Remington 870 Failure

[Grendel Guy]

Here is my advice. Sell the gun and warn others.

I had 4 870 Express models and a Wingmaster. All 12 gauge. Every single one of them would choke on low base shells. Some of them would choke every 5-10 rounds. Some would choke one time per box. They all choked. They would lock tight as a drum and I would have to mortar the gun on the ground. Even the Wingmaster!!!

I polished the chambers with the steel wool on a dowel idea. No improvement. I brought each gun to Bolsa Gunsmithing. They polished all the chambers. They all still failed. Every one of them. A couple of the guns went back to them 2 and 3 times. No improvement.

Remington produces crap. Pump guns are supposed to be the most reliable guns in the world. Every time I shoot trap at Prado, I see some poor sucker mortaring his 870.

People will chime in and say their gun is fine. Maybe it is. But, a HUGE number of 870s are not fine.

Move on. Take the hit. You will never fix it.

I've had my Wingmaster (2 3/4" 30" fixed full choke tube) for.....44 years now and the only prob I had was one hangfire from a box of Winchester "duck & pheasant" economy loads. True to my hunter safety course back then (I was a teenager) I pointed the gun down range for what seemed an eternity, about 20 seconds, then it went off. Pitched the rest of the box in a creek.

[AceGirlsHusband]

Wow. I didn't know Remington 870's were such low-grade scatterguns. We happen to use about 600 of those here at Sac PD. They range from 1960's models to 2 year old Police Magnums. And other than extreme abuse at the Academy (and real wear and tear) I've never seen a failure to extract with 00 Buck, #8 birdshot, 1 oz slugs or bean bag rounds. On rare occasion we get a failure to feed, but that is just a bad latch. And then I just stake a new one in. Sometimes we have an ejector go bad after a LOT of rounds - but we just grind the old one out and rivet a new one in.

Now that I know all of this, I expect to start seeing failures all the time.

[elx144]

I polished my chamber with a little bit of steel wool wrapped around a dowel. The MPI extractor was also bent. I called Remington asking for a new extractor but the guy insisted I ship the gun back. $20 later I have the extractor for a Wingmaster with no more problems. Remington is hit or miss from my experience. My 1100 is awesome though.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Wow. I didn't know Remington 870's were such low-grade scatterguns. We happen to use about 600 of those here at Sac PD. They range from 1960's models to 2 year old Police Magnums.

Some of your retired Wingmasters found their way to So. Cal at my local LE gunshot and I bought two of them!

[splithoof]

Wow. I didn't know Remington 870's were such low-grade scatterguns. We happen to use about 600 of those here at Sac PD. They range from 1960's models to 2 year old Police Magnums. And other than extreme abuse at the Academy (and real wear and tear) I've never seen a failure to extract with 00 Buck, #8 birdshot, 1 oz slugs or bean bag rounds. On rare occasion we get a failure to feed, but that is just a bad latch. And then I just stake a new one in. Sometimes we have an ejector go bad after a LOT of rounds - but we just grind the old one out and rivet a new one in.

Now that I know all of this, I expect to start seeing failures all the time.

That's a good one!
I took a couple of shotgun classes at Gunsite, and put nearly 1K rounds through a well-worn example I have been using for some time. But the real kicker ( no pun intended) was the school's rental shotguns; they were 870's that must have had over a million + rounds or more through them. No finish, lots of character scratches, but kept on going. Amazing!

[billped]

Unlike many of you that punch paper or run drills, there are a lot of bird hunters reading this. Almost my entire hunting crew uses 870s with no issues. I use an Ithaca model 37 and it also has been near flawless. My only issue is when I went a few years without cleaning the shotgun - yeah, didn't cycle.

Granted, the guns are 25 y/o, but they're good. Issues talked about here sound like they're on more recent builds.

[dune870demon]

We are talking about the newer models not older, i noticed these problems from the 2008s? And on. Olders are gtg in my book.

You want an amazing ammo that will jam any gun it goes in from citori a, to kreigoffs, perazzis, be nellies, anything it's put I've seen jam it atleast once.... Winchester universal target load. I won't even take it if it's given to me.

[mossy]

its a problem with the new remmy 870's. the chamber needs polishing. Remington probably knows about the problem because it is common complaint about the newer 870's but they have not fixed the issue. just be glad your 870 is not a rust magnets.....there was something wrong with the finish on a buddies 870, the thing would rust up faster than any other gun i have ever seen, it was crazy.

[ceh383]

I had a similar issue with my 870, every few shells it was impossible to rack. It didn't seem to matter what shells were used...Same issue with pretty much all of them. I polished the chamber using a very fine small cylinder hone with no change to the problem. After a lot of frustration I took it completely apart and did a through, detailed cleaning. I noticed what looked like a small issue...There is a tapered pin holding the firing pin in place; this pin was sticking out beyond the bottom surface of the bolt, it was catching on the slide block. I used a die-grinder to bring this pin down below the surface of the bolt...I have not had a problem since with this gun; it's been perfect with all ammo...

[Pbl600]

this is all you need:

http://www.brushresearch.com/brushes.php?c2=6

Thanks for the link. I will get a couple and polish the chamber up. I will also do it on my other 870 20 gauge just in case. I've shot several hundred rounds thru both my 870's not a problem till I used the remington game loads it's funny how my 870 won't work on remington ammo. I even you tubed it and the first video I clicked on the guy had the same problem with the game loads. Thanks for all the info guys I really do appreciate it.

[Paseclipse]

Good explanation of what could be happening-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlGoxNsaieE

Fix-
Remove all the burrs and polish the chamber (http://www.rem870.com/2012/10/14/rem...ber-polishing/).

Add a Volquartsen Exact Edge Eaxtractor-http://www.midwayusa.com/product/518...ngton-870-1100

I was having the same problems with my 870 running Estate 00 Buck and these changes helped out a lot.

Also, if you're trying to ride the pump during recoil the 870 will lock up. Instead of pulling the shotgun into your shoulder with the support side hand try holding it like a regular rifle then run the pump after you've taken your shot.

[T19gun04]

I bought a recent Mossberg 500 from a fellow Calgunner. When I went to shot it, I had problems with feeding ammo, specifically the last shell in the chamber. I was a bit disappointed.

My first thought is to clean it but after reading this thread I may need to do more. It's hard to trust a shotty that does not feed the last shell.

How would I find out whether I have a newer model Mossberg? I am assuming that I do.

[ceh383]

How would I find out whether I have a newer model Mossberg? I am assuming that I do.

By the serial number, email Mossberg with the number they will give you the info.
Here is the beginnings fo a serial number to manufacture date list...

http://mossbergowners.com/forum/index.php?threads/mossberg-serial-number-data-base.13187/

It's hard to trust a shotty that does not feed the last shell.

Has the gun been modified?
It sounds like the mag tube spring is either to short or it's very weak...

[T19gun04]

By the serial number, email Mossberg with the number they will give you the info.
Here is the beginnings fo a serial number to manufacture date list...
http://mossbergowners.com/forum/inde...ta-base.13187/

It appears to be 2012/2013 model. Thank you for the information.

Has the gun been modified?
It sounds like the mag tube spring is either to short or it's very weak...

There is an mount attachment for possible a light. Not sure if there are any more modifications. Will look into mag tube spring, appreciate ceh383

[Rcjackrabbit]

OP - polishing did not fix any of my guns. I did it. I had a gunsmith do it. The chambers were silky smooth.

A pump gun should work with any ammo my Benelli M2 can shoot.