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I recently bought my girlfriend a 20ga sx3 compact and I started to break it all down to do my ritualistic new
gun cleaning and I couldn't get the bolt handle off to take the bolt out! From my experience it should just be a firm pull straight out, but it won't budge. I even took pliers wrapped in a handkerchief to it to get a bit more purchase and no go. Is there something I'm missing? Some combination of positioning to go through? Bolt back? Bolt forward? Barrel off? Trigger group off? I saw the sx3 breakdown video on YouTube where the guy just "pinches" it and it comes out, but that ain't working. This isn't my first time breaking down a new gun before either. Just let me know if there's something specific I should be trying. Thanks

As both of my SX3s are 12 gauge I can't vouch for this procedure, but on page 35 of the owner's manual it reads to hold the gun with the loading port up and press the shell stop while pulling outward on the op handle. To reinstall simply reverse this procedure. Hope this helps. (This is a gauge specific instruction for the 20 gauge).

That wasn't it, but that did lead me to look at the bottom of the bolt and there is a switch there to hold down and remove the handle! The bolt must be forward and you get at it by the feed ramp

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