Remington 870 safety question.

[FireInCairo]

My Express 870 has a small, metal tab that is just in front of the pump that needs to be pulled in order to pump the shotgun. Is there a way to disable this? I just find that the pump in itself is safety enough, and wouldn't pump that sucker unless I intend to use it.

 

[monkyboy1975]

That is an item best left alone.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

+1 on leave alone. Get used to it or trade for another model.

My 870 does not have the front of pump tab. My action bar sits in front of trigger and safety to rear of gaurd.

Edited. Brain freeze.

 

[spyder1911]

That tab, called the action bar release, is what keeps the the breech closed before you pull the trigger. If you disable it, it may be possible to shoot the gun while it is out of battery, which would be very very bad.

Basically, the 870 is a great gun and works fine how it is.

Also, you shouldn't have to pull that tab to pump the shotgun. You should only need to pull it if you want to cycle the action w/o pulling the trigger.

Edit-Just noticed you said it was in front of the pump, never heard of that before. If it is just in front of the trigger guard then it is the action bar, if it is in front of the pump then I have no idea.

 

[Fred Fuller]

If you meant just in front of the trigger guard on the left side, that's the action bar release. It's there to allow the action to be cycled without dropping the hammer.

And you DON'T want to disable it. EVERY pump shotgun I've ever handled has a similar control- though possibly located in different places than the 870.

On the 870, it's been in the same place since the gun was first sold in 1950...

lpl

 

[Hungry Seagull]

You will grow accustomed to that action bar. It's "Right there" without consious thought.

WHen you DO fire, that action will open on you during recoil, use that force to assist you in ejecting shell and reloading; while keeping the gun on shoulder.

 

[hometheaterman]

Yeah exactly. If you shoot it then pump it you shouldn't have to push that. If you do something is wrong. Like take dry firing for an example. You have to pull it the first time you pump it like if you were chambering a round. It wont move again until you either pull the trigger or push it. However, if you pull the trigger you can then move the pump back without holding that.

I see no reason why you would even want to remove this.

 

[Rshooter]

In response to your question, with a an EMPTY chamber you can pull the trigger and then load the weapon and then you will not need to press that little tab to pump the gun when you need it. I am just very careful about this advice, just yesterday I myself had an accidental discharge with a very old weapon that had been in a closet for many years. It was "unloaded" and the discharge occured while attempting to clear a stuck bolt. Fortunately the weapon was pointed in a safe direction. :banghead:

 

[Snarlingiron]

Clearly, you haven't fired the weapon.
Get thee to the range. As Dave McCracken says:

BA/UU/R

(Buy ammo, use up, repeat)

 

[FireInCairo]

You're right, I haven't fired this gun. I'm in the city and there isn't a local range that allows shotguns. I am going to have to take a ride to a range a ways outside of the area.

 

[Virginian]

Might want to read the owner's manual first, too.
The action release has zip to do with the safety.

 

[FredT]

Did I read this right? Is there something new on the 870 that you PULL to get it to operate? Is this the same gun just described inaccurately?

 

[Virginian]

Absolutely nothing has changed on the 870. He is "pulling" the action release to get it to cycle. Hasn't fired it yet.

 

[monkyboy1975]

You don't nessacarily have to fire it to become familar with it, make sure it is EMPTY and practice racking the slide and become familar with the controls. This can come only by handleing it and becoming familar with it.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Find a gun shop, buy some A-Zoom SNAP Caps in 12 or 20 gauge, whatever is your gun. These things cannot go boom, cannot hurt anyone and good for learning new guns.

Cycle them through your gun while reading your manual. BEFORE you get to a range please.

 

[Bill of Ojai]

The action release tab allows you to work the action to unload the tube safely.

 

[FireInCairo]

I will get some zoom snap caps.

 

[Brian Dale]

Good plan. The snap caps that he is referring to are the brand called A-Zoom. They're durable. Using them will help you to see more clearly how the gun works.

You'll find that operating your gun correctly is much easier than describing the process clearly and concisely in writing. It will make even more sense to you once you've gone through your first boxes of ammo.

Safety always, and as the man said (as soon as you're able), BA/UU/R.