870 Sticking when trying to eject

[DustyGmt]

So I've only noticed when shooting trap, but sometimes when I go to eject a shell during a round of trap, my action sticks. I was told by one of the guys that it's because I was using shotshells with steel vs brass cartridge bases, but I was using brass the other day and it was doing the same thing. Sometimes my extractor slips right over the rim leaving the spent shell in the chamber.

I don't believe it is a sticky, rough or burr in the chamber as it is a polished, ery smooth wingmaster. The only thing I can think is maybe it is time for a new extractor, of which I have a new Volq extractor for it just haven't put it in, OR, it is because during a round of trap, to keep track of my misses I am more gentle about shucking out the spent shell because I eject the shell into my hand to put in my vest pocket.

Has anybody else experienced this? I know some actions prefer to be worked with authority and consistency to be reliable, sometimes when using the ½ power shucking method the bolt glides back easily but often times it stays locked and I have to really shuck to get it rearward and sometimes the extractor will intermittently jump the lip of the shell...

Just wondering if it's because I need to rack the same every time to expect reliable extraction or if I should be concerned. Or simply try the new extractor and see if that solves it. I know some of you guys have probably spent more time with an 870 in your hand than I've been alive so any input appreciated.....

 

[dfariswheel]

Things to do or check.........

Closely inspect the chamber for fouling, corrosion, or bulges. I know....do it anyway.
If needed, wrap some 0000 steel wool around a shotgun bore brush , chuck the rod in a drill and running it at medium speeds and keeping the brush constantly moving, polish the chamber.

Disassemble the bolt and give the extractor, spring and plunger, and the hole in the bolt a deep cleaning.

Inspect the extractor for wear or chipping.

Inspect the extractor spring and plunger for wear or corrosion.

Inspect the tunnel in the bolt for burrs around the mouth.

Inspect the top-rear of the bolt locking lug and the rear of the locking recess in the barrel extension for a burr or roughness.
Often 870's can develop a butt in these two places that can cause operating problems.
If burrs are present, LIGHTLY stone them off.

Inspect the slide rods for bends or kinks, or binding in the receiver.

As always, try different ammo.

 

[tactikel]

Since chamber is polished, inspect and clean extractor, replace spring and extractor if out of specs.
Any possibility of over pressure loads? Your post suggests ammo is not the problem, just asking.
Give action a through cleaning and inspection. If problem persists see your local gunsmith.

 

[Virginian]

Take a 10 gauge bronze brush, chuck it in a drill, splash some Hoppe's on it, stick it in the chamber and spin it. See if the hulls still stick.

 

[entropy]

Steel hulls can stick, even in an 870. I have a nice scar on the pad of my RH ring finger to remind me.



Try Virginian's advice first, then if it is still sticking, replace the extractor spring, and while you're at it, might as well put that Volquartsen extractor in, it is an improvement.
Usually what happens if I gingerly try to eject a hull is it bounces off my hand and back into the action, in which case I just shut and open it again. (Do not attempt this if the mag is loaded, for obvious reasons.) I used to use a T&S 1100 shell catcher on my old 870 (The Tactical Magnum I owed when I started back into Trap four years ago), and one guy I shoot with who uses an 870 uses the rubber band trick used for autos.
You should be catching and saving all your hulls; (there are other ways to count losses, and that's not your job anyway; You should be reserving your concentration for that orange disk...) even if you don't reload, it saves you (or the scorer) from having to pick them up after the round, and if you don't reload, you might find someone there does reload them. I have several guys who give me hulls regularly, and I usually compensate them with a cold beverage every once in a while.

 

[MEHavey]

Even though it's a Wingmaster, pull the barrel... put a fired steel-base shell back in the chamber... and check the rim clearance opposite the extractor.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/how-bad-are-2021-870s-actually.892820/#post-12012897

 

[PapaG]

My 1975 Wingmaster TB with a couple hundred K rounds through it still sticks with WW promo shells from Walmart. Polish and hope. I'm still in my first extractor.

 

[DustyGmt]

Steel hulls can stick, even in an 870. I have a nice scar on the pad of my RH ring finger to remind me.

View attachment 1016665

Try Virginian's advice first, then if it is still sticking, replace the extractor spring, and while you're at it, might as well put that Volquartsen extractor in, it is an improvement.
Usually what happens if I gingerly try to eject a hull is it bounces off my hand and back into the action, in which case I just shut and open it again. (Do not attempt this if the mag is loaded, for obvious reasons.) I used to use a T&S 1100 shell catcher on my old 870 (The Tactical Magnum I owed when I started back into Trap four years ago), and one guy I shoot with who uses an 870 uses the rubber band trick used for autos.
You should be catching and saving all your hulls; (there are other ways to count losses, and that's not your job anyway; You should be reserving your concentration for that orange disk...) even if you don't reload, it saves you (or the scorer) from having to pick them up after the round, and if you don't reload, you might find someone there does reload them. I have several guys who give me hulls regularly, and I usually compensate them with a cold beverage every once in a while.

Yeah I will try replacing the extractor spring, I will have to try to track one down and you're right, sometimes when I eject softly into my hand it just pops right back into the chamber but I've gotten pretty good at grabbing them on the way out. I would use one of those shell traps that mount on the gun but then I can't track my progress (misses). Unfortunately nobody keeps count at our club, you gotta keep track yourself. I'm getting better so maybe it won't be too much to keep track of from now on. I shot two rounds the other day and broke my first 20/25 and then the following round 21/25.

