Winchester SX3 problems

[CJG]

I am having trouble with my Winchester SX3 cycling shells. Have tried RemOil, Breakfree, etc after fully disassembling, cleaning and lubing with no luck. Have ran it with less oil, more oil no difference. Have used Black Cloud, Wing Shok, and Speed Shok with similar results. Anything under about 45 degrees and it is trouble. Even have had some issues with trap loads in summer but not as often. Like the look and handling of the gun but it is frustrating to use. Any ideas?

[kevfish1]

Return it! I had trouble out of the box but that was because of the grease they put on it at the factory. I cleaned it and it has ejected everything since then including lite trap loads.

I do think mine has a bent barrel cause i cant hit a thing

[Farley]

Where did you buy it? Just asking because if you bought it from Gander Mtn, they have terrible customer service in the gun dept, you'd be better off bringing to a gunsmith off the bat. But I would first check to make sure everything is assembled properly and clean (ie magazine cap screw on correct and tight, piston should slide freely, make sure everything works correctly). I've never had a issue with mine but I clean it a lot, those gas guns do get dirty.

[96trigger]

sounds dirty. The oil that it ships in is very heavy. Do a complete break down, use gun scrubber on everything, be meticulous. If it still doesn't work, take it back. I bought a mossberg 20 gauge made in turkey. That thing took 200 rounds and 3 cleanings to finally cycle right. Now, there is a big difference in the two guns, but it might give you an idea about what can happen.

[SmilinBob]

you need to clean more than just the action, I recommend a professional cleaning by a gunsmith, then it will get taken down to the pins and springs that will make the difference.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

Have you cleaned the spring assembly in the stock? I'm guessing that is the culprit. Clean it very thoroughly, both the spring itself and the tube (for the tube use a 20 gauge brush on a drill...works wonders) then very lightly oil with F96 or a similar high quality low temp oil. for the bolt rails, I use the little gunsmithing cleaners like dental pics and small angled brushes to really get the rails clean. again, very light amount of oil. Last, use small pipe cleaners or a can of pressurized solvent to clean out the 2 gas ports in the barrel. Once you give the gun a serious cleaning, it should be good with just a light cleaning to the action and occasional cleaning of the piston for 5-10 boxes of shells before the spring assembly in the stock should need to be cleaned again, unless you dunk your stock under water.

[CJG]

Thanks to everyone for their responses.

I have pretty taken the thing all apart execept for the spring in the stalk. I have done this on my Rem 1100 but the butt plate on the SX3 does not have the screw heads visible. So, I am not sure how to go about that. A trip the the gunsmith may be a good idea.

However, I am getting close to moving on to something else. I have several other guns in the cabnet (kids) and nothing is as close fussy as this thing. Even the old 1100 is better.

[Farley]

There are 2 phillips head screws holding the butt pad on. If you look close there is a slit in the rubber you can stick the screwdriver through, might want to spit on it to make it slide in better. Just stick in the screwdriver and feel around with the tip untill you feel it make contact with the slots on the head of the screw and unscrew that one about halfway, then do the other all the way out.

I felt kinda dirty typing that.

It's too bad you're having issues, I love my Sx3, best gun I've ever had. Had it completly submerged in icy water duck hunting this season, pulled up on one and shot 3 rounds, never faltered. Before you write it off get it fixed, it's probably an easy fix for a good gunsmith.

[CJG]

You are right. Slots are very hard to see but there. I will break it down and give it a good cleaning and hopefully try it again this weekend.

Thanks for the tip!

[CJG]

Ok, fully disassembled, cleaned, reassembled and off to the field. Fortunately the results were impressive. Over a box of low based trap loads at about 33 degrees with absolutely no problems. A couple heavy loads as well with flawless performance. So thanks for the good advice, it appears to have been just what was needed.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

Glad to hear you're gun is up and running. Probably saved you $50 for the gunsmith to do what you did.