JD 300 picker questions

Can some one explain to me the reason JD built the 300 pull type picker? From what I have read and what people have said, I can't find a lot of good things about them as a picker. Yesterday, I was picking ear corn on a neighboring farm with my 706 and 234 picker and picked circles around the JD 300 that the neighboring farmer owns. In the same weather conditions, beautiful day, same hybrid of corn, my picker picked cleaner with less husks and trash in the box. I know all about certain hybrids husk this way or that way and some are better for shelling etc...however, in the field yesterday I could see no real reason why the JD engineers built such a machine that would under produce. He wasn't driving too fast that would not allow the ear corn to pass too quickly over the husking bed. I would have believed that in the late 60s-early 70s the engineers would have designed a machine to pick clean ear corn and still have the capacity. I know ear corn was on its' last leg, but I was not impressed with its performance. The picker is in good shape, not abused. What gives? Ground speed or PTO speed? The owner was adjusting the ends of the snapping rolls. Is there some secret way to adjust them? Maybe there is a John Deere Secret Society of inside handshakes and winks that has the answers I seek to help my corn picking farmer. If this is going to be the output of this picker, I may recommend to him to get rid of it and find something else to pick with. If you have some insights or advice or guidance, please share them with me so I can pass them onto my neighbor farmer.

My guess he has something out of adjustment or his rolls are worn. I have seen 300 pickers in 180bu corn with three row heads doing a good job. Where the 300 shines is comparing it to a New Idea(which is a good picker) but with nothing over the rolls shells several bushel to the acre on the ground.I parked my Deere 237 mounted picker for that reason. Your IH 234 is probably one of the best pickers ever built. I always wanted one on my 3020 John Deere. By the time the 234 came out I think IH had quit making pull type pickers. Allis chalmers also had a good mounted picker as well. I have a 300 that we still pick some with but the rolls are wore out and the brushes that move the corn are shot as well. Also remember the 300 will harvest 30 inch rows something your 234 will never do. Tom

I know nothing of the IH model. Does it have stripper bars? The Deere did, which cut down on shelling on the head, but put a lot more trash through the machine with some corns.

A good friend has one of those - runs a 2 row head. He has poor results as well. It is in excellent shape, too. He is a former mechanic, so pretty savvy on diagnosis iof weird issues. Loves tech manuals.

Closest we can figure is, those light brushes on the husking bed just dont grab well - especially if the husks have a hint of moisture. Maybe with a 3 row head, with heavier loading, they work better.

He has ran new idea pickers, and I have an old dearborn - they both husk really well. Both have those rubber fingers or flaps.

Tom, I had the 227 picker that was forrunner of your 237 picker and same snaping setup and I NEVER had a shelling problem at the rolls.