need advice on an 870 jamming

[zhyla]

Went to a local tactical match with a friend yesterday. His 870 jammed, I dunno, 7 or 8 times out of ~75 rds. It was really frustrating for him. I had assumed he was short-stroking it initially but now I'm not so sure.

Since I didn't experience this issue myself it's hard for me to describe exactly what was going on. From what I could see it was mostly failure to extract. The most obvious case of this he couldn't open the action and had to bang the butt on the ground to extract the spent casing.

I believe he's got an 870 express, it has a long-ish foreend that meets the receiver when the action is open. Someone suggested maybe a shorter foreend would help. Can anyone explain why that would help?

My friend is well-aware that short-stroking will cause cycling issues, and he's put at least 400 rds thru his gun (we're both new to shotguns). Perhaps he just forgets this during a stressful match environment? I think the opposite is true for me, I've got my adrenaline going and am racking it so hard my fingers are a little raw the next day.

One thing I can say is the gun was cleaned the night before the match and the first issue appeared in the first 10 rds. I don't believe it to be a dirty chamber issue. We were shooting bulk Winchester birdshot.

Polishing the chamber worthwhile? Gun just not broken in? Any advice appreciated.

 

[oneounceload]

Many folks have reported FTE issues with the Winchester wally world cheap promo loads - first thing - try different ammunition. For matches, you might want to spend a little more on quality target ammo. In any event, if other brands still have that issue happen, polishing the chamber with some 0000 steel wool on a dowel in a drill seems to be the accepted practice

 

[chas08]

We were shooting bulk Winchester birdshot.

Well, there you have it. There's been tons of troubles reported on this forum and others with that brand of ammo and 870 expresses. I think it would be a safe bet that the fore end is not a factor.

 

[zhyla]

Thanks guys. We'll switch ammo and consider polishing the chamber.

Purely out of curiosity... what is it about an 870 and bulk Winchester that don't work together? Me and another friend shot the match with my 590 and had zero issues (with twice as many rounds). Does Mossberg just have a looser chamber? I don't want to start an 870 vs 590 discussion, just curious what the difference is.

 

[Almond27]

One thing about a Mossberg is it has dual extractors my 500A never had a problem with the wally world Winchester it probably had 200+ rounds of it put through it. Remingtons only have one extractor at least in the 870 I can't speak for their other models as I haven't owned or shot one.

 

[Milkmaster]

BOth my 870 and 1100 have no issues with the Winchester bulk packs. In fact I have never had an ammo that would not cycle in them. The youngest of the two is the 1100 built in 2001. From what I have read, the problem seems to be the 870's that have been produced over the last couple of years. You can read thread after thread on it. Clean the entire gun, polish the chamber, and shoot it!

 

[COgunner]

My 870 was doing that. I could not cycle the pump immediately after a shot. I could wait a few seconds (I suppose the shell cooled and shrank a little), and it would function normally. Took it to a gunsmith and he found a small burr on the ridge around the opening of the chamber. He took it in the back, worked on it for about 5 minutes, function fired a few rounds thru it, handed it back to me and said "no charge". What service!!!

 

[peetee32]

many threads here and lots of info on google on the remington F.T.E.

mine would jam up on any ammo i fed it. never got around to fixing the problem as i have another barrel that gives me no problems what so ever.

 

[DougW]

Might spend a bit of time cleaning the chamber too.

 

[greyeyezz]

Purely out of curiosity... what is it about an 870 and bulk Winchester that don't work together? Me and another friend shot the match with my 590 and had zero issues (with twice as many rounds). Does Mossberg just have a looser chamber? I don't want to start an 870 vs 590 discussion, just curious what the difference is.

What I've heard is the cases are brass coated steel and the steel deforms after being shot making extraction difficult.

 

[GigaBuist]

We were shooting bulk Winchester birdshot.

I knew that by the end of the 2nd paragraph.

 

[jlv08]

The chamber surface is improperly finished on some of the Express barrels and some folks use a cylinder hone to correct this problem.

It's a cost issue in finishing a price point shotgun such as the Express and the newer Express shotguns seem to have this little problem.

Shame.

 

[hometheaterman]

Yes polishing the chamber should fix this particular issue. I had a 870 Express Super Magnum and it did this with those shells. Polishing the chamber fixed it. It seemed to have jams with other types of ammo too though. Not jams like the pump sticking but it would sometimes stovepipe, sometimes wouldn't catch on the old shell to pull it out, sometimes would try to send two into the chamber, etc. Overall, I never was really that fond of the gun. It just jammed way more than it should. Polishing the chamber did fix the issue you are talking about with the pump sticking though.

 

[djardine]

I have owned several 870's and about 3 of the 7 would do this. I went to the Auto Store and bought a brake cylinder hone. I used a process that I can send to you or post here if interested. I NEVER have any more problems even with the Winchester crap. Yes, it could have been the Winchester loads, but more likely it was that the barrel needs to be reamed out- I had to send one of these recent 870's back to Remington after purchasing 2 weeks before because it was doing this with all sorts of loads. They polished the barrel and sent it back but it still did this. I polished it myself Obsessive Compulsively and it shoots better than any pump I've ever seen.

 

[konfederate.kowboy]

I saw this happen with an 870 and fiochi ammo although it was almost every shot the case would swell causeing the bolt to stick shut. Just the alm. Shells the stretch and stick brass cases should fix it almost any brand.

 

[oneounceload]

When fired the hulls expand to fit the chamber dimension. Steel doesn't contract as readily as brass which is why brass hulls have no issues. The only explanation I have as to why some steel hulls do and others don't must lie in the their actual dimensions, coupled with the finish of the chamber

 

[rustycrusty]

I have an 870 Wingmaster LH (Remington thinks all southpaws are overly rich)
and I have never had this problem. I've had lots of trouble with Winchester ammo and do not buy it anymore. My neighbor uses wallyowrld Win. ammo to shoot trap out back of the house and his Rem 1100 Sporting Clays will fail to extract every once in a while. I told him to change to wally Federals and the
problem has not recurred. The 870 express chamber is not polished as well as the wingmaster but I have used a bore mop with oil and valve polishing compound to polish chambers and it works well.

 

[jmortimer]

+1 on the above. Most guns will shoot the Winchester ammuntion no problem. Clean up the rough spots left in newer Express models from the factory in chamber/extractor and you should have no problem. They don't "fit and finish" the Express as nicely as the Wingmaster.