50caliber123
Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2005
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- 640
What is the best way to go about fixing this? My firing pin broke from a friend dry firing my 870.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Remington 870 Broken Firing Pin
- Thread starter 50caliber123
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ATAShooter
Member
Pull 'er down and get a pin from Brownell's.
Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
See the thread at http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=173603 . Be sure to check your firing pin protrusion and the function of the other parts of the bolt group that have to do with safety functions if you do this replacement yourself- it is not as simple as just swapping parts... could be it works out OK, but could be your shotgun will either fail to fire or will go off if you close the bolt briskly too.
Be careful...
lpl/nc
Be careful...
lpl/nc
dfariswheel
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2002
- Messages
- 6,658
ANYTHING and EVERYTHING "can" break, but the 870 firing pin is is well known as "almost" unbreakable.
Stuff happens, and occasionally one does break, but this is uncommon.
A friend of mine was an armorer for a large police department.
He told me he VERY rarely ever saw a broken pin, and said that there was a 1951 Remington 870 in the department academy as a training gun to teach function and loading-unloading.
He said there was about NO finish left and it'd been dry fired hundreds of thousands of times since 1951.
He said all parts were still original, including the (unbroken) firing pin.
Many police departments issue guns to each outgoing watch, and they turn it in at the end of watch for reissue to the next.
Each time the gun is issued or returned it's cleared, and the trigger is pulled on an empty chamber.
This adds up to a LOT of dry firing, and few pins break.
Stuff happens, and occasionally one does break, but this is uncommon.
A friend of mine was an armorer for a large police department.
He told me he VERY rarely ever saw a broken pin, and said that there was a 1951 Remington 870 in the department academy as a training gun to teach function and loading-unloading.
He said there was about NO finish left and it'd been dry fired hundreds of thousands of times since 1951.
He said all parts were still original, including the (unbroken) firing pin.
Many police departments issue guns to each outgoing watch, and they turn it in at the end of watch for reissue to the next.
Each time the gun is issued or returned it's cleared, and the trigger is pulled on an empty chamber.
This adds up to a LOT of dry firing, and few pins break.
JNewell
Member
Without taking anything at all away from Dfariswheel (truly), you can rephrase the quote above and still have a true statement:
"This adds up to a LOT of dry firing, and a few pins break.
Snap caps are cheap...few people get hit by lightning on golf courses, as a % of golfers...why stay out in a storm? If the odds were 1 in 1,000,000, do you want to take a chance when $5 will solve the problem???
Black_Talon
Member
I worked in a gunshop during the '70's-'80's and saw several broken 870 firing pins. I also saw several broken firing pin springs.
On my personal 870's, over the past 30 years, I've experienced one broken firing pin (on a gun that was dry-fired very extensively) and 2-3 broken firing pin springs.
FWIW, Remington has changed the design of the 870 FP springs during the last decade. The new version is a variable-rate spring with the coils close together in the middle of the spring and farther apart at each end. Maybe this is an attempt to improve the performance of the FP and/or FP spring.
Again, FWIW, the firing pin and FP spring are the only things I've ever seen break on any 870 over the past 30 years. Not a bad track-record, IMHO.
On my personal 870's, over the past 30 years, I've experienced one broken firing pin (on a gun that was dry-fired very extensively) and 2-3 broken firing pin springs.
FWIW, Remington has changed the design of the 870 FP springs during the last decade. The new version is a variable-rate spring with the coils close together in the middle of the spring and farther apart at each end. Maybe this is an attempt to improve the performance of the FP and/or FP spring.
Again, FWIW, the firing pin and FP spring are the only things I've ever seen break on any 870 over the past 30 years. Not a bad track-record, IMHO.
AaronE
Member
Other 870 breakage
I've had the tab that locates the barrel snap off...that is the only thing that has EVER broken on my 6 870s!
Aaron
I've had the tab that locates the barrel snap off...that is the only thing that has EVER broken on my 6 870s!
Aaron
Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Here's what I know...
Back in the 80s, those of us charged with the maintenance of institutional 870s were told that sometimes dry firing in very cold weather would cause a firing pin to break.
I saw ONE 870, a personal weapon, where this happened.
The spare 870s parts needed to run a prison inventory consisted of a spare bolt, a couple extra beads, a trigger group, a pair or so of mag springs and a stock and forend. Except for the stock, the whole mess fit into a shoe box. IIRC, there were 32 line 870s and two trainers. Every so often, the armorer would assemble an 870 with all the dinged up stuff on it, surplus it and get a new one.
As for firing pin springs, I've seen three break. One was on anapex's TC when he bought it. The other two were both on my TB. Those broke about 15 months apart. 5-10K rounds later, no further probs.
If I were setting up a parts kit for maintaining a group of 870s indefinitely, I'd get a set of springs, a spare bolt, a spare TG and an extra set of lumber with pad fitted. That should last me and mine well into the next century.
Back in the 80s, those of us charged with the maintenance of institutional 870s were told that sometimes dry firing in very cold weather would cause a firing pin to break.
I saw ONE 870, a personal weapon, where this happened.
The spare 870s parts needed to run a prison inventory consisted of a spare bolt, a couple extra beads, a trigger group, a pair or so of mag springs and a stock and forend. Except for the stock, the whole mess fit into a shoe box. IIRC, there were 32 line 870s and two trainers. Every so often, the armorer would assemble an 870 with all the dinged up stuff on it, surplus it and get a new one.
