Sx2 Failure To Cycle

[jimstc]

I recently bought a Sx2 and am having an ammo problem. The gun is very sensitive to certain ammo and will not cycle reliably. It won't reliably shoot Win Ranger Low Recoil slugs, Rem Managed Recoil Buckshot or Win 7 1/2 shot 3 dr eq, 1 1/8 oz. The shell won't completely eject.

On the positive side it will shoot Rem Express Long Range 5 shot 3 3/4 dr eq and Rem Managed Recoil slugs. I am a new 3 Gunner. Any advice? Perhaps I should have bought a Benelli.

Thanks,

Jim

[sargenv]

I recently bought a Sx2 and am having an ammo problem. The gun is very sensitive to certain ammo and will not cycle reliably. It won't reliably shoot Win Ranger Low Recoil slugs, Rem Managed Recoil Buckshot or Win 7 1/2 shot  3 dr eq, 1 1/8 oz. The shell won't completely eject.

On the positive side it will shoot Rem Express Long Range 5 shot 3 3/4 dr eq and Rem Managed Recoil slugs. I am a new 3 Gunner. Any advice? Perhaps I should have bought a Benelli.

Thanks,

Jim

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's odd. I'd expect it to fire all kinds of stuff since people have told me that this is nothing other than a Browning Gold with the speed feed function removed. I can fire the lightest ammo in my Gold, so maybe they are in fact different in more ways than the speed load feature. Have you tried maybe instead the 3 1/4 dram 1 ounce Dove loads? It may be that it needs the extra oomph! of the high velocity shot to cycle reliably. The 1 ounce stuff isn't too much more powerful than the 1 1/8 ounce 3 dram stuff, but the shot velocity and possibly faster burning propellant (in theory anyway) might make it cycle better. When I say light in my Gold, I'm talking 20 gauge ballistics in a 12 gauge, 7/8 ounce of shot @ ~1200 fps.

Vince

[rkgsmith]

If your gun is brand new it should shoot everyting you stuff into it. I shoot light trap loads as well as reduced buck and slugs and everything feeds. The SX2 is the best I have EVER owned.

[Run n Gun]

How old is your SX2? I bought one a few months ago and it came with TWO pistons. The one that reads: ”Less than 1 1/4 OZ. and reduced recoil loads" and has a RED ring in the bottom is the one you need.

A guy I shoot with has one that’s 2-3 years old; it DID NOT come with the light piston, and he was having the same problems you're having. After looking mine over he ordered one from Winchester and now his, like mine, runs great!

BTW, he really had a difficult time convincing Winchester that, yes indeed, there was a different piston for the SX2 Practical.

Ed

[gunny]

Had the same problem with a brand spankin new SX2. Called browning and they patched me through to the engineer. He stated that the SX2 was designed to shoot 1-1/4 oz loads.

It will run 3-1/4 dram 1-1/8 oz loads like a dream. Shot numerous 3gun matches and the Ironman and the gun never choked. It will run the cheap 3 dram 1-1/8 ounce federal loads from wal-mart, but it will not run the 3 dram 1-1/8 ounce winchester loads from wal-mart.

Consequently, I use 3-1/4 dram 1-1/8 ounce loads.

On slugs the Remmy LE low recoil slugs run flawlessly.

Gunny

[3GunF1Guy]

I think that the winchester cheep wal-mart stuff is crap!!!! I have a gold and when it was new it would not run the winchester stuff but the exact same load in the federal or estate it ran 100%. (3dram/1200 fps 1 1/8 oz) Now that the gold is 4 years old and many round through it it will run a 7/8oz load at 1150 fps. First thing I would do is try some of the Federal manufacture loads which include the estate's.

I also think to myself "Why use a low recoil slug or buckshot in a gas gun?" The full power ones shoot so soft in the sx2/gold guns why bother with the unreliablity of the low recoil stuff? They were made for cops who shoot 870's and don't want the recoil. The full power slugs have a flatter trajectory, When you think about it you will show up at a match some time and may want to be able to hit that 8" target at 100 yds with a slug.

