Old model 1000 semiauto shotgun

[Hammerdown]

Gents, not to hijack the thread but is there a way to quickly check the piston assembly and washer at the gun shop BEFORE purchasing? I'm handy but don't know squat about how to tear down an auto loading shotgun.
p.s. They are asking $300.

Hello Dave
Yup... Take the forend securing nut off and remove the gun's forend. Once it is off remove the barrel and carefuly turn the gun so it is pointed down with your hand over the end of the magazine tube and shake out the gas Piston. Pay close attention to the gas Piston to make sure it does not have Black Goo on it. If it is clean, with only mild burnt powder residue on it chances are the recoil Buffer is still good. While the Gas Piston is out shine a light down into the gas chamber and make certain it is not all Black goo under the gas piston area. if it is clean in that area chances are it is fine. I hope this helps, Hammerdown

 

[Wee Hooker]

Hello Dave
Yup... Take the forend securing nut off and remove the gun's forend. Once it is off remove the barrel and carefuly turn the gun so it is pointed down with your hand over the end of the magazine tube and shake out the gas Piston. Pay close attention to the gas Piston to make sure it does not have Black Goo on it. If it is clean, with only mild burnt powder residue on it chances are the recoil Buffer is still good. While the Gas Piston is out shine a light down into the gas chamber and make certain it is not all Black goo under the gas piston area. if it is clean in that area chances are it is fine. I hope this helps, Hammerdown

Thanks Hammer!
Just what I was looking for. I'll check it out tomorrow and decide if I "need" it ;-)

 

[bassman523]

Thank you!

This thread was a huge help! Yesterday, my son an I were hunting with a SW 1000 and it would not cycle. In the middle of nowhere Nebraska, my son Googled "smith and wesson shotgun not cycling" and found this thread. We conducted field maintenance -- literally -- taking the gun apart and there it was... the black goo. We cleaned it up with gun cleaner, re-assembled the gun, and BINGO... it works like a champ! I simply replaced everything minus the rubber shock washer and it works with low brass and high brass, just fine. 2 3/4 inch shells. JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU to this thread, Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the WWW), Apple for the iPhone, and Verizon for the wireless service in the middle of nowhere! It's amazing what's possible given all this technology and people williness to share expertise! Keep up hte good work!

 

[Hammerdown]

This thread was a huge help! Yesterday, my son an I were hunting with a SW 1000 and it would not cycle. In the middle of nowhere Nebraska, my son Googled "smith and wesson shotgun not cycling" and found this thread. We conducted field maintenance -- literally -- taking the gun apart and there it was... the black goo. We cleaned it up with gun cleaner, re-assembled the gun, and BINGO... it works like a champ! I simply replaced everything minus the rubber shock washer and it works with low brass and high brass, just fine. 2 3/4 inch shells. JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU to this thread, Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the WWW), Apple for the iPhone, and Verizon for the wireless service in the middle of nowhere! It's amazing what's possible given all this technology and people williness to share expertise! Keep up hte good work!

Hello bassman523
Fantastic. I am glad my Post helped you out in the field about the rubberized recoil Buffer. I ran a model 1000 Shot gun without one for year's they are really not needed if you do not desire to put one back in if you are shooting low Brass shells. I think they were for High Brass shwell's to Buffer the recoil action more. I hope this helps and Happy Hunting. Regards, Hammerdown

 

[model1000]

Hammerdown,
There is something I don't understand about removing the "rubber" piston shock absorber and operating the gun without one. You mentioned in your 2/24/12 post that "When the Shock Absorbers get really bad it can allow the pin to slam into the end of the slots denting them up pretty badly. This can cause the entire assembly to stick and create a jam." This was my experience exactly. The magazine tube was damaged, and it took a lot of work to sand it smooth again. I then replaced the old gooey shock absorber with 1/4" of black rubber heater hose (as recommended by somebody at Smith and Wesson years ago), and it has worked pretty well over the years. Recently, however, I am having an ejection problem every 12-15 shells, usually on low-powered shells. I was reading your suggestion, but I'm afraid that if I remove the shock absorber, the piston pin will slam into the bottom of the slots and damage the magazine tube again. Can you clarify for me? My ejection problem is a little unnerving, because when it jams, the little "claw" on the ejection bolt actually ends up jammed almost right on top of the primer of the live shell, which is lodged almost sideways in the chamber. It's got me feeling like I really need to fix this or stop using the gun. Thanks for any help, Tom

 

[Sawfish]

Yeah I think that would be the best way too and just pick up a 2 3/4 barrel. Thanks for the reply.

