Franchi 20 ga semi-auto problem

[rick]

owners of older Franchi autos, has anyone run across
this problem? one shell in chamber and two in magazine.. fire shotgun. .. chambered round
ejects fine and second round feeds into chamber
fine.. fire second round and it hangs up in receiver...not allowing third round to feed from
magazine... any ideas...

[Buano]

I know the problem well & yours is the third Franchi 20 gauge with this same problem I know of. If this is common, I don't know how it hasn't affected more of the older 20 gauges.

My fix is odd, but it works!

Take the barrel from the gun & look at the friction ring that slides on the magazine tube. One end fits against the concave (bevelled) ring that holds the barrel on, the other end fits against a ring that's concave on one end to match the friction ring and flat on the other end. Reverse this ring so the flat side is against the friction ring and concave (bevelled) side towards the spring. Although this looks "wrong", it's the ONLY way my 20 gauge will function.

From your description of the problem, I'm sure this will fix your problem. Why this is needed is a mystery to me, but what matters most to me (and the uncle of mine who hunts with this gun the most) is that this works. The gun has never jammed with this ring reversed & almost always jams on the second shot with it installed as it looks like it was meant to be installed.

Good hunting!
Buano

[studawg66]

I know this is an old post, but I figured I would try to clarify the info since I have recently been working on my '59 Franchi 20ga 48AL.
Apparently, the beveled ring you described is supposed to be positioned with the bevel toward the friction ring when firing heavy loads and with the flat end toward the friction ring when firing light loads. Reason being, when the bevel is faciing the friction ring, it adds additional friction and the action is stiffer. So in your situation a heavy load would probably fire and cycle shells just fine.
Another consideration is to make sure that the friction ring, bevel ring, spring, and magazine tube are all cleaned thoroughly and very lightly oiled. Too much lube will reduce the friction too much and though you won't have trouble cycling shells, it will add excessive recoil which is not good for you or your gun.