[smokshwn]

Jim,

The age of your gun is somewhat important. If it is a new SX2 the recoil spring may need a little time to break in. I know of several folks with Golds and SX2's who's guns took a little while to come into running 100%. Try shooting loads that are a little heavier. I have also spoke with a few people who kept the bolt locked back whenever the gun was stored and in a few weeks the gun was cycling much better.

Personally I have two SX2's (one of which is a 3.5 inch mag model) that will eat anything that is at least 3 dram and 1 1/8 ounce or above. One of them will run 3 dram 1 ounce loads whereas the other will only run them about 95% of the time. I have run AA, STS, Wally World Winchester, Wally World Federal, Estate etc through them no problems. I have also run Winchester, and Federal low recoil slugs as well but currently I am running Wolf full power slugs due to a good deal and better ballistics as Scott pointed out above. I don't notice any more or less recoil with the full house slugs as compared to the low recoil but I am also a pretty big guy.

If your gun is new give it some break in time, if it is not you should probably be looking for a cause. Give Jerry (AH61P on this board) a try to see if he has some advice. Also Surecycle (www.surecycle.com) does some very good tuning work on SX2's as well.

Gunny: No offense but the tech/engineer you spoke with was full of crap. The SX2 is sold in several versions (sporting clays models) where 1 1/4 oz loads are prohibited.

Good luck, Craig

[jimstc]

Thanks for all the feedback. It is a new gun with both gas pistons and I am using the one for light loads. Great point on the full power slugs. I will be using those for matches now and burning up the other stuff for practice.

The gun has less than 100 rounds through it. I will get some different ammo and run another 100 rounds through it and see what happens.

Thanks,

Jim

[smokshwn]

Jim,

Yes definitely get some rounds through that gun. I think you will see a big improvement as it breaks in.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Craig

[mike.45]

The age of your gun is somewhat important. If it is a new SX2 the recoil spring may need a little time to break in. I know of several folks with Golds and SX2's who's guns took a little while to come into running 100%. Try shooting loads that are a little heavier. I have also spoke with a few people who kept the bolt locked back whenever the gun was stored and in a few weeks the gun was cycling much better.

Smokshwn is exactly right with both the SX and Golds, both need to be shot in and I would not regard either match ready until they had done at least a case or two of shot.

I locked the bolt back on my 3 1/2 SX for about a month and now it will cycle anything I put through it using the heavy load piston. I would not recommend doing this on a Gold as they need as much recoil spring tension to make them work 100%.

I have also lighterned the carrier spring (a la Gold carrier springs) on a few SX's I have been working on recently and by taking a coil off at the thinner end, this allows less magazine pressure to push the shell onto the carrier and activate the latch allowing the bolt forward and generally makes the action much smoother and allows a much lighter mag tube spring.

Jerry, AH6IP knows his stuff - if you get more probs give him a shout but dont even think about chopping it in for some Italian scattergun

[Bronco]

I had to run a couple hundred rounds through mine before it was 99.9999%. It has run everything I've put in it since. My shell of choice is the 1oz. Rem. No. 6 from wally world and the wolf slugs when called for. I bought one of the early ones and only have the one piston, haven't seen a need to change. They also like to be clean when they are new and well oiled. After break in mine will run for at least 400 rnds. between cleanings. It is one of the softest shooting shotguns I have shot although a bit on the heavy side, maybe cause of all the shells that are carried on and in it. Keith

[minnesota1]

I had the same problem so I locked my bolt back for a month or so and that loosened it up a lot.

Also, I have one of the first SX2 practicals so what's this about another piston? What is the difference from the one that it came with?

Thanks,

Bob

[smokshwn]

Bob,

Winchester designed two different pistons for the SX2. One is the standard do it all piston so to speak which is what comes in the vast majority of SX2's. There is also a designed explicitly for the "light" loads and that comes in some of the sporting clays models.

