Mag Extension Help

[WJR]

I know that mag extensions are a well covered topic. I did search through all of the old posts, but I could not find a discussion that mirrored my issue.

I recently bought a used 870 Police that did not have a mag extension. As luck would have it, I found a 2 shot Remington factory extension. I installed it the other night with the (IMHO) ridiculously long spring that came with it. When loading the mag, I got to five rounds of 2 3/4 and could not get the 6th one into the mag. I tried this several times with the same result. Last night after reading old posts, I switched back to the stock spring. The loading seemed easier, but I still had the problem with the 6th round on several tries and no problem on other tries. I am not having any problem at all cycling the rounds through the gun to remove them from the mag. Therefore, my conclusion is that I need to switch out the follower??

Can someone suggest a good replacement follower? or can you suggest anything else for me to try?

By the way, the same rounds feed without problem into my 870 Express which came stock with a factory +2 extension.

Thank you in advance.

WJR

 

[Preacherman]

Sounds to me like your follower may be hanging up on the "lip" between the extension and the regular mag tube.

There are a couple of good replacement followers. Wilson Combat sells a spring and follower kit for extended magazines - see here. Brownells make an aluminum follower - see here. Vang Comp Systems offers some very colorful followers - see here, and click on "Our Latest Products" in the left-hand column, then scroll down the main screen to see their followers. (You can even get one in pink, if you're that way inclined!!! )

 

[c-bag]

the problem may be that your tube is dimpled, preventing your follower from moving into the extention. are there a pair of "dimples" near the forward end of the tube? if so you need to get a Dremel tool out and remove them and possibly soldier up the holes that will be there so dirt ect. doesn't get in

blaim remington for caving in and PC-ing an otherwise good firearm

 

[Sludge]

Yea those dimples have to go. Be real careful to make the inside of the tube very smooth too. I drilled mine out with a drill bit, then used the drimmel tool to clean up the inside of the tube.

 

[WJR]

(You can even get one in pink, if you're that way inclined!!! )

Oh no, no, no! Thank you for the suggestions, Preacherman.

c-bag and sludge, this is a Police Model so I do not believe that it has the dimples. Besides, I can get five in, just not six.

WJR

 

[Badger Arms]

On dimpled guns, you'd still probably be able to get 5 rounds in. It's possible for your police model to have the dimples. That's the first place I'd check. I'd also make sure that there were no burs or other orbtructions at the 'lip' area where your extension connects to the standard magazine. The design of the remington extension makes this more likely.

 

[Al in Md]

I have a couple 870 Police models and I have never had that problem. I suggest that when installing the extended tube to the rec'vr. tube that the ends of tubes contact each other before tightning the extended tube collar. If a gap between the stock tube and the extended tube exists this may cause the rim of the shell or the follower to catch in the gap. This is just a guess on my part but it miight be worth a look. Please post when you find the solution. Al

 

[9mmMike]

If the sixth round goes in once in a while, I doubt it is PC dimples unless the follower has the notches that are aligning once in a while and even then, the shells should not ever be able to pass.
So, I think we're back to checking the edges of both the mag tube and extension to make sure that they are perfectly round with no bends or burrs.
If you have another 870 with and extension, why don't you try swapping the extension over. This should help narrow down the problem part.
Mike

 

[9mmMike]

I suggest that when installing the extended tube to the rec'vr. tube that the ends of tubes contact each other before tightning the extended tube collar.

I do the opposite. I have factory extensions on four Remingtons here and I remove them after every shoot for cleaning. I shoot almost every weekend so that's a ton of off and on! I always tighten the extension nut like it was a factory mag cap and then screw in the extension until it bottoms on the mag tube. Finally, I install the clamp.
If you do this the other way, you are risking damage to the extension as the extension nut can compress the lip if it is in too far. I suspect this is what actually damages many factory extensions.

Mike

 

[WJR]

Thanks again for all the replies. I only had a few minutes last night to look at the problem, therefore, all I did was unload and load a few times with about 75% success rate of loading all 6 without a problem. I plan to try a myriad of tests tonight using the mag ext from my Express and various mixing and matching of parts to see what fixes the problem.

WJR

 

[WJR]

For anyone who is still interested, I worked on the problem last night and solved it. It turned out to be the magazine follower. I took the bright orange one from my Express and put it in the Police and everything worked like a charm whether I used the standard spring or the mag extension spring.

The interesting thing is that the orange follower is beveled on the side that faces toward the muzzle. The black plastic follower that came with my Police is not. I attribute that to have been the problem. I will probably order another orange one from Remington if they come beveled or order a lime green one from Wilson.

One interesting observation: the mag extension that came with me Remington Express (new Home Defense model) is one piece (at least it appeared that way as I could not get the magazine cap part to unscrew from the extension part). The one I purchased to add to the Police is two pieces. Has anyone else noticed this? The one piece to me might be a little more reliable. I wonder if Remington would sell one of those now that they are putting them on the Express models??

Thanks again for all of the help,

WJR

 

[Badger Arms]

With the one-piece, you'll have to remove the barrel clamp (if installed) EVERY TIME you wish to remove the barrel. This is not the case with the two-piece tube design. You've solved your problem. If you wish to swap a two-piece tube for a one-piece, I'm sure there is a TFL'er out there who might just be able to give yours a good home.

 

[WJR]

Badger Arms,

I had not really thought about that. Thank you for the tip.

Man, I am glad that I discovered this forum as I learn something new every time I log in.

WJR

 

[9mmMike]

With the one-piece, you'll have to remove the barrel clamp (if installed) EVERY TIME you wish to remove the barrel. This is not the case with the two-piece tube design.

All mine are two piece (nut and tube) and I have to remove the clamp. Can you explain how you can do this without removing the clamp? Unless you're talking about loosening the clamp which is practically the same as removal IMHO.

Just wondering,
Mike

WJR,
I would still suspect that you have a problem between the extension and the magazine tube. One of your followers is not hanging up and if you get a similar one, you will probably be OK but there really should not be anything to catch on. The transition should be practically seamless.

Mike

edited to ask - does the "bad" follower hang up in the "good" 870?

 

[Badger Arms]

All mine are two piece (nut and tube) and I have to remove the clamp. Can you explain how you can do this without removing the clamp? Unless you're talking about loosening the clamp which is practically the same as removal IMHO.

I sold my extension 4 years ago, but if Memory serves, you can loosen the nut to the point where you just pull the mag tube and barrel off to the front of the gun. These two parts stay clamped together. In fact, I remember doing this and thinking that it was a great deal easier than with the Choate extension (which I still have). Can somebody who owns the Remmy one check and confirm this?

 

[WJR]

Mike,

I have not tried the "bad" follower in the Express. I will put that one back together tonight and try it out. As of right now, the bright orange follower is in the Police and is working just fine, although I will try it out some more this weekend (hopefully tomorrow if I can get to the range).

WJR

 

[WJR]

The problem is definitely the follower. I tried it in my Express with the one piece extension and experienced the same problem when trying to load the 6th shell.

I am probably just going to order two of the lime green followers from Wilson and call it a day.

WJR

 

[9mmMike]

Thanks for the perseverance. Nice job.

Mike