Posted: 6/23/2014 8:25:08 AM EDT
| Any insight on this would be GREATLY appreciated. I've had an intermittent problem of my 870 freezing up after being fired and attempting to cycle to the next round. The action would literally be stuck in place and take quite a bit of effort and movement to release it and cycle. I sent it off to Rem with a similar problem description. Upon its return they had cleaned up the chamber nicely but the area outside the "lip" was still pretty rough and beginning to rust even. I took the liberty of polishing it up to prevent what we all thought was the problem of the fire-formed shell getting stuck. I finally got to the range to test it out. The same exact problem exists. Upon further inspection I noticed that the bolt seems to over extend its expected range of motion when the hammer hits it and the hammer drops below the back end of the firing pin. At this point the nub on top of the hammer sits perfectly under the pin to prevent the bolt from moving back unless the bolt is wiggled forward enough for the hammer to fall back behind it where it belongs. Has anyone else encountered this? and how did you fix it? Thanks! |
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Any insight on this would be GREATLY appreciated. I've had an intermittent problem of my 870 freezing up after being fired and attempting to cycle to the next round. The action would literally be stuck in place and take quite a bit of effort and movement to release it and cycle. I sent it off to Rem with a similar problem description. Upon its return they had cleaned up the chamber nicely but the area outside the "lip" was still pretty rough and beginning to rust even. I took the liberty of polishing it up to prevent what we all thought was the problem of the fire-formed shell getting stuck. I finally got to the range to test it out. The same exact problem exists. Upon further inspection I noticed that the bolt seems to over extend its expected range of motion when the hammer hits it and the hammer drops below the back end of the firing pin. At this point the nub on top of the hammer sits perfectly under the pin to prevent the bolt from moving back unless the bolt is wiggled forward enough for the hammer to fall back behind it where it belongs. Has anyone else encountered this? and how did you fix it? Thanks! I had the exact same problem. Your issue is the ejector spring is out of whack. It will need to be replaced. Links below. Ejector Spring Rivet Front Rivet Rear Rivet Cutter Video on how to replace spring |
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I had a problem with my 870 locking up after firing as well. I was shooting birdshot loads and just messing around with clays, but after a few rounds of cycling I would have to put the stock on the ground and use two hands to eject a fired casing.
I did a little research on the matter and I determined a couple things: Winchester birdshot ammo has a tendency to cause this problem and... The cheaper product line of 870s are prone to this problem as well. Suuposedly the express 870s just arent finished and put together as nicely as others like the wingmasters, which is why my 870 express had problems. Ultimately I fixed the problem by trading mine in for a Mossberg 590A1 and never looking back.... |
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Common problem especially with a new gun...upon firing you are probably placing the fore end under tension anticipating recoil...this binds the action especially if there is any twist in the action bars too..
Try this..fire the shotgun single handed...then rack the slide...I am betting the issue disappears...if it does try this..upon firing place a small amount of forward pressure on the fore end for a split second then rack the slide...as the gin gets worn in and you fire it more the two of you will get more in tune with each other... And yes Expresses are a little rough finish wise... |
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I had a problem with my 870 locking up after firing as well. I was shooting birdshot loads and just messing around with clays, but after a few rounds of cycling I would have to put the stock on the ground and use two hands to eject a fired casing. I did a little research on the matter and I determined a couple things: Winchester birdshot ammo has a tendency to cause this problem and... The cheaper product line of 870s are prone to this problem as well. Suuposedly the express 870s just arent finished and put together as nicely as others like the wingmasters, which is why my 870 express had problems. Ultimately I fixed the problem by trading mine in for a Mossberg 590A1 and never looking back.... I bought a 590a1 as well. The 870 express wasn't worth my time messing around with. |
| Thanks for the heads up on the correct forum. I'll keep it in mind for next time but I seem to have gotten some good feedback so far. Much appreciated everyone. Unfortunately I don't have anyone to swap parts with but as far as changing ammo and firing technique I will definitely try. The problem definitely existed with cheap Winchester stuff, but not exclusively. Hoping to go out again this weekend. I'll let you guys know. Thanks again. |
| Part gun and part ammo. I see this where I work. The newer 870s are not polished internally like the older ones were and the newer ammo (low 'brass' alum or steel base) expands more so after two or three shots the guns locks up with the empty in the chamber. It will eject after cooling off. |
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Do you or one of our buddies have another 870? Swap barrel and test. Then swap trigger groups and test. Try and localize the problem. Won't cost you a dime to find out. Or buy yourself another 870. They can be had for pretty cheap, and then you will have two. 
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| Hey, I just realized I never updated this post. If anyone is still interested, here's what I did. Took the whole 870 apart and went at it with a dremel and polishing kit for it, focusing mostly on the chamber area, internal slide rail areas, any part of the bolt that contacts anything else, and specifically the hammer. The hammer has a notch on the top that was pretty rough from the factory, and the chamber polish Remington did when I sent it back was not great and did not fix the problem. What happens with the hammer, on mine at least, is that when its fired it may end up "under" the firing pin protruding from the back of the bolt if the bolt rattles forward for whatever reason. Upon pulling the slide back, the hammer notch will catch the bolt via firing pin rear and prevent the slide from moving back unless you rattle and shake the hammer back out of the way. I lightly sanded the rough spot and polished the hammer thoroughly along with those other parts and now it functions and fires flawlessly, even with cheap crap low brass. I suppose a lot of range time and wearing in would yield the same result. I know this is an odd description, I will try to explain better if need be. |
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Sell it and buy a Mossberg. This would, indeed, be one solution. Now I have a fairly new Remington 870 Express Walmart special and I have no problems with it but I only shoot Hornady PD shells and Federal Police Tactical Reduced Recoil shells. A good chamber polishing with dremel and ruby polish might be the answer - along with quality shells. I agree the newer Remington Express line of shotguns are NOT made as well as the older ones. Just like the newer Ruger 10-22s are NOT made as well as the ones from ten years back. |
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Quoted:
Hey, I just realized I never updated this post. If anyone is still interested, here's what I did. Took the whole 870 apart and went at it with a dremel and polishing kit for it, focusing mostly on the chamber area, internal slide rail areas, any part of the bolt that contacts anything else, and specifically the hammer. The hammer has a notch on the top that was pretty rough from the factory, and the chamber polish Remington did when I sent it back was not great and did not fix the problem. What happens with the hammer, on mine at least, is that when its fired it may end up "under" the firing pin protruding from the back of the bolt if the bolt rattles forward for whatever reason. Upon pulling the slide back, the hammer notch will catch the bolt via firing pin rear and prevent the slide from moving back unless you rattle and shake the hammer back out of the way. I lightly sanded the rough spot and polished the hammer thoroughly along with those other parts and now it functions and fires flawlessly, even with cheap crap low brass. I suppose a lot of range time and wearing in would yield the same result. I know this is an odd description, I will try to explain better if need be. A good buy is the Jerry Kuhnhausen book on the Remington Shotguns. All the tips and tricks and fixes for the 870, 1100, 1187 & some of the discontinued models too Slicked my 870 up a treat by following the advice in the book |
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I've shot many rounds with my 870 exp and haven't had that problem it was a little rough when I first shot it and then gave it a good cleaning now it's great , but will watch for it I haven't used winchester shells just the Remington ones not sure if it makes a difference.
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