 ·
For anyone doing searchs on this.

This problem is common. And NOT a cleaning issue. The bone heads above gave great advice on normal maintaince.

When the bolt sticks its caused by the spring binding. Its a known common issue with the predecesors of the m3500. And less common on the m3500. Call stoeger. They are well aware of this and will send u a new spring with little to no trouble.
 
#20 ·
I own a stoeger m3500 Its been working great up till now i dont have cycling issues though. My problem is when its loaded and ready to go when i pull the trigger all i hear is click so i have to pull the bolt back to get a new shell in and that one may or may not fire. I lost some good shot at ducks this morning because of that problem i dont know why its doing that. :help:
 
#22 ·
rdnck21 said:
I own a stoeger m3500 Its been working great up till now i dont have cycling issues though. My problem is when its loaded and ready to go when i pull the trigger all i hear is click so i have to pull the bolt back to get a new shell in and that one may or may not fire. I lost some good shot at ducks this morning because of that problem i dont know why its doing that. :help:
It happens with Benelli's too. If you look at your bolt it rotates to up when it is ready to go. What happens is when the bolt doesn't close hard enough it won't do this rotate. It is probably always when you load in your first shell and more often when you're trying to be quite. Check to make sure that bolt is rotated over. I maybe not calling it by the right part but look at your gun and you will get what I am talking about.
 
#23 ·
budsbud66 said:
For anyone doing searchs on this.

This problem is common. And NOT a cleaning issue. The bone heads above gave great advice on normal maintaince.

When the bolt sticks its caused by the spring binding. Its a known common issue with the predecesors of the m3500. And less common on the m3500. Call stoeger. They are well aware of this and will send u a new spring with little to no trouble.
In all respects, it has absolutely nothing to do with spring binding. We have discussed this many times on this forum and I've made a youtube video showing how to fix it. Check it out here:

 
#24 ·
eagles2069 said:
rdnck21 said:
I own a stoeger m3500 Its been working great up till now i dont have cycling issues though. My problem is when its loaded and ready to go when i pull the trigger all i hear is click so i have to pull the bolt back to get a new shell in and that one may or may not fire. I lost some good shot at ducks this morning because of that problem i dont know why its doing that. :help:
It happens with Benelli's too. If you look at your bolt it rotates to up when it is ready to go. What happens is when the bolt doesn't close hard enough it won't do this rotate. It is probably always when you load in your first shell and more often when you're trying to be quite. Check to make sure that bolt is rotated over. I maybe not calling it by the right part but look at your gun and you will get what I am talking about.
The youtube video above will fix every problem discussed in this thread, including to rotating head, bolt carrier be caught back, etc.
 
#25 ·
Riverlife01 said:
Hey people. Ive been looking at buying the Stoeger 3500 for a couple of months because its a nice gun that shoots 3 1/2 shells for the price. I recently purchased one last week in max 4. 28 inch barrel. Took it home and was excited to shoot it so i put it together and went outside. started to shoot some 2 3/4. 7 1/2 shot, Federal target loads. put one in the chamber and 2 in the magazine. Shot it fired the first round went to fire the next (CLICK) didnt eject the round. attempted to shoot it again done the same thing except it ejected the shell but didnt put one in the chamber. i thought to myself i wonder if its the shells im using. went back to the store and bought some Winchester 2 3/4, 8 shot rounds. put them in done the same thing as the federal rounds. well after all that, i took it inside and took it apart cleaned the bolt and the spring really good with some gun oil. I put it back together went out shot the same Winchester rounds and it shot flawlessly. So people when you buy the gun make sure you clean it good when you buy it. The factory puts some very thick grease in them that way when they sit on the shelves ready for sell they don't corrode. So people save your money and don't go out and buy 50 to 100 rounds of 3 1/2 inch shells to break it in. Just clean it and you will have your jamming problem solved.
This problem will likely return even with proper maintenance. I sent mine to back for the 4th time yesterday for the "click" issue. Each time I get it back it functions properly for the first box of shells and then it's right back to not firing. Just about everything has been replaced except for the bolt assembly. I agree that the Stoeger's are a throw away gun and would urge anyone looking at buying one to save their money and buy a higher quality gun that will stand the test of time. There's nothing worse than having birds feet down at 20 yards and your gun goes click! :mad:
 
#26 ·
maineducker said:
Riverlife01 said:
Hey people. Ive been looking at buying the Stoeger 3500 for a couple of months because its a nice gun that shoots 3 1/2 shells for the price. I recently purchased one last week in max 4. 28 inch barrel. Took it home and was excited to shoot it so i put it together and went outside. started to shoot some 2 3/4. 7 1/2 shot, Federal target loads. put one in the chamber and 2 in the magazine. Shot it fired the first round went to fire the next (CLICK) didnt eject the round. attempted to shoot it again done the same thing except it ejected the shell but didnt put one in the chamber. i thought to myself i wonder if its the shells im using. went back to the store and bought some Winchester 2 3/4, 8 shot rounds. put them in done the same thing as the federal rounds. well after all that, i took it inside and took it apart cleaned the bolt and the spring really good with some gun oil. I put it back together went out shot the same Winchester rounds and it shot flawlessly. So people when you buy the gun make sure you clean it good when you buy it. The factory puts some very thick grease in them that way when they sit on the shelves ready for sell they don't corrode. So people save your money and don't go out and buy 50 to 100 rounds of 3 1/2 inch shells to break it in. Just clean it and you will have your jamming problem solved.
This problem will likely return even with proper maintenance. I sent mine to back for the 4th time yesterday for the "click" issue. Each time I get it back it functions properly for the first box of shells and then it's right back to not firing. Just about everything has been replaced except for the bolt assembly. I agree that the Stoeger's are a throw away gun and would urge anyone looking at buying one to save their money and buy a higher quality gun that will stand the test of time. There's nothing worse than having birds feet down at 20 yards and your gun goes click! :mad:
I have seen more problems with stoegers than any other gun in the field, newer Remington's are a close second. Anything that is priced cheaply is done so because of a reason, generally cutting costs on components, quality control, and craftsmanship to be able to offer it for a lower price on the market. No your stoeger isn't "basically a benelli" anymore than my Volkswagen is basically a Bentley.
 
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