Very curious 870 questions

[ChCx2744]

Hello. I bought a "new" Remington 870 Express at the gun show yesterday. Been playing with it at home with 2 snap caps in it just to kind of..."break it in." I have completely mastered the basic take down of the gun and where all the vital components are. I've trained with this type of gun in the academy, so I know alot about it already. However, I have a couple questions about this gun....

1) I took the gun to my department range today. On the way, I stopped by Walmart and bought some Remington Express Magnum Buckshot 12 gauge 3" length 1225 FPS 15 pellet 00BK. Mind you, the tube mag is SUPPOSED to hold 5 rounds + 1 in the chamber; that is what it says it will hold in the user manual and on the box. The box and manual both advised that the mag will hold 2 3/4" shells and 3" shells. My question is, why does my gun's mag only hold freaking THREE of these 3" express magnum shells when the manual says it can hold 5? My snap caps seem to be between 2 3/4"-2 1/2". The gun can definately cycle and eject the 3" express magnum shells like they are supposed to, but should it be able to hold at LEAST 4 of these 3" shells?
Did the manufactuers MEAN to say the gun can hold five 2 3/4"-2 1/2" shells?

2) I've heard the question of the best way to keep the state of a shotgun come up a couple of times on this forum. For me, I like to put the reciever all the way back, slide in a snap cap, close the reciever and pull the trigger; kind of like de-cocking. I then leave the snap cap in the chamber and load the mag up. If I do this, it leaves the pump a little "jiggly," I guess because it is ready to rack another round. My question is, Is it safe to do this? Because come the situation I need to use the shotgun, all I have to do is rack a round and the snap cap should pop out. The reason I don't just rack an empty chamber and then pull the trigger, is so that I don't damage the firing pin. That is why I am willing to keep a snap cap in the chamber with a full mag of live ammo behind it. Some people say just rack the empty chamber and don't pull the trigger to keep the action secure so it doesn't "jiggle" around. That way I guess you don't HAVE to keep a snap cap in the chamber and w/e problems that may bring. I do not like the idea of racking the empty chamber either, because then I have to push down on the action release in order to rack a fresh round into the chamber. I prefer to just grab the gun and rack it; you never know if the action release is going to fail (hey, it is a very small chance, but it is a CHANCE). This being the case, however, I am also not sure if keeping a snap cap in the chamber with a loose action is safe either.

Any answers, tips, suggestions, etc. are appreciated. I hope I did not make this difficult for anyone my making it too detailed in my explanations

 

[mgkdrgn]

#1) Check to see if there is a 'duck plug' in the mag tube

#2) That snap cap thing will work ... but likely unnecessary. I have 2 35+ year old 870's that have never seen a snap cap (or the inside of a gunsmith shop) that work just fine.

 

[CYANIDEGENOCIDE]

yup duck plug,
Unscrew the end of the magazine, take off the barrel, point toward the floor and pull out the spring, there is a 5 inch plastic rod. Take it out, save it. reassemble shotgun and you are GTG

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

4+1 2.75" shells---one less with 3"

 

[Virginian]

4+1 2.75" shells---one less with 3"
That's it.

 

[dfariswheel]

The standard Remington 870 has a FOUR round magazine, with one in the chamber for a total of FIVE.

Many advertisers mis-state this and say the magazine will hold five.
Many shotguns come from the factory with a plug rod in the magazine to limit it to two rounds to comply with Federal Migratory Birds laws, which limit magazines to two rounds.
As above.... remove the plug.

It really doesn't matter how you do it, but "probably" the best way to handle the pump gun is to make SURE the chamber is empty, pull the trigger to drop the hammer, then load the magazine.
The pump assembly will be slightly loose, which is normal.
Done this way, is known as the "cruiser ready" method, since that's the way Police keep their guns in the lock rack of a squad car.
All you have to do to ready the gun to fire is pump the handle.

Since the 870 is specifically designed to take almost any amount of dry firing, using a snap cap is unnecessary.

 

[rcmodel]

I would strongly advise you never to mix snap-caps with your HD ammo, ever.

I could relate my experience going burglar hunting in the middle of the night with a 1911 full of dummy function-test rounds one time, but I won't!

Lets just say my snap-caps & dummy rounds never got in the same room with my SD guns again after that experience!

If you feel you must lower the hammer for storage, just snap it on an empty chamber.
It won't hurt an 870 in a normal lifetime.

Use the snap-caps for hours of dry-firing, but count them and hide them after you get done playing and get down to business with real ammo!

rcmodel

 

[Fred Fuller]

1) First of all, lose the 3" maggie numbs. You don't need 'em, unless your home defense plan involves housebreaking grizzly bears. 2.75" buck or slug load is plenty for bipedal problems and will allow you faster recovery between shots too. You'll discover that there is indeed room in your magazine for four 2.75" loads, too. That's what it was designed for- 4 + 1, not 5 + 1.

2) The older I get the more leery I get about people advising other people in favor of dropping hammers on "empty" guns. Just old and jumpy I guess, too easily startled by sudden loud noises. And big ragged holes appearing in things that didn't used to have holes in them. Did someone suspend the Four Rules while my back was turned or something?

We keep the house 870s with magazines loaded one round short with buckshot, Sidesaddles loaded with slugs, chambers empty, actions cocked and safeties on. The action release is no more likely to fail than any other part on an 870 and there is no reason to distrust it.

Software is more important than hardware. Train and practice to establish good habits. IMHO pulling triggers on shotguns with supposedly empty chambers, and pointed in random directions, is a bad habit.

YMMV of course.

Stay Safe,

lpl