rem 870 feed problem

[mikey357]

I'm putting together a rem 870. Nearly done but got a bug. It appears upon chambering a round from the magazine the shell carrier sends the shell not into the chamber but above it. By above, I mean it hits the top of barrel extension near the bolt lock cut. I did some research online and some have said that the shell carrier needs to be bent down. One person said he puts a leather belt on the receiver and pries on the shell carrier with a screwdriver to make the shell feed lower. Is that the best way? I replaced the original carrier with a flexitab, along with the other conversion parts.

[mikey357]

Update, Just swapped out flexitab conversion with original parts now it feeds fine. Upon examining shell lifter, there is a slight difference between the two.
I always thought the flexitab conversion was drop in, maybe not it seems. I will pick up a few used flexitab carriers and try to mod them out.

[aippi]

The flex tab conversion is three parts. A new Breech bolt, slide and carrier. Once installed those parts work fine.

Not sure what your issue is if you used all three parts from the flex tab conversion kit. Where did these parts come from? Are you certain you have the right parts?

[hcbr]

was gonna say aippi is going to chime in , but he beat me to it

[gl0ckc0ma]

My buddy has the same problem with his 870, but he has all stock parts. Can you post in detail maybe even pics if possible on how you resolved the issue or even a link to a video or article.

[slikna99]

The flex tab conversion is three parts. A new Breech bolt, slide and carrier. Once installed those parts work fine.

Not sure what your issue is if you used all three parts from the flex tab conversion kit. Where did these parts come from? Are you certain you have the right parts?

You do not need all of the other parts to be able to use the flex tab lifter. They are required if you want the benefits of the flex tab system, though. Perhaps try just the flex tab lifter and see if you get the same result.

OP, I think your lifter got bent at some point or came from the factory bent. A good way to bend it is to stick it between two books in a vice and use a rubber mallet and lightly tap it until you get what you want. This method is highly scientific, but ofcourse the best way is to replace it altogether.

[mikey357]

The flex tab conversion is three parts. A new Breech bolt, slide and carrier. Once installed those parts work fine.

Not sure what your issue is if you used all three parts from the flex tab conversion kit. Where did these parts come from? Are you certain you have the right parts?

I bought them from you JD. I looked at the vid on your site to change the carrier and used the bolt and slide but it does not feed. The shell stubs high upon feeding.

[mikey357]

You do not need all of the other parts to be able to use the flex tab lifter. They are required if you want the benefits of the flex tab system, though. Perhaps try just the flex tab lifter and see if you get the same result.

OP, I think your lifter got bent at some point or came from the factory bent. A good way to bend it is to stick it between two books in a vice and use a rubber mallet and lightly tap it until you get what you want. This method is highly scientific, but ofcourse the best way is to replace it altogether.

The old carrier and the flexitab carrier are bent at slightly different angle. Not much but noticeable to the eye. The book method may be of use to me. Thanks.

[mikey357]

My buddy has the same problem with his 870, but he has all stock parts. Can you post in detail maybe even pics if possible on how you resolved the issue or even a link to a video or article.

With stock parts, all works well. Its the new ones that need adjustments

[slikna99]

I bought them from you JD. I looked at the vid on your site to change the carrier and used the bolt and slide but it does not feed. The shell stubs high upon feeding.

Normally this is caused by the shell not being lifted high enough, believe it or not. You are getting the scenario where the action locks on forward stroke and the shell is wedged at an angle between the bolt and chamber correct? What I notice usually is the shell isn't lifted high enough so when the carrier drops, the shell is actually too low and gets wedged into the chamber side instead of feeding straight in as it should. Note this could also be caused by a weak carrier dog spring, but I don't think this is the case since the original lifter works. If the carrier is bent too high, usually you will notice shells getting stuck coming out of the magazine tube.

[mikey357]

Normally this is caused by the shell not being lifted high enough, believe it or not. You are getting the scenario where the action locks on forward stroke and the shell is wedged at an angle between the bolt and chamber correct? What I notice usually is the shell isn't lifted high enough so when the carrier drops, the shell is actually too low and gets wedged into the chamber side instead of feeding straight in as it should. Note this could also be caused by a weak carrier dog spring, but I don't think this is the case since the original lifter works. If the carrier is bent too high, usually you will notice shells getting stuck coming out of the magazine tube.

Most problems I have read online is not lifting high enough. Im wedging between bolt and barrel extension, its not even getting close to the chamber mouth. Its not bent high enough to prevent the rounds from coming out of the mag tube though.

[aippi]

Send me the trigger plate assembly and the parts to me and I'll get it working. Don't start bending things. Anything metal that is bent will return to the original state eventually so bending parts is not a fix. Your issue is the carrier dog not the carrier. I'll fix it.

[mikey357]

Send me the trigger plate assembly and the parts to me and I'll get it working. Don't start bending things. Anything metal that is bent will return to the original state eventually so bending parts is not a fix. Your issue is the carrier dog not the carrier. I'll fix it.

Thanks JD for the kind offer. Ive been looking at how the durn thing works and wasnt sure how to go about fixing it. It was a tossup between bending the carrier or doing something with the carrier dog. Im glad I asked before trying something. The carrier does look a little different from the old to the new. Im guessing you need the entire trigger group and the parts I bought from you.
I will be shooting the 870 this weekend with the old parts so I will pack the stuff up after the 2/04/12. I'm going to mic the carrier dogs on the old and the new. There's gotta be some variation since the dog influences the angle on the carrier in the up position. If they are the same, do they make a oversized dog or maybe you have to peen the dog to make it thinner and larger like they do on the hand of a colt revolver?

[mikey357]

I got everything apart again and Im looking it over slowly. Im in error, the lower part of the carrier dog and the carrier appears to limit how high the carrier can rise. The carrier dog looks too thick to peen. It's not as simple as it seems and modifying one part will influence all the other parts.

[mikey357]

This may all be a break in issue. The parts are a little different. Carrier, Carrier dog, Carrier dog washer are not exactly the same as old. Appears to have some design changes in them. I have replaced the old carrier with the flexitab and got it to work. But you have to close the slide like you mean it. With the old carrier the parts have worn into each other and I can close the slide real lightly and have everything mesh perfectly. I'm hoping with use I can get the new parts to run as slick as snot. JD if you are reading this, Im going to hang on to these parts and try to break them in. Thanks.