I bought a remington 870 and took it out the other day. Shot 100 rounds and about 3 or 4 times it jammed up on me. I cleaned it really good afterwards thinking maybe there might have been a bit of metal or obstruction stuck in it from the time it was casted and produced. Took it out the other day and shot 100 rounds of target load and still about 32/4 times it jammed. Is this normal? If someone has any info or suggestions on how to fix this please let me know
870 question
- Thread starter zombiepoo
- Start date
redbeard870
Regular
The only time I've ever seen my 870 jam is when somebody who is unfamiliar with firearms is firing it and doesn't rack the slide with enough effort. Then I would just unjam it for them and show them how to put a bit of muscle into it. Otherwise it functions flawless and I've never had a jam. Very easy to strip and clean as well.
If you're working the action forcefully and it still jams up, there could be an issue that is well beyond me.
If you're working the action forcefully and it still jams up, there could be an issue that is well beyond me.
I bet you're using Winchester ammo. I've had my 870 for over 15 years. I use it for 3 gun matches. When ever I run Winchester ammo it jams every once in a while. It seams like this "brass" portion of the round is cheap and thin, it expands too much in the chamber and makes it hard extract and rack the next round. I only run Federal 12 gauge ammo. I never have a jam with it. The Winchester ammo has a bright-ish red color and the Federal has a burgundy/wine color. Walmart and Canadian Tire both sell it, when it's in stock. I think they are teh same price as well...FEDERAL ONLY!!
A rough chamber combined with steel "brass" and high pressure causes those jams in the 870. For most shotgun shells today the "brass" on the base of the hulls is actually made of steel. Steel "brass" expands the same way brass "brass" did back in the day but it doesn't contract the same way or at the same speed, so the steel expands and grabs the rough surface of the chamber and it hold tight! In most cases if you try ram the slide forward on the 870 it will move the "brass" enough to release it so that it can be extracted. If you search YouTube you will find videos on how to polish the chamber in your gun...it's been explained a million times here on CGN but the videos beat repeating the process again. Winchester "SuperTarget" and "Universal" promo loads in 1 1/8oz. are the worst...and the ones that stick are actually over pressured rounds. If you shoot enough of that $h!+ or are around guys that do, you can tell everytime!
frankthedog
Member
- Location
- Vancouver Island
i can also say the only thing my 870 hasnt liked so far is the cheap winchester stuff
I bet you're using Winchester ammo. I've had my 870 for over 15 years. I use it for 3 gun matches. When ever I run Winchester ammo it jams every once in a while. It seams like this "brass" portion of the round is cheap and thin, it expands too much in the chamber and makes it hard extract and rack the next round. I only run Federal 12 gauge ammo. I never have a jam with it. The Winchester ammo has a bright-ish red color and the Federal has a burgundy/wine color. Walmart and Canadian Tire both sell it, when it's in stock. I think they are teh same price as well...FEDERAL ONLY!!
What he said guaranteed. Many of the Express's sold today have issues with the cheap trap loads that Winchester and Federal sells. If you place a round in the chamber by hand... push it in with your finger... you will notice it does not slide in easily so when fired and the casing expands.. it gets stuck. You will need to polish the chamber to remove a very small amount of material to resolve.
change ammo. Try tall brass shells, see if they work. I do the polish in chamber plus 1500 wet/dry sandpaper on the burrs in trigger assembly (careful, not all parts, just those with burrs, i found my 2012 receiver had lots).
Should not have any problems. Only last two could be short stroke, and follower (get rid of the orange piece of crap, use a no jam)
Basics: winchester bulk sticks when it heats up. look for tall brass bases. break her in is a big one too.
Should not have any problems. Only last two could be short stroke, and follower (get rid of the orange piece of crap, use a no jam)
Basics: winchester bulk sticks when it heats up. look for tall brass bases. break her in is a big one too.
Thanx to all of you for the replies as a noob I didn't put too much muscle into my pump as I was unsure as to how tuff I can be on it and I find it really interesting that both times I took it out shooting I did use the cheap winchester target loads so I will definitely try the federal.
To be clear: Use Federal brass case "field loads", not their steel case "target loads".
You will not ever break your 870 by cycling it too hard. They like it rough.
The 11-87 uses basically the same action, and it cycles much harder on semi-auto than you ever could in pump!
You will not ever break your 870 by cycling it too hard. They like it rough.
The 11-87 uses basically the same action, and it cycles much harder on semi-auto than you ever could in pump!
