NEA 14" modified heavy barrel - FAIL

freddyfour said:
Everything you are describing is exactly the same problems I was having with my 3 870`s. I don`t know why or how but the 870 Police was the only one out of the 4 that would work right.
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Did you relieve the handguard to allow for the greater barrel diameter? Dumb question, I'm sure you did, but I had to ask.

Once I did that on my Wingmaster it worked fine. Does anyone know why NEA says the barrels won't work on Wingmasters?
 
I'm not sure, but I'd say the tolerances might be tighter on them. We all know the fit and function is.
 
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Stevo said:
Did you relieve the handguard to allow for the greater barrel diameter? Dumb question, I'm sure you did, but I had to ask.

Once I did that on my Wingmaster it worked fine. Does anyone know why NEA says the barrels won't work on Wingmasters?
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I tried it with no fore end at all on it. Was a no go on all three.
 
I had some issues with a new 870 and a 12.5 Dominion barrel - similar to some of those here - rubbing on the forend and ring. Also the forend was large enough that a 6 shot Mesa Saddle Rail made enough contact to prevent the slide from properly cycling, stopping the shotgun from both ejecting and feeding. In the end I had to take a knife to the wood, and clean it up later with a Dremel. I wonder if the new guns are coming with oversized wood. It's great having oversized wood, just not on your shotgun.
 
I removed the forend to see if it was rubbing enough to cause the action to stick open and I did not have that problem anymore. Not a big deal, sanding it would fix that issue. Sad part is this new "modified heavy profile" was advertised by NEA as a drop in barrel, a fix to that exact problem they had with their previous profile. IMHO that is no deal breaker IF it was advertised accordingly.

I first tought the oversized barrel retaining ring was preventing the forend to travel all the way forward, therefore not allowing the bolt to lock in. Although it is definitely oversized that's not the case here. Anyway, even if it did I would be able to slide the pump back without to much effort. But it is stuck there.
My next guess; the bolt wedge itself in, the fit is so tight the bolt wedge itself in, I don't see much wear indicating that tho. I managed to lock the bolt in twice since yesterday (pumping like a mad man), but then it still require way too much effort to slide the pump back again.
Removing material/heavy polishing might fix that. Just like I'd need to do to the barrel extension eterior if I wanted to remove the barrel without a hammer.

Could be something else also. Guess I still have some thinking to do.
 
freddyfour said:
I couldn't get get my barrel to work on my DA and both of the Wingmasters I used to have. Ended up selling the DA and one Wingmaster and bought a 870P. I am determined to have a Canadian made shorty and Dlask didn't have any barrels at the time!
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Dlask barrels require sanding down of the forend as well...its a very thick and heavy barrel...
 
Stevo said:
Once I did that on my Wingmaster it worked fine. Does anyone know why NEA says the barrels won't work on Wingmasters?
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Yes, they had a couple of customers complain they wouldn't fit their shotguns, which just happen to be Wingmasters. Rather than try and figure out why the barrels don't work, they just issued a warning. All of these receivers are basically the same and an in spec barrel should swap between any of them, be they Wingmaster, Express, Police.

It looks like they can expand that warning to most variants of the 870.
 
I've been talking with Dave from NEA I have to give him a tumbs up for communication and making me feel like he cares, but I guess we'll agree to disagree here.

NEA seems to blame my receiver. They say all the issues are caused by the barrel not being seated properly. That their barrel are a tight fit because they are mil spec parkerized, and it will get better with time.

The options offered to me are:

1- install the barrel with a mallet, and wear it out with time.
2- send my receiver to NEA to have their armorer install the barrel at no cost.
3- send them the barrel for refund.

Have I been told installation of the NEA barrel required a mallet, and the barrel required some kind of break in period because it fits too tight in and out I would not have bought it.
So I'll hope for a refund... Problem is, the barrel has to be in the condition it was shipped in. But the bolt caused some wear in the barrel extension where it was hanging. There is also the fact that if they judge the barrel is in spec (whatever their spec are) they will likely charge me 25% re-stocking fees.

Here's a iPhone pic of the wear (I'll take a better one before I ship the barrel back):
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now we'll see what they have to say... And if I just lost time and sanity, or time sanity and money dealing with NEA.

If you were considering one I strongly suggest you reconsider. I'll never deal with them again myself.
 
There is also option #4: put the barrel on the EE ;)
But seriously, I'd feel bad for the poor guy who'd buy it. PM if your interested I guess, but be warned.

Back to NEA
 
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LittleBoyLefty said:
Mine arrived today. Fits perfect on an older Express receiver. Now off to the gunsmith for some XS sights.
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Perfect with a hammer or just perfect? ;)
And you can cycle the action without excessive force? Bolt didnt wear off part of the barrel like in the pic I posted?

There was no way I could install mine properly, not even "tapping" it in with a mallet like NEA suggested. Not with the amount of force I was comfortable putting into it anyway.
 
Ix said:
NEA seems to blame my receiver. They say all the issues are caused by the barrel not being seated properly. That their barrel are a tight fit because they are mil spec parkerized, and it will get better with time.
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This is why I won't buy NEA. While they seem very willing to work with unsatisfied customers, they always have some sort of excuse. Why can't they just admit that they have issues with these barrels? This is their third batch/version and there have been multiple reports of these not working in a lot of guns. It's got nothing to do with NEA though, you're Remington is out of spec and lots of manufacturers park the chamber and bore. What's that? You want a front sight? Well then, you must not be a serious end user of our product, our "clients" realize that this is a point and shoot weapon of mass destruction.

Yeah, that's right, its your receiver that isn't in spec. Give me a break.
 
The way I see it, if you make aftermarkets parts for a firearm, a good place to start to create your specs is to line them up within the factory's tolerance. Seems to me NEA pushed their "heavy profile" beyond that point.
 
Ix said:
Perfect with a hammer or just perfect? ;)
And you can cycle the action without excessive force? Bolt didnt wear off part of the barrel like in the pic I posted?

There was no way I could install mine properly, not even "tapping" it in with a mallet like NEA suggested. Not with the amount of force I was comfortable putting into it anyway.
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Very snug, no rubber mallet required. Action cycles fine. Ran a few magazines of slugs thru it as well. No problems.

Sorry yours is giving you grief. Hope you get it sorted. It shouldn't take a mallet, IMO. Seems kinda cheesey to suggest that as an option.
 
So NEA got the barrel back and still say their barrel is in spec. They refunded me (less shipping).

Dave told me the barrel was confirmed to be in Remington spec, so I took my receiver to work and tried 3 barrels of our 870 on it to see if something was wrong. They worked as any 870 barrel should, my receiver is fine.

So finally I lost 30$ with all this. Lesson learned.

I have to say again tho, Dave is a good guy, I'd deal with him anytime. I won't ever deal with NEA tho, but I can't blame him for being on their side I guess.
 
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