Remington 870 Furious Experience

xrageofangelsx · August 23, 2005, 06:59 PM

So, I love the size, shape and action of my Remington 870 18" home defense model 12 gauge shotgun. That is, until I took it to the range last. I was using game loads and the appropriate size in the shotgun and every other shot the pump action would stick and would be so hard to release and use that it would take two hands to unload the cartridge. Naturally, you can see how this would be very dangerous and cumbersome and irritating to experience with a new shot gun. I am using quality ammo (for bulk) and it is a quality (or so I thought) shot gun. Anyone else experiencing this with the new Remington 870 home defense models?

chris in va · August 23, 2005, 07:17 PM

Did you try several different brands of ammo?

Nimitz87 · August 23, 2005, 07:46 PM

never had a jam...ever.

close to 2,000 rounds i think

are you new to shotguns?

you maybe racking the slide a little to softly...try a bit harder you dont need to slam it but be deliberate....make sense?

Chad

Hotbarrel · August 23, 2005, 07:54 PM

In 2001 I bought a new L/H Express that would lock up only when I used brass-coated steel-base ammo. It seems the base would swell out and prevent the bolt from releasing. I had to slam the forend forward to unlock it. When I used pure brass-base ammo it never happened.
The gun didn't fit me anyway, so I traded up for an O/U. Never been happier.

'75Scout · August 23, 2005, 09:00 PM

I had the exact same thing happen. My 870 would stick after I fired the round and I could rack the slide. The owner of the gun store where I bought it said I should have cleaned the grease from the factory before I took it to the range. I thought I was racking it hard enough, but maybe not. My brother and father had the samething happen and my father has fired alot of shotguns. I was using light game loads for skeet, so that could have played a factor.

After I cleaned the factory grease out it functioned properly.

Dfariswheel · August 23, 2005, 09:02 PM

Chances are you have a new gun that needs to be broken in, and a probable ammo problem.

A lot of the newer, cheaper ammo is giving precisely this problem in shotguns.

Try some better ammo, and give the gun a little time to break in.

You can also try disassembling the gun per the owner's manual and cleaning out the factory gunk and lube.

Re-lube with something like Rem-Oil of CLP Breakfree.

xrageofangelsx · August 23, 2005, 09:19 PM

I am new to shotguns. This may explain something. I have not taken apart the shotgun yet for cleaning or other inspection. Normally, I could excuse the fact that I am weak and figured that I had been racking the pump not hard enough, but the guy I was with is much stronger than I am and he had trouble wracking the pump after a shot was fired. The ammo I am using is Winchester bulk packed 2 3/4 inch shells Universal ammo. The primers appear to be silver as some kind of metal other than brass and are for skeet/trap shooting (steel shot is not allowed at the range). I am frustrated enough to pull what remaining hair I have out because I bought a shotgun to be ultilitarian and its acting like a 300 dollar door jamb. After cleaning it, I will post and let you know if anything has changed.

Dave McC · August 24, 2005, 04:05 AM

My money says that once the grease is removed, the weapon properly lubed and you learn the firing stroke, everything will be everything.

Read the manual, follow the instructions, and enjoy your new shotgun...

mathman · August 24, 2005, 08:59 AM

I had the exact same problem with mine. After several hundred rounds and cleaning, it is fine...great shotgun.

Hello123 · August 24, 2005, 10:19 AM

I have found that the chamber on the barrels of the 870 are often rough. A quick buff with a brake hone and then serial polishing with sequentially finer grades of steel wool will often cure the problem. The 870 is the best pump but the fit/finish on 870s is often poor. My best friend bought a new wingmaster and had the same problem with the chamber and poor fit/finish.

Nanuk · August 24, 2005, 09:41 PM

My 870 is close to 50 years old....and flawless

elco93 · August 24, 2005, 09:43 PM

Took a friend shooting and he had the same problem, however I had no problem using the same ammo. Turns out he wasn't used to a pump and wasn't racking the slide all the way back.

If that isn't the problem then it sounds like a good cleaning is in order.

Edward429451 · August 24, 2005, 10:28 PM

The only problem I've ever had with mine was with the PMC slugs. Nothing like you describe though.

Quote:

My 870 is close to 50 years old....and flawless

Well yah, it's broken in.

HSMITH · August 25, 2005, 07:44 AM

I have polished out a couple 870 chambers for guys that were having the exact same problem. It completely resolved the problem, even using cheap steel base ammo.

