[Dave McCracken]

I finally had an 870 break on me...

I was at PGC yesterday, happily destroying innocous clay frisbees with my 870 TB grade when it happened.

Instead of Grunt, Bang, the sequence was Grunt, Click.

I ejected the shell, no mark on the primer at all. I reloaded it, got in position, then Grunt, Bang. Hit the bird and proceeded on.

A post later it repeated, twice. I finished the round without further incident and took it home. On disassembly, I noted that the rear of the firing pin was not protruding from the bolt. Further investigation showed that the thing was not returning as it should. I think either there's grunge buildup in the channel or the spring's broken. A shot of gun scrubber failed to fix,so I opine it's the spring.The bolt goes to Gunz R Us this morn for repair.

Of course, I have a spare on hand.

While I was in there, I took a good look around for other damage and/or wear. This TB was made in 1978, and Heaven knows how many rounds went through it before I got it in March or so of 2001. By my slipshod and haphazard count, another 11K or so of rounds since.

The hammer shows no sign of peening. Some others here do, more a sign of relative hardness than wear.

The locking block has two little spots worn shiny on top.The mating surface on it is a little shiny, no sign of wear or increased headspace.

The bolt carrier has shiny areas also.

I will report what the smith says here.

[El Tejon]

All guns break. Buy multiple copies.:)

"Honey, some guy on the Internet told me I have to buy more guns. Forget about the new furniture, O.K.?":p

[Darrin]

Poo poo occurs sometimes, eh? At least you have backups.

[sm]

:(
Click: to startle, shock, confuse, a non action metallic sound. No other sound like it.

I'm betting on the spring having a flat side on FP hole end with a burr , grit before you aquired it...maybe even a pc of breaking off impeding FP.

[Traveler]

Strange, that seems to be happening a lot. Several other 870 failures on this board lately. Just keep telling yourself that it's just cost that determines value. (Sorry Dave, I just couldn't help myself.)

Disturbing how I can't remember the last time I saw a Citori's mechanical failure on the board.

[Al Thompson]

Probably a volume issue. Check back when Citori's hit the million made mark and we'll see how they look. I also "think" most Citori owners shoot them at skeet, dove or trap. My RS 870 gets a steady diet of slugs and buck shot. Works fine too....

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks for the responses,folks.

El Tejon, multiple copies? Where do you think I got the spare bolt?

Darrin, feces occurs.

73, smith reports a collapsed FP spring, so you nailed it. Total repair cost, about $20.That's my total cost of 870 repairs since 1958.

Trav,I see lots of Citoris. I see some of them glitch. I see hardly any 870s glitch, which is why I posted this. Citoris are good guns too.

I've shot a couple Citoris and noted the triggers are not as good as my 870s, though the general run may vary from that.

And this is my very first glitch on maybe 50K rounds taken with my 870s, run 50K through that Citori and get back to us.

I also note Browning is coming out with a new O/U called the Cynergy. Even they think the Citori can be bettered.

Al, good point. I see few Citoris during deer season, nor used for HD.

[45auto]

From the pictures I saw of the Cynergy, it better break birds with radar or something, because that is one ugly looking shotgun. :eek:

[sm]

Glad it was something simple. 45 years and only $20 , what can I say? ;)

I have my druthers on SGs, mostly gun fit to shooter and the tool for the job. My Citori 3 bbl set has a purpose. 870s or any of the Big 4 pumps are simply the "old reliables" of repeaters that one can spent a week's paycheck on and later pass onto heirs...and continue to do so.

[Rat-30]

It's mechanical, it will fail... the point being 'when'...

I think it's outstanding testament to the design that the 870 lasts as long as it does, and the part that does fail is so simple and inexpensive to repair.

I'm proud to own my 870s.

Thanks, Dave.

Best regards,

[Denny Hansen]

"CLICK"

The loudest sound in the world

[Dave McCracken]

45 Auto, the Cynergy does look different, so does the Beretta 682E that it's designed to compete with. When the E came out the looks were widely condemned. I see a lot of Es these days, and none on the used gun racks.

Either the Cynergy will be revolutionary, or just revolting and soon available marked way down.

Pumps, 73, are the PU trucks of shotgunning. Not fancy like their SUV cousins, but nigh perfect for the long haul.

Rat, you said it. When 870s do fail, 870-cognizant smiths are easier to find than folks we'll trust Piottis to.

Denny, Amen. Thank G*d it happened on the trap field and not on my stairs at Zero dark 30.

[dport]

For a second there I thought Dave was going to say he bought a tac'ed out Benelli M1.

[45auto]

Agreed, they are not marketing that gun to a middleaged, slightly overweight person like myself, which is fine. Perhaps it looks better in real life than the photo.

I think the 682E is also terrible looking. I remember the 680/682 series with a polished silver receiver and polished blued bbls, very attractive guns at a good price.

I sound like my father now. :)

[Kampfer]

I think heck would freeze over first. :) Guess I wasn't the only one that thought that would be the topic of the post LOL. False alarm *shrug* :D

[Dave McCracken]

Sorry, guys, nothing against Benellis but I know what works for me.

Maybe I should have saved the title for if and when I got a Loudenboomer SP 3.5" Maggie Numb with Tactical everything and a PG only stock firing 0000 pellets of depleted Uranium rubbed with garlic.

[dport]

The garlic is the key to stopping power. You never know when your town will become a hellmouth and attract vampires.

[sm]

Hey Dave, any small chance you have the the collasped spring and your boy could post a pic?

HSMITH , how about you?

The reason I ask is simple. Stuff breaks. Simple is good. The more complicated things are- the more difficult to Dx, and the more expensive the fix. Just thought perhaps using this experience as a learning tool in inspecting and maintaining ones SGs.

I do not want a 'My gun is better than your gun' thread. Maybe we need from time to time to post pics of what to look for, how to inspect/maintain/prevent?

We post pics for everything else, how about just FYI and education?

Again no bashing, no "my gun can beat up your gun". Just another part of the "responsible firearm ownership" bit we do here at THR.

[Dave McCracken]

Dport, back during Prohibition some gangsters rubbed their bullets with garlic, figuring infection might carry off a lightly hit enemy. And, Casa McC lies dead between B-more and DC. Hellmouth indeed...

73, didn't pick it up yesterday, if traffic's better I'll do so this AM. If the smith returns the old spring, a pic is forthcoming.

Maybe a Howto Thread on maintainance is a good idea.

What say you, Members?

[Dave McCracken]

Followup...

Can't get the Digicam to focus close enough to get a good pic of the spring.

The old one is in three pieces. One short piece is about 1/4" long. The other two are roughly the same length and intertwined.

Total cost of repair, $19.20. Less than 72 hours and it's fixed.

[Correia]

Thanks for posting this Dave. Very valuable information.

[Dave McCracken]

You're welcome,Corriea.I'm unsure just how valuable or typical this is.