870 Problems

[Capstick1]

I have a Remington 870 Express that's fairly new and hasn't been shot much. I took it to the range the other day and shot trap with it. No problems hitting clay pigeons but it is giving me fits with pulling empty shells out of the chamber. The action keeps binding up. Every 3rd or 4th shot when you pull back on the forend the round is in there so tight that it takes two hands to push it back. Before anybody asks I'm using factory winchester universal field shells and I did spray some oil inside the the reciever. Someone told me that I should get one of these flex hones, put it in a drill and hone the chamber. I've shot lots of 870s in my military career and even own three of them. One of thems a wingmaster thats performed flawlessly. I've never seen one do this before. If the honing doesn't work are there any other suggestions? Is this normal for the Express version to have this problem?

 

[Ghost Tracker]

Remington will be glad to correct the problem. While the 870 Express certainly isn't a Premium Grade shotgun...it's not junk either. Call Remington & get it straightened out. They've got people on the payroll who's ONLY job is to make you happy!

 

[41magsnub]

check out this post from The Firing Line:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260771

Gist of it is the 870's are disagreeing with a lot of the cheap ammo out there.

Also, if the gun is new the shipping grease needs to be removed. You probably did this but it is screwing up a lot of folks with new 870's so it is worth mentioning.

 

[flip180]

I had the same problem.. I just changed ammo.

Flip.

 

[Capstick1]

Reply 41Mag

Yeah "41", I think rough chambers just may be the culprit here. That Winchester Universal stuff has worked fine in the Wingmaster. I've already ordered the chamber honing tool from Brownells. Hopefully this is all that it's going to take to fix the problem. I guess the quality control on the Express's isn't as good as it is on the wingmasters.

 

[Striker]

While honing can't hurt, I think the main culprit is the Winchester ammo.

I have 3 vintage Wingmasters (1956, 1973, and 1977) as well as two fairly new Express models, that all choke on Winchester universal loads.

Also, Remington as of late has been using an unusally "sticky" perservative that caused problems until removed.

You might want to scrub out the chamber with Gun Scrubber and 0000 steel wool and/or switch to a different ammo.

YMMV

 

[Robert Hairless]

I've seen several 870s that don't extract the cheap Winchester shells reliably. The problem doesn't seem to be dependent on the shotgun's age.

 

[Deadheadted37]

Change your shells, I have had the same problem with my 870. My brothers o/u doesn't like them either, they will extract but not pop out like normal.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

I think the main culprit is the Winchester ammo.

I agree. Try the Federal or Remington bulk packs instead. Much better.

 

[rino451]

See my post midway down here http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=292128

I also shoot the 100 rnd Winchester cheap stuff...

 

[marklbucla]

I had the same problem with my Express until I gave it a thorough cleaning and broke it in. It seems to run anything now.

 

[870]

Let me guess, you're using the cheap Wally World shells.

Don't use those aluminium/steel headed shells, they don't contract the same as brass.

 

[Bwana John]

I have found the actions on many new 870 to be really stiff.

They all seem smooth out with shooting however.

 

[Rick O'Shea]

Is this mainly a Rem 870 issue?

I ask because I will be getting a Mossberg 500 soon, and need to break it (and myself) in.
I saw the Winchester 100 pks at K-Mart for about $27, but don't feel like wrassling with a stuck gun every few rounds while I'm trying to get a feel for it.

 

[marklbucla]

I think so.

A good cleaning and a bit of break in will let the 870 Express run reliably.

 

[Ceemack]

I noticed the same thing the last time I shot some of the Winchester promo loads in my 870 Express. I'd put the gun together with very little lube in preparation for a trip to the desert, but hearing your experience I think it's a problem with the ammo.

I've never experienced this problem using either the Federal or Remington promo loads from Walmart. Try one of them and you should be fine. Myself, I'll shoot up the last of the Winchester I've got and switch back to the Remington ammo.