***HELP*** 870 problem

ontgunner

ontgunner

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So I'm a bad boy and the scatter guns just don't get the love and affection they should...
Now that that's out of the way.
I take my trusty old 870 magnum down to the range tonight to see how it patterns with turkey loads, and I notice the barrel seems loose (laterally, in a rotational fashion).
I do get 3 3" shots downrange (patterns nice, for what it's worth), but decide to investigate this matter further.
Turns out that the housing for the ejector (does eject fine) is also an anti-rotation key for the barrel, and it's broken.
The unanimous opinion of the guys (and gal) in The Gun Room was "don't shoot it".
So I put it to you guys; would you shoot this gun with this part broken?
I'm planning on a turkey hunt Saturday, and I doubt the local smith will have this part in one of his drawers (I will be checking tomorrow).
As I said, I put three 3" down range tonight, and as a matter of fact, put a couple of slugs through my slug barrel last weekend.
I think it's fine, but...
What's the consensus here?
 
The barrel isn't going anywhere. It's held on tight by the barrel ring and the mag cap.

If the barrel rotates a bit, so what... won't move at all when you tighten the mag cap, or the mag tube really well...

... and the extractor on the opposite side acts much in the same way as you describe the ejector housing. The extractor indexes into the barrel extractor notch when the action is closed. ... but neither way on its own is the intended way for the barrel to be held onto the receiver.

So, what's the worse that could happen if the ejector is busted? It still ejects. Apparently your ejector spring is not broken, the ejector tip is as I understand it, so you won't even get any failures to eject.

Unless you spoke to Gary about your gun, whatever the counter help's opinions at Shooter's were, I'd have taken them with a grain of salt. I'm almost sorry to say.

Go get your bird.
 
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easy said:
The barrel isn't going anywhere. It's held on tight by the barrel ring and the mag cap.

If the barrel rotates a bit, so what... won't move at all when you tighten the mag cap, or the mag tube really well...

... and the extractor on the opposite side acts much in the same way as you describe the ejector housing. The extractor indexes into the barrel extractor notch when the action is closed. ... but neither way on its own is the intended way for the barrel to be held onto the receiver.

So, what's the worse that could happen if the ejector is busted? It still ejects. Apparently your ejector spring is not broken, the ejector tip is as I understand it, so you won't even get any failures to eject.

Unless you spoke to Gary about your gun, whatever the counter help's opinions at Shooter's were, I'd have taken them with a grain of salt. I'm almost sorry to say.

Go get your bird.
Click to expand...

Thanks easy... I hate to be hard headed, but unless someone could give me a mechanical reason to leave it home, I was going to go ahead with it.
As you indicated, the barrel is held on by the mag tube. The bolt locks to the receiver. The barrel is not much more than a tube to contain and control the charge.
The slight rotation (less than 1/8") did not seem to affect the action at all.
I will be talking to Gary today... but damn, I'm a stubborn man!

As for the fears of my teeth... maybe it's a good thing one of the guys I'll be hunting with is a dentist! :redface:

Thanks for all the input, guys.
As you might of guessed, I kind of had my mind made up. It would have taken a strong argument to talk me out of it.
(For what it's worth, I did put in 8 years as a reg force weapons tech, and have been making a living the last 13 as a millwright)
 
Go ahead and shoot the turkey. The worst that will happen is the barrel can rotate slightly and the action may bind a little bit on the forward stroke when chambering the second round if you miss with the first.

I have the parts in stock when you are ready for a repair.

Casey
 
ontgunner said:
The unanimous opinion of the guys (and gal) in The Gun Room was "don't shoot it".
Click to expand...

I think that any reason to go in and see the "gal" in the Gun Room is a good one, she has talked me in to guns I didn't even need.
Good luck with your shotgun, stay safe.
 
Pyd said:
I think that any reason to go in and see the "gal" in the Gun Room is a good one, she has talked me in to guns I didn't even need.
Good luck with your shotgun, stay safe.
Click to expand...

Ya, Jackie is a real sweatheart... things do seem to get expensive for me when she's involved. :p

FYI, just got off the phone with the smith... he says it's not an issue.
The bolt does in fact lock up into a groove in the top of the barrel (I didn't realize that) and aligns/holds everything together during the shot.
I'll probably get 'er fixed next week.

Again, thanks for the opinions and the concern.
That's why I turned to you guys.
 
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