Remington 870 issues... help?

[Chris17404]

Hi all,

I went to my local gunsmith yesterday to have him switch out the forearm on my 870P. I was replacing the walnut forearm with a Hogue one. The nut was so tight, he had to put the forearm in a vise and turn it using the nut wrench. Well... he ended up cracking the walnut forearm!!! I was upset, but not much I could do. He then installed the new forearm.

When I got the assembly home, I then noticed that the action bars were not parallel. One was bent up (vertically) from the other. I have never noticed this before, so I called my gunsmith and asked him about it. He said that's the way they are made.

I also installed a new Hogue ShortShot stock on it as well.

So I put my 870P back together, and noticed a few things. First, with the Hogue stock on it, the trigger assembly is much harder to put back into place. It went in, but with quite a bit of effort. It's almost seems like the rear of the receiver is narrower? Second, when I cycle the action, it's definitely not as smooth as it used to be. There seems to be some resistence near the back of the receiver. I don't know if it's the new stock or the (possibly) bent action bars. I did notice, too, that when the action is brought all the way back, the rubber forearm rubs a little bit on the wider part of the barrel. I tried my best to line it up so it wouldn't rub, but I can't seem to get it 100% rub-free.

The action bars and assembly seemed to be back together fine even though they look bent.

Quesitons:

1. Is one of the action bars supposed to be "bent up" a little bit from the other? The right-side action bar on mine is a little bent up.

2. What could be causing the tighness in the rear of the receiver? The rubber on the forearm rubbing against the barrel?

Thanks for the help.

Chris

 

[Fred Fuller]

Chris,

The action bars should be parallel and even.

Could be the new forearm is not installed correctly on the fore-end tube. If there isn't an even amount of clearance for the forearm on each side of the barrel where the chamber swells out ahead of the receiver, the forearm can easily rub on the barrel as the action is opened, causing the problem you describe. Cycle the action open slowly while looking at the chamber area of the barrel from directly above, and see if there is contact. That's an issue with the proper installation of the new forearm onto the fore-end tube, and it isn't a question of your reassembling the action bar assembly into the receiver incorrectly. IOW, the gunsmith didn't get the new forearm properly centered on the fore-end tube.

My advice is to find another gunsmith...

lpl

 

[gifters]

Post some pictures... if you know your smiths email, I'd send him an email asking him. Make him put what he is telling you in writing. Or most cell phones can record. People will often lie if they think they won't get caught, so catch him in a lie, he's probably done this before with no recourse to him.

 

[Chris17404]

Thanks for the reply, Lee. How would you recommend fixing the bent action bar? I think the right side one is the one that's bent because it looks like it's not parallel with the fore-end tube. Can we simply bend it back straight?

Chris

 

[Fred Fuller]

One of the technicians who used to work on my office machines in a former life always bristled at the word "bend." He insisted he was NOT just 'bending' something- he was COLD FORMING it 8^). But yes, you should be able to just bend it back straight, carefully and gently. Cold form it, in other words.

As to the other problem, if that is indeed the problem, the fore-end tube nut will need to be loosened enough to shift the forearm to the proper position, and then retightened without allowing the forearm to move (easier said than done). This is best done with the proper tool (like the Baker fore-end wrench, http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=723227 ) that allows working on the assembly in place on the gun with the action open IMHO. That allows the receiver to support the action bars. A little bit of good penetrating oil and some time might be needed in exceptional cases to get fore-end tube nut loose, but trying to do it with the forearm/action bar assembly removed from the gun is asking for trouble in my limited experience.

hth,

lpl

 

[Chris17404]

Thanks again, Lee. I appreciate it.

Chris

 

[Chris17404]

OK, I was able to "cold form" the action bars back to parallel and even, and I reassembled the shotgun. The action is now smoother.

Chris

 

[PJR]

My advice is to find another gunsmith...

X2. That guy sounds like a butcher. And his claim that misaligned action bars were "made that way" doesn't speak highly of him either.

What I can't figure out is why the trigger assembly is harder to reinsert. Just changing the stock won't cause that.

 

[JWJacobVT]

Find another gunsmith
The trigger assembly might have a spring or the lever in the wrong place. It should go in smooth. Keep in mind that 870 trigger assemblies are not M1 Garand assemblies. I.E. jam and lock.

 

[hags]

Your "gunsmith" sounds like a real idiot.

I'm finding I do much better work than most "gunsmiths" but I don't consider myself a tried and trued "gunsmith".

Anyway, you can bend those back by constant, short bending, use a vise as a work station and slowly bend a small amount and repeat. You can use your hands or a small rubber mallet. Apply a small amount of force and don't expect it to bend immediately.