870 Failure to feed question

[Garzavalwolf]

I picked up a nice remington 870 at my local pawnshop last week for a meager $24 (I had $75 in credit for some video games I brought a few months ago). Anyhow I had a Mossberg barrel (made for Remnigton 870) in 18" and I took it out to the range. I had cycled some 00 buckshot at home so I thought there would be no problems, right? Wrong. I bought some rifled slugs to use at the range and immediatly had problems with cycling. The shell in the chaimber would shoot just fine. It would eject into next week, no problem. The problem is that the next shell (in the magazine tube) would not get into the receiver all the way (half the shell in the tube, half into the receiver). The problem was intermitant, and not continuous.

When I took the 870 home, I of course, stripped it and cleaned it. It didn't look too dirty, but the follower (a rather flimsy thing) and it looked very dirty and scratched up. I figure it is a problem with the follower as the spring looks to be in good shape (still longer than the magazine tube).

Do any of the experts here have any opinions?

Thanks guys.

 

[Yo Mama]

What length shells are you using?

I've had issues with 3 inch 00 buck in a Mossberg that swore it would fire them. Again, same problem, would fire the one in the chamber, but wouldn't cycle to the next round.

 

[dfariswheel]

Shotguns often get no maintenance and can be shockingly dirty in places many owners never look.

I suggest cleaning the inside of the magazine tube and inspecting it closely.
In fact, I'd suggest giving the entire gun a good deep cleaning, including scrubbing the chamber thoroughly, and using a "gun scrubber" type spray to blast out the inside of the receiver behind the shell stops.
Dry thoroughly, then spray everything with a good lube like Rem-Oil to prevent rust.

DO NOT remove the shell stops, they're staked in place and can't be re-staked without a special tool.
You'd be surprised at how much filth you can get out, and how much smoother the gun will operate.
Also, if in doubt, replace the magazine spring. It should be significantly longer than the magazine tube.

 

[Garzavalwolf]

I was shooting 2 3/4 shells.

The gun was definitly dirty. In fact the follower had what looked like a thin film of dirt around it (I cleaned it of course). I did give it a quick once over, but I think tonight i will dissassemble it completly and really give it a deep cleaning!! I don't have any gun scrubber at home (my guns normally don't get so bad that I need any, but mabe it would be a good idea to stock up on some).

I may go ahead and switch out the magazine spring (just to be sure). Anyone here suggest swaping out the follower as well?