Reassembly of 870

[ErictheRed]

First shotgun, and I know this is basic stuff for most of you guys. I bought an 870 Wingmaster used. 2 3/4" shells only, 1984 from the serial #. Took it apart for the 1st time to give it a good cleaning following the advice in the 101 threads.

Now I am trying to put the forearm back in and it will not go. I haven't tried a lot of force yet, just very gently trying to push it back in with the bolt and slide block resting in the grooves on the action bars. I have tried pushing in the left and right shell latches, but no luck. Am I missing a step there or is there something else I should be doing? The action bar lock is locked and I can't push it in, but that may be normal when the gun is apart, not sure. I stopped last night after getting frustrated. It looked so easy on Youtube!

 

[Fred Fuller]

It's easier to get the action bar assembly out than to put it back in- you only have to depress the left shell latch to get it out.

To put it back, you have to depress the right shell latch first, slide the action bars in a fraction of an inch until rearward motion is stopped by the left shell latch, then depress the left shell latch to get them all the way back in. If you've pushed the action bars in too far, you might have to withdraw them a tiny bit to get teh left shell latch depressed enough to clear.

Examine the relationship of the notches in the action bars and the left and right shell latches, and that should help you see what you're doing.

You'll get the feel of it - patience is good. Glad you didn't take the 'bigger hammer' approach. This is definitely a finesse job.

lpl

 

[ErictheRed]

Thank you sir. A little more patience and some better light did the trick

 

[Fred Fuller]

You're welcome - it's easier to demonstrate than to try and talk someone through it. Glad you got it done,

lpl

 

[withdrawn34]

The first time, I had some trouble too. Turns out a simple press of the release button solved all my problems. The latches were set, but it simply wasn't continuing in. I hit the button and everything went in beautifully. But yea, you do have to take your time to ensure the bars are aligned properly. You'll get the hang of it quickly.

And as always - take your time to ensure you don't end up getting pinched on something