870 Express problem "solved"

[Bullnettles]

Hello all,

I have a 6-7 month old 870 that life hasn't allowed me to shoot until about a month ago. Every other fire was a lock-up (could not cock after fired). I found out this weekend it ONLY does that with aluminum after the extractor tore the rim on the tried and true stock bump that worked at the skeet range. Should I return to Remington or just stick with brass shells and quit whining? Yes, I'm indecisive, that's why I'm asking, haha.

 

[ColeK]

Return it!!! ASAP

 

[remingtonman86]

for sure return!

 

[Bullnettles]

Even if it fired multiple times with brass and had no issues?

 

[The_Pretender]

Absolutely! It should feed and fire anything you put into it.

 

[Bullnettles]

Fair enough, I'll call Remington tomorrow for an RMA. Thanks for showing me the right way, haha.

 

[hometheaterman]

Chamber probably needs polishing. Seems most Remington 870 Expresses need this out of the box.

 

[rbernie]

You can send it to Remington, and they may be able to fix the issue. You can also fix it yourself if you'd rather not hassle with Ilion.

The issue is that the steel (they're nickel-plated or brass-plated steel, not aluminum) bases on much of the cheap promo (bulk pack) shot shells are oversized, and the Rem 870 Express chamber is both in-spec and not polished. The combination of these two factors means that sometimes the promo ammo will stick in the chambers. It usually happens with the bulk-pack Win, sometimes happens with the bulk pack Fed, and almost never happens with bulk pack Remington ammo. It also doesn't happen with the 'quality' ammo (STS, AA) that uses brass bases on their hulls.

Assuming that you want to be able to shoot the inexpensive steel-based ammo, the cure is to polish the chamber; this both opens it up SLIGHTLY and helps keep the steel bases from having anything to stick on to. I polish my own chambers, using either a chamber hone that I bought from Brownells or a brake cylinder hone that I bought at the local auto parts store. However, if you send it back to Remington then they will likely do that job for you.

 

[Bullnettles]

I do believe that's what I'll do. I've never personally shipped any firearm through the mail and am honestly not that excited about doing it. I'll check out the hones on my next Midway order. Thanks rbernie.

 

[COgunner]

Mine did the same with all shells, even after polishing the chamber. Finally took it to a gunsmith who took one look at it and found a slight burr where the rim of the shell fits into the back of the chamber. He took a dremel to it and had it fixed in less than 5 minutes (no charge either). Works great now.

 

[JoeMal]

My cousin has an 870 that does this too. He's an idiot and won't send it in...even though he never shoots it because it's broke! He took it to a local smith that 'worked on it' and it's still a piece of junk. Not sure why people don't send malfunctioning firearms back?

 

[Yo Mama]

OP, this is the same problem experienced by many Express owners. Send back to factory. Send back again if needed. They will pay for shipping.

I just got mine back for this problem, but can't test fire as life for me also does not currently permit.

 

[remingtonman86]

if you buy a gun and it dont work send it back just like anything else...duh...especially if its new. my local shop even has some kind of warranty on their guns. if it dont work bring it back hell make it right.

 

[Hunterdad]

Thats the beauty of a pump gun.....you don't have to worry about what it will eat like you would an auto (at times). IMHO, any pump gun worth its weight should fire anything it's chambered for.