Franchi 48 AL 20 GA. problem

corytch · Post by **corytch** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:16 pm

i just bought new simi auto 20 ga and here in VA we are able to hunt non migratory game with unpluged shot guns. so i took the plug out. well the Franchi is spose to hold six shells but when i put 5 in it usually makes the ejector spring get stuck. what i think is causing it is that the plug that sits against the shells is getting stuck in the tube. does anyone have any ideas on what will help?

chukarguy · Post by **chukarguy** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:00 pm

Yeah sell it. I had nothing but problems with my al 48 in 20 gauge. It was a nice looking gun and a pleasure to carry afield but more often than not I found myself leaving it at home and taking one of my more reliable auto's out. Every time I carried it in the hills at least once in the outing I found myself cursing this gun and swearing I would sell it. I finally did do just that and I don't miss it one bit. Now maybe I just had a lemon but I don't think so. I think that old shcool action type is the problem. I own three other franchi shotguns, two of wich are autoloaders and I love them and would recommend them to anyone. But that's just my story.

Highbrass · Post by **Highbrass** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 8:15 pm

I have several 48s and love them all. IMHO the best upland gun money can buy. I will say that they are not the easiest gun to maintain though.

Here is what I would do.

1. Pull the mag spring and follower (the plug that sits aginst the shells)

2. Examine the follower. Make sure there are no burs and that the outer surface is smooth. If there are burs, sand/file them off.

3. Put some steel wool on a cleaning rod and run it through the magizine. Chances are the previous owner didn't think to clean the magizine very often and it is full of debris and/or rust.

4. After you're sure the mag is clean, put a light coat of lube in it and put her back together.

I hope that helps. If that doesn't work, you might try the Franchi forum a Shotgunworld.com.

DKA · Post by **DKA** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 8:39 pm

Highbrass I think that you hit it right on the head, some people don't take very good care of their guns and then fuss about how sorry they are when it is not the gun it is the owner.

chukarguy · Post by **chukarguy** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 12:38 pm

And then again some people just don't like recoil operated shotguns and might happen to take very good care of them, but they might get frustrated when they can't get the cap off of the end of the magazine to assemble their gun after driving for two hours just to spend another half hour trying to put thier gun together. A gun that gets completely disassembled cleaned then lubed after every outing, which may be only 4 or five outings after the gun was purchased brand new. And then yet, maybe some people just don't have 3 hands to load the gun since you have to hold the button located on the left side while you fish a shell out of your pocket and push it against that spring ( which is rated for about 60 pounds of pressure ) and into the magazine just to have to repeat the process with each shell. Meanwhile the rest of the covey is still flushing and you get distracted for a second and the shell you pushed in halfway causes the other shell you have already put in to come out and lodge stuck between the magazine and the action. This system is not as user friendly as inertia, or gas operated sytem. I should not have used the word reliable in my previous post, cause if you can manage to load the gun it will shoot until the gun is empty. I could never get the 6 shells in my gun either. I would guess that it has something to do with that incredibly strong spring in the magazine getting hung up or twisted. Highbrass made a good suggestion that maybe there is a burr. Just cause I don't like having bloody knuckles at the end of each trip dosn't mean that I don't take care of my guns. And also aside from my feelings about the recoil operated action, this gun is well balanced and swings beatifully, as you would expect from a fine italian gun.

Windyhills · Post by **Windyhills** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 10:06 pm

The al48 is awfully similar to the browning blowback action of which there are millions of guns still functioning out there. One of the simplest and most reliable auto designs ever. I would guess that you have some roughness in the magazine chamber...buff that out and I bet that gun would have worked much better.