Blaming the cheap ammo isn't going to cut it for me, a shotgun should run anything and a pump just has no excuse. I would not put up with it for a second.

mathman · August 25, 2005, 08:44 AM

Yeah, I polished my 870 chamber...by shooting the hell out of it

.

9mmMike · August 25, 2005, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Blaming the cheap ammo isn't going to cut it for me, a shotgun should run anything and a pump just has no excuse. I would not put up with it for a second.

Amen.

BLKLABMAN · August 26, 2005, 11:36 PM

HSMITH, is 100% correct. Alot of the cheaper Express shotgun's and a few Wingmaster's, I have seen recently, have had burrs inside the chamber.

mathman · August 27, 2005, 05:00 PM

Quote:

HSMITH, is 100% correct. Alot of the cheaper Express shotgun's and a few Wingmaster's, I have seen recently, have had burrs inside the chamber.

I wonder if the Police model is already 'polished'...it should be, since it costs ~$200 more. If so, I think it's really too bad that you have to pay extra for that...I mean if the shells are getting stuck in the chamber due to burrs, that can be a deadly situation for someone who bought their shotgun for home defense and doesn't shoot it enough to wear down those burrs.

Death from Afar · August 27, 2005, 09:12 PM

Did you get it fixed?

And I agree- only with the poorest ammo should a pump be sticking....50 year old paper cartridges? But I have never ever had an 870 jam even with el cheapo chinese junk...

xrageofangelsx · August 28, 2005, 08:22 PM

I have cleaned the 870 but it is still acting like a POS with the same Winchester ammo. If this continues with another brand of ammo, I will see if I can send it back to the factory for being such a frustrating experience. So far, I am not tempted to spent my savings on another Remington product ever again if different ammo causes the same problem.

I am very busy with school as it has just started, in addition to working. Hopefully this coming week I will be able to take a look at things further before the warrenty expires... the reason I bought the dang thing was because of how excellent and reliable I've heard the Home Defense model being. Bleh...

Nnobby45 · August 29, 2005, 10:03 PM

I have two 870 Combat shotguns. A Wilson Custom built on the Express, and a Wingmaster I supplied that Wilson rebuilt along Border Patrol configurations.. (I know they're too expensive--thanks for the concern

).

Both shotguns had sticking problems with some cheap Federal 1oz loads. The "brass" would swell up and be difficult to extract--in both guns.

Recently, I've had the same problem, to a lesser extent, with a case of Federal Ranger LE low recoil slugs--again, both guns. This was ammo I purchased OL and was advertised as being LV Metro "surplus". No wonder they got rid of it.

Try to put some of the fired cases back in the chamber by hand and see if they aren't tight. Sounds like an ammo problem to me.

The last 50 rds of the above mentioned Federal 1oz. loads worked without a hitch. Go figure.

All Federal Tactical ammo--slugs and buckshot-- has worked slick as a whistle. So has Ranger buckshot, Hornady TAP, Rottweil Brenneke, and Fed. 3" mag. slugs.

Lucky 7 · August 30, 2005, 09:37 AM

Nimitz is right. Too softly cycling the action. I did when I first used a pump (6 yrs ago) and I believe its called short-stroking (?). I saw this problem in Marine Corps Basic Security Guard school w/ newbies and the 590. About a quarter of them had the same trouble. BTW, We also trained on the new M1014 (M4? is the civilian i believe) and no one short stroked with that

.

Semper Fi
-L7 out

sum-rifle · August 30, 2005, 06:27 PM

It is obvious the 870 is a total piece of crap. I'll give you $100 for it right now so you won't have to suffer with such a crappy shotgun.

kymasabe · August 30, 2005, 06:35 PM

I've had a variaety of 870 shotguns over the years including an 870 Wingmater that I used for used to shoot trap competitively and put somewhere around 50,000 shells thru without a problem.

I think your first mistake was taking the gun out without properly cleaning it. I'd disassemble and go over it from end to end and clean it out. I hope you're better at gun safety than you are at gun maintenance.

spacemanspiff · August 30, 2005, 06:41 PM

i may be way out in left field but when my winchester 1300 started getting sticky it was one of the slide bars that had rattled its way off the pump.

