Fiocchi Golden Pheasant Shells

F

Fnewguy

Member
I purchased a case of the Nickel plated Fiocchi Golden Pheasant loads in 20 ga. last year. I have had multiple failure to fire shells. I am shooting an older Smith & Wesson model 1000 semi auto. I have shot multiple boxes of target loads and a few other heavier loads with no FTF problems. The problem shells will fire when put back in gun for a second go. I am wondering if I should put a new firing pin in the gun or get rid of the Fiocchi shells? I really felt I had a good thing going with this load as I had shot multiple boxes with good results prior to purchasing the case.
Any thoughts?
 
Unless you are having the same issue with other shells I doubt it is a firing pin issue. Are all the primers seated flush? Possibilities can be short seated primers. When the primer is struck initially it seats it to the correct depth. Second strike ignites the primer and the shell fires. Personally I would test some in another 20ga Auto see if you still have FTF. Random FTF could also be hard primers.
 
Sounds familiar, I had duds with there shells contacted them and sent them back and they replaced them. Not a fan of there shells.
 
I know a lot of people swear by Golden Pheasant, but I'm not one of them. I hunt pheasants w/ a 16 ga. 97% of the time & tried Golden Pheasants several years ago (#5's). I didn't have problems w/ misfires, but they didn't kill. Whether it was because the velocity wasn't close to advertised, or (more likely) because they didn't pattern well out of my gun (which I never did test on paper), they had a hard time killing pheasants. I shot maybe 3/4 of a box & threw the rest away. Because the 16 ga. market is a bit more unstable than other gauges, I find myself having to switch gears more than I'd like. But one of my latest favorites in lead is Fiocchi's "High Velocity". They pattern well in my gun & kill pheasants hard. #5 shot. You might give them a whirl in your 20.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
I know a lot of people swear by Golden Pheasant, but I'm not one of them. I hunt pheasants w/ a 16 ga. 97% of the time & tried Golden Pheasants several years ago (#5's). I didn't have problems w/ misfires, but they didn't kill. Whether it was because the velocity wasn't close to advertised, or (more likely) because they didn't pattern well out of my gun (which I never did test on paper), they had a hard time killing pheasants. I shot maybe 3/4 of a box & threw the rest away. Because the 16 ga. market is a bit more unstable than other gauges, I find myself having to switch gears more than I'd like. But one of my latest favorites in lead is Fiocchi's "High Velocity". They pattern well in my gun & kill pheasants hard. #5 shot. You might give them a whirl in your 20.
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Got to be your gun. All guns pattern various shells differently. I've shot Golden Pheasant (#5&#6 shot) in my 1960 Sweet Sixteen choked IC for quite a few years. They work great, seem to pattern well and kill pheasants just as dead as my 12 ga. with Federal PF High Velocity loads. Also, I've never has a miss fire with a Golden Pheasant.
 
Shoot them a bunch out of a M37 16 ga. Never had issues. I've had good luck with several different loads of theirs. The high brass 7 1/2's pattern really well out of same gun, and is a good load for early season over pointy dogs.
 
Dakotazeb said:
Got to be your gun. All guns pattern various shells differently. I've shot Golden Pheasant (#5 shot) in my 1960 Sweet Sixteen choked IC for quite a few years. They work great, seem to pattern well and kill pheasants just as dead as my 12 ga. with Federal PF High Velocity loads. Also, I've never has a miss fire with a Golden Pheasant.
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Have to agree with Zeb - got to be the gun.

A few years ago, while shooting sporting clays, I had a similar situation. The firing pin would hit the shell and nothing happened. On one occasion however, the shell went off and the pellets spilled into the chamber/receiver area of the gun. Go figure. It was the firing pin and it didn't happen again. Big mess inside the gun!
 
My favorite gun and my favorite shell.
You're firing pin could be 40 years old.
Go to Numrich and get another.
While there replace every spring you can and if you haven't changed the shock washer to a 1/4" O-ring do that too.
It's not a difficult disassembly.
There are guides available online.
If you can't find one let me know- I'll hook you up.

BTW- I had a 12ga GP misfire in a competition and Fiocchi sent me a half dozen boxes of shells.
 
Check one of the rounds that didn't fire the first time and see if the primer is dented. If it is there's a good possibility your getting light primer strikes which could mean a weak firing pin spring but seems to be a non issue with other brands but not with the Fiochhi primers. Also physically look at the firing pin to see if it's pitted or worn on the end. If all looks well it's likely just the ammo. Call Fiochhi customer service and explain to them what you've just explained to us. They may refund you the money or send you another case if you still have the receipt.
 
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Calisdad said:
You're firing pin could be 40 years old.
Go to Numrich and get another.
While there replace every spring you can and if you haven't changed the shock washer to a 1/4" O-ring do that too.
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It certainly could be the spring, pin or both. Being 40 years old doesn't necessarily mean it needs changing. That's more related to rounds fired over the course of it's life. If he's putting 10's of thousands of rounds thru it then yes I would replace it. Before I would replace parts I'd just give it a good cleaning. Take the pin out and clean it, lightly oil as well as the firing pin channel it rides in. He could simply just have some gunk or corrosion in there preventing a solid strike.
 
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