The guys have given me good pointers but they get on me about letting the bird get too far away before I pull but I found it was working for me the other day. One of the guys shoots his clays about 10yards from the house, he is pretty good and fast. They tell me to get on em quicker but I feel like I get a clearer picture of the clay when it's almost at the highest point, either that or I'm just slow and that's just the natural impulse for a beginner.

In any case I'm getting better. I don't think my gun fits in terms of comb height. The LOP is perfect I think it's just the MC seems to put my head up too high and my eye seems like it's looking down onto the rib and not up along the length of it, if that makes sense. I'm still looking for a non MC style 870 stock to see if it makes it better.

 

[entropy]

Unfortunately nobody keeps count at our club, you gotta keep track yourself.

Dang! I'm coming to your club to shoot from now on; Bet I get a lot of 25's!

I shot two rounds the other day and broke my first 20/25 and then the following round 21/25.

You get to that point, it's pretty easy to keep track in your head. (The trick is NOT doing that; it can start to play with your mind)

As for whether you shoot the clay 10 ft from the house or at it's peak, it's best to be able to do both. I'll bet when the guys who shoot fast get a hard angle, they miss.
There are two kinds of lead; swingthrough and sustained. (though you do follow through with both) In swinging through the bird, you catch up to it fast, pull the trigger as you pass, and keep swinging the gun. In sustained lead, you get out in front the bird, track it until you are confident, pull the trigger, and keep swinging at the same rate. You can use sustained lead on quartering and slight angle birds easily, it's tougher to do with hard angles; not because they are harder, but the mind panics sometimes; Swingthrough is better to use on hard angles, but it takes some practice.
Try setting the trap to throw hard lefts on #1, and then hard rights on #5. You master them, the rest will seem easy. (That's where I start missing straightaways.)

The LOP is perfect I think it's just the MC seems to put my head up too high and my eye seems like it's looking down onto the rib and not up along the length of it, if that makes sense.

There is a reason you see Monte Carlos and adjustable combs on Trap guns; Trap targets are shot (hopefully) while still rising; With a gun stocked for field shooting, with no rib, or a low flat rib, half the shot goes below the bead-half goes above. (50/50 POI) These are good for upland birds, and useable for everything else, though not optimally. A Monte Carlo raises the rear sight (your eye) , thus raising the Point Of Impact relative to the Point Of Aim. Your Monte Carlo probably gives you a "figure 8" or "snowman" view of the beads. The result is a POI of @ 60/40, which works for Trap, Skeet, Sporting, pheasant, ducks, and deer with slugs.

Some Trapshooters, myself included, like a higher POI; I prefer 70/30, which is fairly common, but there are those who prefer them even higher, up to 100% Some go higher still and you'll hear terms like 120%, but that's technically incorrect; you can't put more than 100% of the shot from a shell above the bead, so those are expressed correctly as X inches above, meaning the bottom of the pattern is X inches above the bead.

 

[DustyGmt]

A Monte Carlo raises the rear sight (your eye) , thus raising the Point Of Impact relative to the Point Of Aim. Your Monte Carlo probably gives you a "figure 8" or "snowman" view of the beads.

I actually don't have a mid bead but I'm thinking I'd like one. I end up fishing with my head sometimes wondering if my eye is low enough on the rib, and since I haven't had a day to just shoot by myself with no pressure I end up doing all my experimental aiming stuff on the fly during a round and I'm never fully confident I have the right sight picture or if I'm doing it all wrong. It occurs to me that just because it's a break, doesn't mean I'm set up correctly. The guys have been able to give me good tips and have said I have a good swing through on some of the hard left/right targets but it could just be luck. I'd like to know if what I'm seeing down the barrel is optimal or if something needs to change.

I know alot of people here say the mid bead is useless or unnecessary but I'm guessing those are mostly experienced folks, when I shot the Perazzi the other day the guy made me mount it like 100 times before I shot and it was nice to have that mid bead for reference and the more comfortable I got with the gun the better I got and it was nice to have that mid bead. I imagine it's probably not that hard to install, I might buy one to put on it for now.

The guy who is one of the better, older more experienced shooters who has been schooling me a lil bit told me to raise my right elbow to a straight 45° and it felt weird at first because I normally drop my elbow for rifle shooting, but I did what he said and while my cheek seemed to take a vicious beating because of it, my shooting did improve....

 

[PapaG]

The mid bead is anything but useless. It, along with the front, is for alignment before calling for the bird. Once aligned, focus "out there" where the bird will appear and forget the beads.

 

[Spats McGee]

Don't mind me. I'm just posting to make this easier to find again, because I have an 870 with similar issues.

 

[entropy]

The mid bead is anything but useless. It, along with the front, is for alignment before calling for the bird. Once aligned, focus "out there" where the bird will appear and forget the beads.

Exactly. It can be done without a mid bead, but they make it easier. A gunsmith should charge between $20 and $50 to put one on.

 

[gralewaj]

I had an 870 with similar extraction issue that became worse very quickly, The metal tip of the ejector that sits inside the barrel lug broke of and the barrel moved just enough to cause all kinds of extraction issues. The extractor was taking chunks out of dummy shell rims when I found it. Check your ejector tip.