Problem with 870 not cycling shells :(

[Xscmurcielago]

ok so i went on a trip for the last couple weeks to some friends property in northern callifornia and brought my (supposedly) trusty 870 because they have a burm set up that they shoot against. well when i loaded up my shotgun it started having problems with letting a shell go from the magazing into the chamber. i would cycle the slide properly (with plenty of force, no ***** footing) and the next round would stay in the magazine.

has anyone else had this happen, and does anyone know what could be wrong?

if the slide is forward i can stick my finger in and depress the little tab that holds the round in, and after doing that i can go through a full magazine tube or two before it happens again. ive had to do that 4 times now in two or three days. it has never done this before.

oh and it is an 870 express with a 2-3/4 and 3" chamber, and was doing this with both types of shells. and yes i did brake it down after seeing a problem and clean and oil everything, but the problem still came back.

thank you so much for any and all help. this is driving me crazy, ive had 870's for years and never heard of this problem. they have always been my "well when everything else fails or malfunctions on me, at least my remington will stay strong" gun.

[FLIGHT762]

You may have a bad shell latch. 870's have a L/H and a R/H. I don't know what one it could be. I would take it to a Gunsmith who is very familiar with 870's and have them replace the offending shell latch.

[1911su16b870]

I am in south Los Angeles and can take a look if you are in the area.

[jazzyjey]

I am in south Los Angeles and can take a look if you are in the area.

[blazeaglory]

Someone told me that some Remington shotgun shells (The shells not the gun) have problems cycling. I dont know though as Ive never shot them.

[Ricky-Ray]

Someone had told me that the 870 does not like low brass shells, like the winchester bulk packs from walmart. I had a box of those and was having extracting issues. Since then I've been using the federal bulk packs and have no issues after that.

[BigDogatPlay]

Someone told me that some Remington shotgun shells (The shells not the gun) have problems cycling. I dont know though as Ive never shot them.

All the 870's and 1100's I've owned ate Remington ammo just fine. Each gun can have it's quirks to be sure, but that's my experience.

Someone had told me that the 870 does not like low brass shells, like the winchester bulk packs from walmart. I had a box of those and was having extracting issues. Since then I've been using the federal bulk packs and have no issues after that.

Current production 870 Express are known for having less than well finished chambers. It's been mentioned in probably dozens of threads here. The bulk pack shells are mostly bare steel, not brass, at the base. Steel on steel when one side is not well finished can equal problems. The Winchester Universal ammo is the worst, IMO.

Aippi will doubtless be here on the thread at some point, but if you follow his instructions on maintaining the chamber you'll likely never have a problem with any brand of shells in your 870 again.

As called out above, the OPs issue seems to be magazine and / or shell latch related. a certified armorer would most likely be able to resolve it pretty quickly.

[Xscmurcielago]

thank you all for the comments and suggestions. especially the offer to look at the shotgun, if i cant get something figured out i may be driving up to meet you. im going to do some more googling, and see if changing out that catch changes things.

oh and btw whenever i use the wally world bulk packs i always use the federal, for no particular reason except i like the color of the shells more and they are usually #7 1/2 shot over #8.

[Coyotegunner]

While not a 870 I was using.I had a problem exact like it,in my known to be reliable Stoeger 2000.A evening of problems during dove season proved to be the low base Walmart Federal shells I was using.Brand new ones.They would not come out of the feed tube,sometimes.Unfired shells stuck in the chamber as well.Couple other folks mention shell issues.Try something different in it.Let us know how it turns out.

[Xscmurcielago]

its funny you say that, but i actually wasn't using those this time out, this time i was shooting winchester 3" OO's and standard OO, or should i say "trying".

[aippi]

Sound like the forend end tube assembly. Any chance you have put a vertical forend on the weapon?

Also, could be some mess behind the shell latch like a piece of cleaning patch or other mess. Clean behind the shell latch, make sure your timing cuts are not damaged on the action bars and make sure you have a new magazine spring. If those are all working there is almost no reason to have a feed issue.

[blazeaglory]

All the 870's and 1100's I've owned ate Remington ammo just fine. Each gun can have it's quirks to be sure, but that's my experience.

Yeah I think it was the winchester ammo as stated above. I was thinking winchester but typed remington..lol My mistake