Calling Dave McCracken, other Remington 870 Gurus!

[Waywatcher]

On Saturday, a friend and I put about 170 rounds through my 2 year old Remington 870 Express. I've never had any issues before, except maybe a few sticky extractions that required a firm pump.

The problem that showed up, at about 125 rounds in or so, was stove pipe type malfunctions. It happened a couple times to me and 1 time to my friend. We were both operating the pump very vigorously. Trust me.

Concerned, I field stripped the shotgun, didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but I blew as hard as I could on the ejector spring just in case there was something there. I put it back together and ran it the rest, about 45 rounds. It ran all those okay, but it seemed to be sometimes dribbling empties rather than tossing them--the shells would sometimes land nearly on my feet. The ammo was Wincheter AA reloads made by (meticulous) me, which have never given me a single problem before.

Any idea what might be going on, or if something needs replacement?

 

[allaroundhunter]

Did the hulls look like the extractor was being especially rough with them?

 

[Waywatcher]

No, not really, the rims all look pretty good. I also disassembled the bolt at home to check on the extractor and it looks mint.

I should also add that the shells were twice or three times fired (85 of one, 75 of the other.)

 

[allaroundhunter]

.....well then it looks to me like the actual "gurus" are needed .....my extraction problem was solved with a new extractor, but the rims before the part change were beaten up pretty badly...


Best of luck!
-AAH

 

[Dave McCracken]

First, it may not be the gun, but let's start there...

Ensure it's unloaded, then run a finger tip over the ejector, located opposite the ejection port. If the ejector feels rough or the tip is broken, then it's a warranty issue.

To be on the safe side, use 4/0 steel wool on a dowel chucked up in a drill to polish the chamber and forcing cone. This cannot hurt and may help.

However....

I had something similar happen a few years ago with two of my well used 870s. A new sizing ring in my venerable 600 JR fixed things immediately.Thousands and thousands of rounds had worn the old one out of spec.

HTH....

 

[Buckeye]

Dave, would you please explain what a sizing ring is?

 

[Dave McCracken]

The sizing ring is on the sizing die and squeezes the base back down to what it should be. IIRC, it's a $3 part.

Even MECs have parts that can wear out.....

 

[Waywatcher]

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it.

Next time at the range I will bring some factory fresh AA loads and run those to see how they go. Dave, the ejector piece itself looks fine. I did notice that its movement in and out seems a bit gritty. Is it normal for that movement to be less-than-perfectly-smooth?

I went and read up on the Mec 600 jr and particularly the reconditioning die (first station.) I may have it adjusted down too far--I will take a look as soon as I have chance. I bought the reloader new about 3 years ago, and have probably loaded about 1000 rounds on it.

 

[Dave McCracken]

You're very welcome.

Do try some factory AAs. At worst, you eliminate one variable and have fresh hulls to reload.

A couple of my ejectors do not move at all, and work perfectly. I doubt the fault lies there. I do suggest a deep clean and relube. Some grunge may have migrated to a sensitive spot.

How many shells have you put through the Express since you bought it?

As for the MEC. 1K rounds means nothing. You're still in the breakin period. 50X that, then maybe the part.

 

[dprice3844444]

I did notice that its movement in and out seems a bit gritty

might be slowing the extractor down abit,try flushing with spray cleaner

 

[Hunter125]

Not sure what the issue is with your gun, but last year a friend lent me some reloads and some cheaper Wimchesters (not AA) and my 870 was having a hard time ejecting both. I thought it could be because my gun was dirty, but swithed back to using Federal and Remington factory rounds and it ran flawlessly. I am staying away from reloads and Winchesters from here on out. Maybe your gun just doesn't like reloads?

 

[Fred Fuller]

Switching to factory ammo is an easy check for one variable.

Flushing out (gun scrubber etc) and re-lubricating the extractor spring is just good maintenance anyway.

So is a good chamber cleaning.

If you really want to know what the 'fix' was, only change one variable at the time till the problem goes away. If you just want it fixed, go after all of 'em.

 

[Waywatcher]

Thanks for the advice. I did a thorough disassembly where I removed the barrel, pump, bolt, and trigger group. (Except I didn't disassemble the trigger group). I cleaned up the ejector and extractor areas, and gave the ejector some judicious applications of brake cleaner (through the little straw). I gave it a light coat of CLP inside and out.

This gun has probably seen in the neighborhood of 600 rounds, if I had to guess.

And, in a topic probably best suited for another thread, I found and picked up one of my grail guns, which is admittedly yeoman in nature: a nice vintage Remington 870 Wingmaster. It appears to be a 1969 vintage and looks like it was hardly ever shot and was stored very carefully. It is a non-rib 28" fixed-mod-choked barrel with nice walnut and a beautiful high polish blue that looks great. The balance is just where I like it; right where the receiver ends by the barrel. I will have to start another thread with pictures.

 

[Waywatcher]

Got out to the range today with this Express. It ran 100%, no hiccups. I shot a new box of AA and a box of AA reloads using Unique powder.

Still had a few dribbles from both types of ammo though, but they didn't jam. Is that an issue?

 

[Dave McCracken]

If by "dribble" you mean the empties are just clearing the gun, probably not something to worry about. My hunch is this will clear up soon.

Did you fire the " New" WM? I think you'll like it....