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My Remington 870 Express Feeding Woes
I recently bought a used Remington 870 Express Synthetic home-defender pump locally. A local gunsmith had checked it out for safe-firing condition when I had brought it in a little over a week ago and I test fired the gun on the range happily with no malfunctions to report.
However, at home I have been practicing loading and unloading shells (with muzzle in safe direction of course) and I have noticed something that disturbs me. Sometimes when I press the shells with my finger far into the mag tube to load, there is a sudden loss of magazine spring tension as if the shells, follower or spring are binding up inside the tube. I would press a shell up into the tube and the lead shell would slide up and down loose in the tube indicating a loss of magazine spring pressure. I would have to poke the shell back up the tube a few times to finally jar the spring loose to restore normal spring/follower pressure thus seating the shell's rim firmly against the shell latch again.
I cleaned the mag tube out and noticed some brown rust on the patches. I put a light coat or oil on the tube interior walls, spring and follower. The shells seem to feed more smoothly (the mag spring had been squeaking loudly during loading before) but the spring will still occasionally get hung up in the tube during loading/unloading training exercises. Racking repeatedly the slide to unload the magazine never indicates a feeding malfunction, however. There was one time when I racked the slide too slowly and gently and that caused a shell to hang up in the ejection port. Racking firmly and swiftly to empty shells from the gun never results in a feeding problem even with the questionable magazine spring.
I have owned a Mossberg 500 and 590 in the past and have found them much more reliable and easy to load, unload and cycle rounds. I am discovering the Remington 870 action can be slightly temperamental and tricky in regards to shell-handling though the gun never jammed during my one test fire.
My theory is that the spring could be the wrong model as it looks awfully long when decompressed.
Could the rims of shells, the follower or the spring even get hung up in the inside seam of the magazine extension where it screws on the main magazine tube? The spring seems to bind when there are five or more shells inserted into the tube. The magazine holds up to six 2 3/4" shells which I use.
Perhaps, a gunsmith should inspect the magazine and do a shell-feed reliability test as well?
I wish I had some dummy training rounds to practice shell-handling skills and feed-reliability testing for my gun as well.
I fear that a binding mag spring could make the difference between life and death in a critical defense situation and that troubles me. I am afraid to use too much oil in the magazine as that may foul the ammunition causing possible misfires.
However, at home I have been practicing loading and unloading shells (with muzzle in safe direction of course) and I have noticed something that disturbs me. Sometimes when I press the shells with my finger far into the mag tube to load, there is a sudden loss of magazine spring tension as if the shells, follower or spring are binding up inside the tube. I would press a shell up into the tube and the lead shell would slide up and down loose in the tube indicating a loss of magazine spring pressure. I would have to poke the shell back up the tube a few times to finally jar the spring loose to restore normal spring/follower pressure thus seating the shell's rim firmly against the shell latch again.
I cleaned the mag tube out and noticed some brown rust on the patches. I put a light coat or oil on the tube interior walls, spring and follower. The shells seem to feed more smoothly (the mag spring had been squeaking loudly during loading before) but the spring will still occasionally get hung up in the tube during loading/unloading training exercises. Racking repeatedly the slide to unload the magazine never indicates a feeding malfunction, however. There was one time when I racked the slide too slowly and gently and that caused a shell to hang up in the ejection port. Racking firmly and swiftly to empty shells from the gun never results in a feeding problem even with the questionable magazine spring.
I have owned a Mossberg 500 and 590 in the past and have found them much more reliable and easy to load, unload and cycle rounds. I am discovering the Remington 870 action can be slightly temperamental and tricky in regards to shell-handling though the gun never jammed during my one test fire.
My theory is that the spring could be the wrong model as it looks awfully long when decompressed.
Could the rims of shells, the follower or the spring even get hung up in the inside seam of the magazine extension where it screws on the main magazine tube? The spring seems to bind when there are five or more shells inserted into the tube. The magazine holds up to six 2 3/4" shells which I use.
Perhaps, a gunsmith should inspect the magazine and do a shell-feed reliability test as well?
I wish I had some dummy training rounds to practice shell-handling skills and feed-reliability testing for my gun as well.
I fear that a binding mag spring could make the difference between life and death in a critical defense situation and that troubles me. I am afraid to use too much oil in the magazine as that may foul the ammunition causing possible misfires.
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