First 870 misfire ever!

[DirtyBrad]

The horror.

I went to the rifle range the other day and brought my 870 along to pattern some new home defense loads - Remington Express 00 buck and Winchester 1 oz. slugs (what a kick on those, whew).

So, on the second or third shot of the 00, I got a click instead of a bang. I waited half a minute or so to be safe, then ejected the round and fired the rest of the magazine. Afterwards I examined the primer, which was dented. I put it back in the gun and it fired fine that time.

The gun is used for home defense and for skeet. I've put probably 500 rounds through it at the skeet field with never a hiccup. The only issue I ever had was some PMC ammo that was a pain to eject.

I clean and oil it after every use and haven't ever abused it in any way. It's an 870 Express Super Magnum. For HD I have an 18.5" Mossberg barrel on it and a 2-shot magazine extension. That's how it was when it misfired.

I realize I'm probably being paranoid. I know that misfires happen; it's just that this was my first and it freaks me out from my HD gun. I do realize that Mr. Murphy will be there when I need to shoot the most, so I do train for misfires and jams with all of my guns. I just want to know I'm doing everything I can to maintain reliability.

I saw that Wolff has extra power 870 hammer springs. Is that something worth considering? I'm not particularly picky about my triggers and feel like the 870's could be a lot heavier before it would bother me in the slightest.

Thanks for reading about my grief. I look forward to your sympathy and advice.

 

[45R]

THROW OUT THAT 870 and get yourself a real shotgun

Misfires happen which is why you train for them. If your shotgun has popped over 500 rounds without a problem I'd say it was more an ammo issue, esp seeing that the FP put a dent in the primer.

 

[Dave McCracken]

More likely an ammo issue. Run some more shells through it.

 

[El Tejon]

Your firing pin O.K. When I've broken 870s it has always been the firing pin. (They shear off along the horizontal axis).

 

[DirtyBrad]

Thank you for the responses.

Has anyone had trouble with Remington Express 00? While I've had a decent amount of rounds through the gun, I've only had about ten of these and had a misfire. I have some Fiocchi reduced recoil on the way. Anyone have good or bad experience with it?

Is there a disadvantage to a heavier hammer spring? Seems like it might make the difference on some light strikes and I can't think of a reason not to get one.

And I'll be keeping my 870. None of the old-timers with their fancy skeet guns can seem to resist asking to give it a whirl. They get a wistful tear in their eyes hitting doubles with their old pump gun...

 

[PJR]

Ammo misfires while not common are not unheard of. I've had just about every brand of factory shotgun ammo misfire at some point. I wouldn't change the hammer spring unless you get more frequent FTF.

 

[Oldnamvet]

I didn't know a Mossberg barrel would fit on an 870.

 

[DirtyBrad]

It's made by Mossberg to fit 870s.

 

[JJohnston015]

Just an opinion for your consideration...

I know all the gun safety classes tell you to wait 30 seconds on a misfire, but if you're planning on training for home defense, you won't want to be standing around for that long doing nothing. You may want to consider getting into the habit of shucking a dud immediately.

These two schools of thought conflict, and I once got scolded at a cowboy shoot for not waiting out a dud, but I think you have to decide: train for reality or game? Thoughts?

 

[fearless leader]

Food for thought

I left a Winchester 1400 in storage for some time, and did not realize the hammer was cocked. I haven't since fired it yet, but the hammer clicks very weakly when it is snapped.
Do you store the 870 cocked?

 

[DirtyBrad]

This is something I've thought about, too. My current move is to mix in snap caps with my ammo during training to practice immediate recovery from a dud.

Like I said, this was my first real one and I played it safe. It's an interesting question, but I think it's the right move, especially being on the line with other people around.

I'm certainly open to suggestion, though.

 

[DirtyBrad]

I do store it cocked, yes. This is something else I've thought and read about a lot. For consistency, I keep all of my home defense guns (AR, 870, USP) hammer cocked, safety on. I like the idea of picking up gun, safety off, ready to go.

As far as spring wear goes, who knows. There's a lot of "spring theory" both ways and anecdotal evidence both ways.

My solution is to keep cocked and locked and to replace springs once a year. I think that gets me the best of both worlds, but, as always, I'm open to new ideas.

 

[Dave McCracken]

FWIW, my HD 870 has been kept stored cocked most of the time since it left Ilion in 1950. Best guess, 15K to 20K through it. Still sure fire.

Bet Number 6, born in 1955, has been kept that way also.

Sears and springs in both of these are original. They look new.

The backup HD 870 and venison tool has been mine since the early 80s. While round count on this former cruiser gun is lower, the hammer shows a bit of peening. It'll bear watching, but unless I start using this one much more, it'll not need replacement till well after my demise.

 

[bglimpse]

No issue with leaving the 870 cocked, spring wear comes from use and not sitting under load. They are designed to be left under load.

Sounds like an ammo issue, I can't comment on the Rem 00 as I use Federal Tactical and TAP. I would shoot more of it if your planning to use it as a defensive round.

 

[DirtyBrad]

I actually just got some Fiocchi 00 reduced-recoil, which I'm eager to try out. I'm trying to control my urge to buy a thousand shells at a time and to just sample a few brands and see what me and the old girl like the best. I'll post results as I go.

 

[Owen]

Check out the firing pin. If the firing pin is fine, it was almost surely a bad ammo.

 

[DirtyBrad]

It looked fine to me. Nothing bent or chipped or fouled. Anything else I should look for?

I should add that, since first posting this, a buddy and I had this gun out to the skeet field and shot ten rounds between us. So, 250 rounds, no problems whatsoever. Unless you count the multitude of birds that got by me.

I feel better saying it was just a bad primer. I haven't heard much feedback on the hammer spring. Given that the shell fired the second time around makes me think that the strike the first time was almost enough. Maybe with a stronger spring, the next time I get a hard one, it will be enough make what would have been a click a bang.