As for firing pin springs, I've seen three break. One was on anapex's TC when he bought it. The other two were both on my TB. Those broke about 15 months apart. 5-10K rounds later, no further probs.
If I were setting up a parts kit for maintaining a group of 870s indefinitely, I'd get a set of springs, a spare bolt, a spare TG and an extra set of lumber with pad fitted. That should last me and mine well into the next century.
sm
member
How come I got drug into this? 
Ya'll got the answers already from the Folks more learned than I .
Anything can and will break.
Only absolutes I know about shotgunning - ain't any.
Hey I am the guy that had a sear break on new Krieghoff, 3rd round it ever fired and it broke, I bested that with a Beretta O/U, first shot attempted, and its sear broke.
870s.
-I personally feel the older guns are better due to metallurgy , how crafted and QC. Not just 870s
Dry-fired the living fire out of them 870s and never have I broken one of mine or anothers.
I have seen firing pins wear out, break, springs break due to a LOT of rds downrange and such. One such gun has over 300K rds thru it. It has been to Big Green 2 maybe 3 times for a "going thru".
I have seen frozen firing pins. We always kept a can of Zippo lighter fluid in the Duck Blinds, Duck Boats, Deer Stands...vehicle, ...folks would over lube the pin area, combined with grit, burnt powder and what have you getting in that channel...freeze up. Yes some have broken.
I / we dryfired a LOT. We also used homemade dummy rds with something in / for a primer....okay I admit, a lot of times we just left the spent primer in the shell reloaded as a dummy.
-New 870s.
Might as well get this out of the way. The newer offerings are fine, I have tried to tear one up [folks that know me better understand that "try to tear up" part]. These bone stock 870s work, including the Express Line.
Even with all the Plastic parts, different mag innards, cap, no detent.
Except for the J hook safety
-These new guns DO concern me. I have again observed the frozen firing pin/ and breakage. And the extractor. I may be in the South, still gets freezing and Duck hunters out in freezing temps - add wet- have the greatest chance problems. Old 870s seem less prone than new ones . Design change and material changes...I suspect.
Extractor is MIM. ADD the POOR Quality of "brass" - well it used to be - now recycled beer cans or something and it is not the chambers so much...friggin ammo is not to spec , not to spec with beer can "brass" to boot!
I'm getting to where I suggest folks do more and more dummy drills and use. Use a QUALITY hull - like an OLD AA [new ones just flat suck now they ain't compression formed) STS , Fiochhi ( lavender is a good color for dummy rds btw).
Folks need the drills - we always did them. Today with the metallurgy, QC, and such...well the drills with dummies is needed anyway - added benefit is having something for the firing pin to hit .
I mean dry fire all you want with new guns and no snap cap or dummy. Just perhaps folks need to do more dummy drills anywho. Might as well slap the trigger, if need Shuck - Repeat, loading and unloading, the whole bit. Part any gun becoming an extension of one includes Admin, and load/unload.
Steve
Ya'll got the answers already from the Folks more learned than I .
Anything can and will break.
Only absolutes I know about shotgunning - ain't any.
Hey I am the guy that had a sear break on new Krieghoff, 3rd round it ever fired and it broke, I bested that with a Beretta O/U, first shot attempted, and its sear broke.
870s.
-I personally feel the older guns are better due to metallurgy , how crafted and QC. Not just 870s
Dry-fired the living fire out of them 870s and never have I broken one of mine or anothers.
I have seen firing pins wear out, break, springs break due to a LOT of rds downrange and such. One such gun has over 300K rds thru it. It has been to Big Green 2 maybe 3 times for a "going thru".
I have seen frozen firing pins. We always kept a can of Zippo lighter fluid in the Duck Blinds, Duck Boats, Deer Stands...vehicle, ...folks would over lube the pin area, combined with grit, burnt powder and what have you getting in that channel...freeze up. Yes some have broken.
I / we dryfired a LOT. We also used homemade dummy rds with something in / for a primer....okay I admit, a lot of times we just left the spent primer in the shell reloaded as a dummy.
-New 870s.
Might as well get this out of the way.
The newer offerings are fine, I have tried to tear one up [folks that know me better understand that "try to tear up" part]. These bone stock 870s work, including the Express Line.Even with all the Plastic parts, different mag innards, cap, no detent.
Except for the
J hook safety-These new guns DO concern me. I have again observed the frozen firing pin/ and breakage. And the extractor. I may be in the South, still gets freezing and Duck hunters out in freezing temps - add wet- have the greatest chance problems. Old 870s seem less prone than new ones . Design change and material changes...I suspect.
Extractor is MIM. ADD the POOR Quality of "brass" - well it used to be - now recycled beer cans or something and it is not the chambers so much...friggin ammo is not to spec , not to spec with beer can "brass" to boot!
I'm getting to where I suggest folks do more and more dummy drills and use. Use a QUALITY hull - like an OLD AA [new ones just flat suck now they ain't compression formed) STS , Fiochhi ( lavender is a good color for dummy rds btw).
Folks need the drills - we always did them. Today with the metallurgy, QC, and such...well the drills with dummies is needed anyway - added benefit is having something for the firing pin to hit .
I mean dry fire all you want with new guns and no snap cap or dummy. Just perhaps folks need to do more dummy drills anywho. Might as well slap the trigger, if need Shuck - Repeat, loading and unloading, the whole bit. Part any gun becoming an extension of one includes Admin, and load/unload.
Steve
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