[USAFA]

I've heard that the only thing more reliable than an 870 is gravity on a patch of ice, but I was still wondering what the immediate actions are for a pump and what kind of problems one can reasonably expect? Stovepipes? FTF? What do you do to practice?

[TrapperReady]

I only use mine for bird hunting, so I usually just rack the slide again, swear and then try to mark where the birds land. :fire:

In all seriousness, I normally just try to cycle the action again. If the problem is caused by a short-stroke, that will take care of it. The only other failure I've experienced with an 870 was when a shell slipped past the shell catches and got lodged below the bolt. In the field, I had to partially disassemble it and bang it around to get the jam to clear. If it had been a HD scenario, it would have meant transitioning to a pistol.

I'm very curious to see if someone knows a quick and effective way to clear this kind of malfunction.

[Dave McCracken]

On older 870s, sometimes a shell would not be pushed in far enough for the shell latches to catch it. It would then come back and tie up the action.

The Flextab modification fixed this. You can tell if yours has it. If there's a U shaped slot in the carrier, it does. Just racking hard will clear this in a Flextabbed 870.

Here's two methods for clearing older ones.

First, for non emergencies. Safe the weapon, keep it pointed in a safe direction and remove the mag cap. Empty the mag out the front, the stuck shell may require some jiggling and tapping to free it up.

Second, for during a life and death situation. Keep your support hand on the forearm, depress the slide release, pull back on the forearm as you swing the shotgun and strike the butt against a hard surface. This will enable you to rack and continue.This is hard on the weapon, I've busted off pieces of stock doing so.

With proper loading techniques, covered elsewhere, a jam like this is rare or non existent.

As for practice, BA/UU/R. Use with good form and techniques equates to practice. Shoot landfill rats, steel plates, clays, overripe melons, etc. Use light loads for starters. Work on smoothness and accuracy, speed will come on its own.

HTH....

[TrapperReady]

Thanks for the tip Dave. Mine does not have the Flextab. When I had the one failure, I had it loaded with one in the chamber and two in the tube. The first two shells fed and fired fine, but the last one slipped past and got wedged.

The first method you mentioned is what I ended up doing in the field. I took the mag cap and barrel off, and it still wouldn't budge, but smacking the butt on the ground (pretty hard) got it moving again.

When I got home, I found that there was a fair amount of grunge built up in the area of the shell latches. Since I cleaned that out, it's performed flawlessly.

[Dave McCracken]

Grunge'll do that TR. Another point for deep cleaning.

I missed one of USAFA's queries. An FTF is dealt with by racking. If it's a bad shell, the prob's ejected. If not, transit....

[TrapperReady]

Yup. I bought that one used, and took it into the field within a day or so. I had done a quick wipe-down and inspection, but hadn't gotten into all of the nooks and crannies in the receiver.

So... the first bird that went up took two shots to drop. While on the retrieve, the dog spooked two more roosters that the first one had durned-near landed on. I was stuck watching them lock their wings and glide to safety.

Since that lesson, I've done more of a GI-style cleaning on any new (to me) piece.

[Dave McCracken]

Good idea, should be SOP.....

[USAFA]

Thanks for all the replies.