Ithaca 37 shotgun shell ejection
I did have 2 instances where the shell being ejected did not clear the receiver but hung on the carrier and had to be removed manually. The primer of the shell had a horizontal indentation, so I suspect it, too, was detonated by the shell being ejected During this shooting session I was shooting # 8 Federal Target loads (the red white and blue hulls). My shell ended up impaled by the carrier which was twisted like a dinner fork caught in a garbage disposal. I was videotaping a casual shooting session with my son-in-law and captured the event. This past Fall I had the same thing happen with my 12 Ga Model 37 that I have since 1966: a shell being released into the receiver (the last shell in the magazine) went off in the receiver and sprayed bird shot into the magazine, forcing the metal magazine cap over the wooden plug. If anyone has had a similar experience or some pertinent information to share, I’d be interested to know of it. I have never seen this happen before nor heard of it happening. Human error regarding gun handling and loading can be ruled out here. This suggests that, upon slide retraction, the rim of the ejected shell from the chamber somehow struck the primer of the shell in the magazine causing that shell to discharge. I recovered the primer with a metal detector and found that it had an indentation which is a perfect match for the rim of a 12 Ga. Upon the discharge of the shell in the magazine, it recoiled into the carrier, piercing the shell head, and the primer blew out of the shell, thus releasing additional pressure to prevent rupture of the hull. Fortunately the live shell ahead of the errant shell in the magazine did not discharge as well, or there might have been some serious damage. While doing some clay shooting, a shell in the magazine discharged upon slide retraction following a normal firing of the chambered shell. Ammunition was new (Remington 2 3/4 target loads). This malfunction occurred in my Model 37 Featherlight 12 Ga., early 1960’s Mfr., in perfect condition (or was).