August 23, 2005, 06:59 PM	#1
xrageofangelsx Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2004 Location: Ohio, Indiana and sometimes Kentucky. Posts: 410	Remington 870 Furious Experience So, I love the size, shape and action of my Remington 870 18" home defense model 12 gauge shotgun. That is, until I took it to the range last. I was using game loads and the appropriate size in the shotgun and every other shot the pump action would stick and would be so hard to release and use that it would take two hands to unload the cartridge. Naturally, you can see how this would be very dangerous and cumbersome and irritating to experience with a new shot gun. I am using quality ammo (for bulk) and it is a quality (or so I thought) shot gun. Anyone else experiencing this with the new Remington 870 home defense models? __________________ Caution: Author suffers from foot in mouth disease.

August 23, 2005, 07:54 PM	#4
Hotbarrel Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2004 Location: Sacracalifas Posts: 122	In 2001 I bought a new L/H Express that would lock up only when I used brass-coated steel-base ammo. It seems the base would swell out and prevent the bolt from releasing. I had to slam the forend forward to unlock it. When I used pure brass-base ammo it never happened. The gun didn't fit me anyway, so I traded up for an O/U. Never been happier. __________________ VT VENIANT OMNES -"Let them all come!"

August 23, 2005, 09:19 PM	#7
xrageofangelsx Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2004 Location: Ohio, Indiana and sometimes Kentucky. Posts: 410	I am new to shotguns. This may explain something. I have not taken apart the shotgun yet for cleaning or other inspection. Normally, I could excuse the fact that I am weak and figured that I had been racking the pump not hard enough, but the guy I was with is much stronger than I am and he had trouble wracking the pump after a shot was fired. The ammo I am using is Winchester bulk packed 2 3/4 inch shells Universal ammo. The primers appear to be silver as some kind of metal other than brass and are for skeet/trap shooting (steel shot is not allowed at the range). I am frustrated enough to pull what remaining hair I have out because I bought a shotgun to be ultilitarian and its acting like a 300 dollar door jamb. After cleaning it, I will post and let you know if anything has changed. __________________ Caution: Author suffers from foot in mouth disease.

August 27, 2005, 09:12 PM	#19
Death from Afar Senior Member Join Date: November 7, 2004 Location: Living the dream in Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND Posts: 1,635	Did you get it fixed? And I agree- only with the poorest ammo should a pump be sticking....50 year old paper cartridges? But I have never ever had an 870 jam even with el cheapo chinese junk... __________________ "Beware of the Man with one gun...he probably isnt into guns enough to be safe with it".

August 28, 2005, 08:22 PM	#20
xrageofangelsx Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2004 Location: Ohio, Indiana and sometimes Kentucky. Posts: 410	I have cleaned the 870 but it is still acting like a POS with the same Winchester ammo. If this continues with another brand of ammo, I will see if I can send it back to the factory for being such a frustrating experience. So far, I am not tempted to spent my savings on another Remington product ever again if different ammo causes the same problem. I am very busy with school as it has just started, in addition to working. Hopefully this coming week I will be able to take a look at things further before the warrenty expires... the reason I bought the dang thing was because of how excellent and reliable I've heard the Home Defense model being. Bleh... __________________ Caution: Author suffers from foot in mouth disease.

August 23, 2005, 07:17 PM	#2
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	Did you try several different brands of ammo?

August 23, 2005, 09:00 PM	#5
'75Scout Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 2005 Location: Central Texas Posts: 815	I had the exact same thing happen. My 870 would stick after I fired the round and I could rack the slide. The owner of the gun store where I bought it said I should have cleaned the grease from the factory before I took it to the range. I thought I was racking it hard enough, but maybe not. My brother and father had the samething happen and my father has fired alot of shotguns. I was using light game loads for skeet, so that could have played a factor. After I cleaned the factory grease out it functioned properly.

August 23, 2005, 09:02 PM	#6
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	Chances are you have a new gun that needs to be broken in, and a probable ammo problem. A lot of the newer, cheaper ammo is giving precisely this problem in shotguns. Try some better ammo, and give the gun a little time to break in. You can also try disassembling the gun per the owner's manual and cleaning out the factory gunk and lube. Re-lube with something like Rem-Oil of CLP Breakfree.

August 24, 2005, 04:05 AM	#8
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	My money says that once the grease is removed, the weapon properly lubed and you learn the firing stroke, everything will be everything. Read the manual, follow the instructions, and enjoy your new shotgun...

August 24, 2005, 08:59 AM	#9
mathman Senior Member Join Date: January 15, 2005 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,531	I had the exact same problem with mine. After several hundred rounds and cleaning, it is fine...great shotgun.