Guns - out

Semper Fi

I know this is an old thread but I just came across this post, and someone might be able to use this information. Drilling and tapping an extra gas port in the barrel was a common modification to the Model 1000M back in the day. The extra port was tapped for an allen head set screw, so the extra port could be closed when using 3" Magnum ammo. My gun would function with 3", 2 3/4" Mag., and 2 3/4" "High Brass" shells without the modification. I still use mine and like the fact that the "Magnum" model has a steel receiver, as opposed to aluminum on the standard models.

 

[john singleton mosby]

S&W 1000M 20 Ga. Cycling Problems

I bought a real nice condition shotgun recently in 20 Ga. 3" magnum with the steel receiver and I too had the problems with it not cycling with any 2 3/4" or 3" ammo. I soon discovered the black goo on the piston that seems so common an issue and spent quite sometime cleaning up the mag tube inside, reaming it with a brake hone, cleaning the piston, etc. I put it all back together and it still would not cycle but I noticed that when I inserted the piston, it went in quite tight as it hit the slotted areas of the tube even though it was cleaned up. My first thought was that the mag tube was bent or gouged inside preventing the piston from going in easily. By chance I came across a used 20 ga. piston on Ebay which I bought just to have a backup to the original. Guess what, it fit down the mag tube easily and now the gun will fire 3" ammo and cycle perfectly. It will not however, cycle and 2 3/4" ammo, low or high base.
Is it possible that somehow my cleaning of the original piston caused it to swell? Or maybe it was a little over size to begin with???
I may look into the modification of adding the 2nd gas vent hole in the barrel and having the Allen screw fitted to allow the use of all ammo sizes.
I would prefer to buy another barrel for just 2 3/4" ammo but am not having a luck finding one.

 

[zuffman]

I have an original S&W 1000 Semi auto shotgun. My original problem is th cycling of shells, but my new problem is somehow (unknown) my barrel is bent (curves to the left). The gun fires but can't put it on the paper. One gunsmith is scratching his head and can not think of how this barrel got bent, no damage to barrel, no markes etc. Does anyone know where to purchase a new or used barrel

 

[Sawfish]

I have an original S&W 1000 Semi auto shotgun. My original problem is th cycling of shells, but my new problem is somehow (unknown) my barrel is bent (curves to the left). The gun fires but can't put it on the paper. One gunsmith is scratching his head and can not think of how this barrel got bent, no damage to barrel, no markes etc. Does anyone know where to purchase a new or used barrel

You could have it straightened.

 

[fishingsetx]

I have a model 1000 auto 12ga that had the same "no cycle" problem. Took me forever to figure out the piston was dragging on something. Then took me forever to figure out what! After cleaning and honing the tube, it helped but still wouldn't cycle low brass dove loads so I just shot high brass.

The other day while cleaning it, I had major trouble getting the piston out. Turns out the slot that the pin that runs through the piston slides in was dinged up on the ends! A deburring tool cleaned it up nicely and now the piston slides freely. Any way to prevent this in the future? It appeared the worst damage was on the end of the slot furthest from the receiver (barrel end).

Also, there are no o-rings on the piston. Are there supposed to be?

Last question, can someone describe or post a link to replacing the rubber washer at the back (receiver end) of the tube with a hose washer (or similar) item? Mine was pretty bad when I bought the gun! Heck I thought it was a leather washer!!!

 

[Jetdi1382]

My dad had got me the 20ga 3" chamber for Christmas when I was a kid and it had the same cycling problems. He took it to the local gun smith and had an extra gas port drilled and it has worked beautifully ever since. I do take time to clean it when I know I'm not going to be shooting for a while or after shooting a bunch.