870 Ammo Question

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RaceM

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I just finished putting sights on my latest fun gun, an 870 Remmy. After testing & cleaning I went to load her up for HD duty and noticed an issue. It seems that 3" shells are somewhat problematic to stuff in the magazine with any speed. Is it just me, my particular 870, or is this typical of the breed?

Tried it again with 2 3/4" shells and they went in mo muss, no fuss. Guess I’ll just run the shorties through this particular gun and save the 3 inchers for my Mossies which load them up just fine.
 
I don't know about that.

But using 3" Mags for HD is a bad plan anyway.

You certainly don't need the extra power.

And you for sure don't need the extra recoil slowing down repeat shots.

And you maybe don't even need the one less round in the magazine you may get with 3" shells.

rc
 
I'll second what rc said. With 2 3/4" vs 3", there isn't very much ballistic difference. But with 2 3/4, I can get 1 more shell...which may be a difference between life and death, who knows?

But to answer your question, 3" and 2 3/4" load the same in my 870, no noticeable difference.
 
I prefer to run 3" in my HD guns because of increased lead capacity for my home-rolled rounds. Extra power is exactly what's called for to get through my 8" thick exterior walls should there be a need and works great against vehicular threats as well.

The issue on the 870 seems to be the angle at which the 3" sits on the bottom of the lifter. The front of the shell hangs up and takes some jiggling to get it lined up right.
 
Ayup, slide fully forward & bolt locked. Like I said, no issue with the shorter shells at all. If the bolt is unlocked & slightly out of battery you can't get anything to go in cuz the shell lifter is blocked.

I should prolly add here just for clarity: It's not that 3" shells won't load or cycle. They do. It's just that 3 inchers don't load EASY like the 2 3/4" shells do.
 
Does the shell lifter dingus have full and free travel all the way up until it hits the bolt carrier whangdoodle?
 
I've been putzing with it and found the problem. If I push the lifter all the way up while loading the 3's they tend to roll off to the side & hang up on the lip around the mag tunnel. If I ease up slightly on the lifter they'll slide right in. Fine for hunting, but not something I'd want to deal with during a high stress event.

I guess for now I'll put my 500 Mossy back next to the bed (loaded with threes) and the Remmy can sit until I figure out a fix. Looks like a minor throat job around the mag tunnel oughtta do it.

Thanx for the help and/or observations.
 
Problem Resolved

Broke out the dremel with flex extension & had at. Really tight working inside the receiver so I used plastic shims to hold the interruptor and shell stop in their grooves and protect them from errant grinding. Put about a 1/16" bevel around the mag tunnel mouth then dressed it with jeweler's files and sandpaper. Now it'll load the threes with nary a bobble, but I'll have to practice some to get smooth on a fast reload.:D
 

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With work like that, you should get a job at the Remington Factory.

You could be an inspector for Quality-Control!
 
@ Virginian

Yup, had me scratching my head as well. The lifter seemed to be the real culprit, almost like it would push in too far. Maybe it's not shaped quite right, maybe the previous owner messed with it? I dunno. Only the second Remmy I've bought, both used, so I don't know what's "normal" on these things.
 
I find 3" shells a bit trickier to load up in hurry, as they take up a bit more room in the port where your fingers would otherwise would be.

Granted, if I'm loading 3"s it's probably not a defensive or competitive situation so the speed difference isn't a big deal.
 
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