August 24, 2005, 10:19 AM	#10
Hello123 Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2005 Posts: 571	I have found that the chamber on the barrels of the 870 are often rough. A quick buff with a brake hone and then serial polishing with sequentially finer grades of steel wool will often cure the problem. The 870 is the best pump but the fit/finish on 870s is often poor. My best friend bought a new wingmaster and had the same problem with the chamber and poor fit/finish.

August 24, 2005, 09:41 PM	#11
Nanuk Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2005 Location: Where the deer and the antelope roam. Posts: 3,082	My 870 is close to 50 years old....and flawless

August 24, 2005, 09:43 PM	#12
elco93 Member Join Date: November 15, 2004 Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Posts: 40	Took a friend shooting and he had the same problem, however I had no problem using the same ammo. Turns out he wasn't used to a pump and wasn't racking the slide all the way back. If that isn't the problem then it sounds like a good cleaning is in order.

August 25, 2005, 07:44 AM	#14
HSMITH Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2002 Posts: 2,019	I have polished out a couple 870 chambers for guys that were having the exact same problem. It completely resolved the problem, even using cheap steel base ammo. Blaming the cheap ammo isn't going to cut it for me, a shotgun should run anything and a pump just has no excuse. I would not put up with it for a second.

August 25, 2005, 08:44 AM	#15
mathman Senior Member Join Date: January 15, 2005 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,531	Yeah, I polished my 870 chamber...by shooting the hell out of it .

August 26, 2005, 11:36 PM	#17
BLKLABMAN Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2005 Location: Georgia Posts: 230	HSMITH, is 100% correct. Alot of the cheaper Express shotgun's and a few Wingmaster's, I have seen recently, have had burrs inside the chamber.

August 29, 2005, 10:03 PM	#21
Nnobby45 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2004 Posts: 3,150	I have two 870 Combat shotguns. A Wilson Custom built on the Express, and a Wingmaster I supplied that Wilson rebuilt along Border Patrol configurations.. (I know they're too expensive--thanks for the concern ). Both shotguns had sticking problems with some cheap Federal 1oz loads. The "brass" would swell up and be difficult to extract--in both guns. Recently, I've had the same problem, to a lesser extent, with a case of Federal Ranger LE low recoil slugs--again, both guns. This was ammo I purchased OL and was advertised as being LV Metro "surplus". No wonder they got rid of it. Try to put some of the fired cases back in the chamber by hand and see if they aren't tight. Sounds like an ammo problem to me. The last 50 rds of the above mentioned Federal 1oz. loads worked without a hitch. Go figure. All Federal Tactical ammo--slugs and buckshot-- has worked slick as a whistle. So has Ranger buckshot, Hornady TAP, Rottweil Brenneke, and Fed. 3" mag. slugs.

August 30, 2005, 09:37 AM	#22
Lucky 7 Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2002 Posts: 454	Nimitz is right. Too softly cycling the action. I did when I first used a pump (6 yrs ago) and I believe its called short-stroking (?). I saw this problem in Marine Corps Basic Security Guard school w/ newbies and the 590. About a quarter of them had the same trouble. BTW, We also trained on the new M1014 (M4? is the civilian i believe) and no one short stroked with that . Semper Fi -L7 out __________________ Signature Space For Rent. SOLD! "Just relax. Breath normally. All you should see is the front sight post. Ignore the the target. Wait for the pause between breaths and when you feel good about it...ease the trigger back." -PMI Sgt. Hopkins, USMC

August 30, 2005, 06:27 PM	#23
sum-rifle Junior Member Join Date: August 28, 2005 Posts: 13	It is obvious the 870 is a total piece of crap. I'll give you $100 for it right now so you won't have to suffer with such a crappy shotgun.

August 30, 2005, 06:35 PM	#24
kymasabe Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2005 Location: SW Florida Posts: 2,747	I've had a variaety of 870 shotguns over the years including an 870 Wingmater that I used for used to shoot trap competitively and put somewhere around 50,000 shells thru without a problem. I think your first mistake was taking the gun out without properly cleaning it. I'd disassemble and go over it from end to end and clean it out. I hope you're better at gun safety than you are at gun maintenance. __________________ God's creatures big and small, eat them one, eat them all.

August 30, 2005, 06:41 PM	#25
spacemanspiff Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2002 Location: alaska Posts: 3,498	i may be way out in left field but when my winchester 1300 started getting sticky it was one of the slide bars that had rattled its way off the pump. __________________ "Every man alone is sincere; at the entrance of a second person hypocrisy begins." - Ralph Waldo Emerson "People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." - Soren Kierkegaard