Craig

[jimstc]

Post script:

After 700+ rounds it will cycle anything. Low recoil, max dram it doesn't make a difference.

War the SX2!!

[rkgsmith]

Ah yes Vader another one has come to the dark side!!!!!!

[gunny]

"Gunny: No offense but the tech/engineer you spoke with was full of crap. The SX2 is sold in several versions (sporting clays models) where 1 1/4 oz loads are prohibited."

Perhaps I should have been more specific, The engineer I talked with was on the design team for the SX2 Practical Mark 1, and they designed the gas system for 1-1/4 oz. loads. He was intimately familar with the SX2 Practical Mark 1 & II.

[Carlos]

I have a Mk I (-the Super X-2 Practical comes in 2 versions: Mk I and Mk II) mine was bought in 2001 and it is a Mk I. I locked back the bolt & left it that way for a month when new.

Smokeshawn wrote: "It won't reliably shoot Win Ranger Low Recoil slugs, "

Mine jammed at the 3 gun the other night on those SAME slugs; Rnager Low Recoil (stovepipe). It previously jammed on Winchester full power 1 Oz slugs; 2 & 2/3".

Apparently, the Winchester X2 is not very compatible with Winchester brand ammunition. I also use the Schoenbeck German made slugs (sold under the Wolf name but certainly NOT russian made).

In skeet shooting w/ Winchester shotshells, I have also gotten light strikes and for that reason I am useing Federal brand bird shot for 3 gun exclusively.

Also, the manual I got with my Mk I stated that the chokes are "Invector Plus"

I assure you, this gun is NOT threaded for Invector plus!!!! Mine is threaded for the regular Browning Invector chokes.

D.C. Johnson

By the way, Mark I's sold in 2001 do NOT come with 2 pistons. You get a free red case and a Winchester leather jacket, but no extra piston.

[Bronco]

All I got was the shotgun and the red case, where's my jacket?

[KentG]

Had the same problem with a brand spankin new SX2. Called browning and they patched me through to the engineer. He stated that the SX2 was designed to shoot 1-1/4 oz loads.

It will run 3-1/4 dram 1-1/8 oz loads like a dream. Shot numerous 3gun matches and the Ironman and the gun never choked. It will run the cheap 3 dram 1-1/8 ounce federal loads from wal-mart, but it will not run the 3 dram 1-1/8 ounce winchester loads from wal-mart.

Consequently, I use 3-1/4 dram 1-1/8 ounce loads.

On slugs the Remmy LE low recoil slugs run flawlessly.

Gunny

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So which gas piston are you running? I have had a couple misfeeds but its still somewhat new, less than 400 rounds maybe. I did find that it seems to run better at this point a little wet with remoil.

What about the other rings/seals? Anybody know what the suggested lifespan is? Does borwnells carry them or is it a OEM part?

[gunny]

Tnek, I have the piston for the heavy loads. Moreover, I don't know who carries spare parts, I haven't needed any yet. When you find who carries the pistons/seals please post here so we will all know.

On lubrication, the wetter the better.

[Scooter]

Brownells has some parts. You can also get parts from Browning/Winchester.

I've shot just about everything with my Browning Gold. Hasn't hicup on anything unless the gun is super dirty. I know the 3" Gold come with a piston that only has 1 row of holes. The 3 1/2" guns have a piston with 2 rings of holes. What's the difference between the light and heavy piston on the Winchesters?

[Bronco]

Had my first double feed at our monthly match last week, after first shot with a full mag tube. Cleared it and didn't have another for rest of the match. Ordered a spring kit from ESE for the interrupter latch for the fix. There has been at least 3000 rounds through this gun so one might expect to be replacing some parts. I keep a spare O-ring with the gun but haven't changed it out yet. Hope it runs another 3000 rounds with no problems. Keith