870 hard to rack

[Barbarossa]

My Dad is having an issue with his 870 being hard to rack.

It is an older Wingmaster, and has always operated flawlessly.

I think it may be something with the shell ejector spring.

To my eye it looks like it may have been bent outward towards the ejection port.

I'll try to get photos this weekend.

Anything else I should check?

[nedro]

I have one that I bought in 1981.
after a few years I had the same problem.
Take the pump off and look at the runners (or whatever you call the two pieces of steel that are attached to the pump grip.
Make sure that they are parallel. I had to tweak mine to get hem right. It is soooo smooth now.

[MRpink]

To clarify, is it hard to rack with or without shells? It could be the ejector spring or ejector.

Here's what a normal ejector spring looks like: http://www.gunsumerreports.com/Remin...ess_Tac_72.JPG

Unbroken ejector


Broken ejector

[aippi]

We all tend to torque a forend some when we rack it back, some more then others. As we do this we twist the action bars. As one guy posted he had to bend his back. Problem with that is that metal will return to the damaged state very fast so his is a temporary fix.

Find another 870 and simply put that forend assembly on it and rack it and if it is smooth again he will know he needs a new forend tube assembly. He can also simply take his off and point the actions bars towards his eyes, If he sees they are twisted and bent then replace it. The fastest way to bring life back into an old 870 is to replace the forend tube assembly. Also, it avoids feed issues that are soon to follow with and old assembly because the timing cuts on the action bars take a beating once the action bars are damaged and feed issues begin as those cuts control the timing and function of shell feeding.

[rawfuls]

Had an 870 Wingmaster, same hard to rack issue.

Also had a *slightly* bent extractor.
Had Bob Day @ Americhoke take a look and he replaced the extractor and forend runner & tube (I'd assume, assembly?).

Since I had an older Wingmaster, the bolt carrier needed to be changed out with it, I believe; not 100% on that.

Regardless, after Bob Day was finished with it, it rides buttery smooth.

[Barbarossa]

Okay let the photos talk!

[Barbarossa]

a few more.

Forearm is dead straight

[penguin0123]

front part of the ejector looks bent?

[eddy 600]

front part of the ejector looks bent?

I think you are right i just looked at my like new 1970 wing master the top appears to be bent out and the angled top of ejector is flattened out a bit.

[aippi]

The tips of the eject break, they don't bend.

You are saying hard to rack. Do you mean hard to rack back after firing a shell? If you are having extraction problems the ejector is not the issue nor is it an issue for cycling the action. If you are having issues extracting shells from a well broke in 870 you have to look at the ammo and the chamber of the barrel. So, what do mean by racking? Is it hard to rack after firing a shell or with an empty chamber?

[rawfuls]

That ejector is bent 100%.
Should be the cause of your hard to rack.

A normal ejector should be flat, with the triangle bend, then back flat.

But like aippi said, if you're ONLY experiencing difficulty unracking, could be the round, or anything else.
If you're getting a consistent difficulty anytime that bolt travels past that ejector, then it's the ejector.

[Barbarossa]

The tips of the eject break, they don't bend.

You are saying hard to rack. Do you mean hard to rack back after firing a shell? If you are having extraction problems the ejector is not the issue nor is it an issue for cycling the action. If you are having issues extracting shells from a well broke in 870 you have to look at the ammo and the chamber of the barrel. So, what do mean by racking? Is it hard to rack after firing a shell or with an empty chamber?

Gun empty and unfired it is difficult to operate the fore-end to work the gun.

Gun shoots/ejects fine, just needs more motivation than it should

Effort required is the same with or without shells in the gun.

[Barbarossa]

Hoping to resolve this, if anyone has a solution based on the above.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Hoping to resolve this, if anyone has a solution based on the above.

These guys, especially Aippi, have offered a lot of good advice and suggestions. If the problem is not yet resolved, you are going to have to take it to a gunsmith. Message boards and photos are free and awesome, but have their limitations.

[Aeonstar]

about 20 years ago i had a odd problem with a old wingmaster. it was hard to rack and i kept looking and looking and could not figure it out.

turned out the tube that slides on the magazine had a tiny crack in it. you could not even see it but when you pulled back it would rub on the magazine tube enough to make it hard to cycle. the harder i pulled the worse it got

just a idea