Hey guys I bought a Franchi I-12 shotgun for this years dove hunt I am having problems with it not completely ejecting the shell about every 20 shots. I have oiled the gun. Could I am shooting winchester super x 7 1/2 1 oz shells. I have heard that maybe I have the wrong rings in the gun????? Does anyone else have one???

I have one and have no problem with those shells but I think Benelli/Franchi recommend 1-1/8 oz load minimum for all their inertia guns.


Did you buy the gun new or used?

If you bought the gun used and have the manual, follow the instructions for breaking the gun down and clean it, it is a very simple gun to disassemble. Make sure you drop trigger assembly down and remove the bolt so you can see if there is any debris in the back of the receiver.

If you bought the gun new, you may want to run a box of 3" mags through it (not at the range).

I have a newer shotgun now but I love my I-12, it is worth taking the time to workout the bugs but failing to eject a light load every 20 rounds is not that uncommon for an inertia gun. Try a box of Remington Heavy dove loads and see if you encounter same failure rate.

You don't have time to send it to Benelli and get it back before the season opener but they have good customer service and will respond to your emails if you have questions.

You may be able to search some of my posts about the I-12 if you search on I-12 in the subject or my username.

Here is link from 2009. I think most of the posts I was referring to are older than a year and no longer searchable.

Franchi I-12 opinions

Here is another link about the I-12
I-12

I shoot a I-12 for ducks and dove. Last season was my first season the franchi and I had the same problem on a regular basis with lite loads. The gun would also spit the bolt handle out. This happened several times and Benelli sent a replacement bolt handle without question. After the season ended I sent the bolt assembly back to Benelli and now it works great. I shoot AA's and Winchester super target loads for walmart. They booth work great.

To my knowledge, there are no rings in the I-12/inertia guns that would effect cycling.

I got an I-12 last year after my 870 quit on me. I love it. I did alot of research on it, though.

Break in-Either take it to the range and shoot some high brass loads (at least 100). Or, when you get it home, take it completely apart, clean it, and manually cycle the bolt about 200 times. I mean, pull the bolt handle all the way back and let it slam home at least 200 times. This will start smoothing out the edges and get the parts used to working with each other.

Buy another bolt handle ASAP. If you lose it during the season you will go a few wks without one.

You're bolt cycling problem is common, even with the SBEII (a few cases I have heard of). Your 1 oz loads arent strong enough to cycle the bolt back. This is the only thing I dont like about mine. Well, sort of. I always shot high brass loads at dove anyway b/c I hate the cheap-o low brass shurshots and winchesters. If you buy MINIMUM 1 1/8 oz loads you will not have this problem. It is an inertia gun and needs at least that much power to cycle properly.

I wonder if there is a lighter inertia/action spring you can get?

Thanks guys I am going to try some of the 1 1/8 ounce shells and see what happens