Problem with a new 870

arcaner

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
Hi,

Just wanted to ask the question in case someone could help me. I recently bought a new remington 870 express super magnum. I have a small problem with it.
On the first 2 or 3 shot during a day, every time I take it out, the action seem to jam for like 2 or 3 second after a shoot. (I cannot pump it at all whatever hard I try, then it work. If I wait, it work everytime)

After those 2 or 3 first shot in the day, it work without any problem for the rest of the day. (I can pump it without a problem)

Is it something you guys ever saw or is it just me ?

(Just so you now, this happen every time I take the shotgun, not just the first time I took it out)

About 200 round fired since I bought it.

Is there any maintenance I should do ? the only thing i did is clean the barel after each use ( its clean ).
 
It seems this problem is quite common with the newer Express 870's i would take it back and look at a Browning BPS or some other brand . it seems Remington wants to compete with norinco and other off shore junk so they lowered there quailty .
 
Last edited:
Hi everyone,
I own 2 870's, one was purchased in 2001, the other just before xmas this year. Both Express Magnum. I've never had a jam with the older one. It has been my sole hunting/sporting clays gun for 10 years, so it has eaten a lot of ammo. The new one jammed constantly. It was sent to the gravel agency(authorized Canadian Remington warrenty repair) before xmas, and has still not returned. Same problem as described here, plus an additional one, the extractor and plunger spring fell out of the bolt (probably from holding the forestock, and slamming the but on the ground to clear spent hull). After many calls to the gravel agency, and being told that they're waiting for parts(new extractor, plunger spring, and barrel) from Remington, I called Remington. I talked to a fellow from the Southern states who told me that their manufacturing plant had to be shut down recently due to incorrect tolerences, causing all these jamming complaints (burr in the barrel). I also found out that I'm going to be waiting a while for the parts because there's such a backlog of 870's in for warranty repair, they're running out of the parts. I love my old 870, but I would not recommend anyone getting a new one, at least until this problem is fixed, and all the defective models have been sold. Brutal way to tarnish their reliablity.....
 
A good friend of mine struggled with his 3.5 inch Super Express- slamming it on the ground etc to the point that once when it opened it cut his fingers bad. He had sent it back twice.

I took it and saw that a used 3.5 inch hull would not fit into the chamber without being pounded out with a rod. A 3 inch was not a whole lot better tho.

I used my trusty Brownells shotgun hone kit ($15 or so - it is like a small car brake hone)and drill and 5 minutes later it worked like it should have in the first place. Just honing the middle of the chamber and up to the depth of an opened 3.5 inch shell is all it needed.

I loved the old Remingtons - I use a Benelli Nova now, but my friend is short with short arms and he really does fit the Remingtons better.

It works great and he thinks I can work magic. He complains that why did I not fix it earlier rather than watch him struggle for 2 seasons? To which I replied that he never asked.
 
Last edited:
I have a 870 super magnum, bought in august. I have about 1000 rounds out of it so far, mostly trap loads and some game loads for rabbits. Have goose rounds, but haven't shot them yet. So far I have only encountered 2 serious jams of the action. Had to take the barrel off to get the shell out.

What I had noticed that it wasn't the gun per say, but the cheap winchester shells I was running had issues with the brass. The brass expanded so far that is was holding the shell in the chamber. Sure hope you figure out your problem.
 
Its the gun not the shells Chamber tolerances are incorrect not that cheap shells may not be a factor . Every thing today is geared towards low manufacture cost and high prophets. Globalization.!! I hate that word Cheap I see it a lot on these forms well this Fraze is still valid you get what you pay for .
 
Arcaner, are you oiling the chamber after you clean (I would guess you are)? If so, do you wipe it dry before you take it out shooting? An oily chamber can make the hulls stick. This might explain why only the first few rounds stick on you each time. A poorly machined chamber, or cheap shells would most likely stick every shot, or randomly like 1st, 5th or 23rd round, not first 2 or 3 after every cleaning.

For what its worth my dad has an 870 super mag, and has had no issues with it other than being a bit stiff to cycle till he had about 2 boxes through it. This is using cheap Winchester and Federal shells. I still like my Mossberg 500's better though.;)

Jim
 
870 Express in 3.5" magnums are the real culprits, not regular 870 express (2 3/4" and 3"). They work fine. While "Express" and "Express Magnum" have the same barrel, they have different actions. It would appear that the Magnum actions are defective.

Bought a non-magnum 870 last year. Around 1500 rounds of all kinds and sizes through it. If they are cheap, they have met my gun! Including Winchesters. Not one jam so far.
 
870 Express in 3.5" magnums are the real culprits, not regular 870 express (2 3/4" and 3"). They work fine. While "Express" and "Express Magnum" have the same barrel, they have different actions. It would appear that the Magnum actions are defective.

Bought a non-magnum 870 last year. Around 1500 rounds of all kinds and sizes through it. If they are cheap, they have met my gun! Including Winchesters. Not one jam so far.[/QUOT


I guess they've dropped the "Magnum" name off their 3" models. My older version with 3" chamber is called Express Magnum. 3 1/2 are called Super Magnum. A lot of the newer 3" expresses are defective, according to Logan from Remington.
 
here you go arcaner

I used my trusty Brownells shotgun hone kit ($15 or so - it is like a small car brake hone)and drill and 5 minutes later it worked like it should have in the first place. Just honing the middle of the chamber and up to the depth of an opened 3.5 inch shell is all it needed.
It works great and he thinks I can work magic. He complains that why did I not fix it earlier rather than watch him struggle for 2 seasons? To which I replied that he never asked.

It would appear that most if not all that read the post have missed the fix.
I owned several 870's (3) over the years and it would seem the post Y2K express models are the ones with sticky chambers.

You can take a 1/2'' wooden dowel about 8 inches long, cut a slit in the top end of it, stick some 180 grit sand paper in the slit and place the other end in a hand drill and lightly ream the bur out of it .Simple, or as farshot said get a Brownells shotgun hone kit and follow those instructions....
Simple ???? Well if I had posted pictures yes it would have.
I will not buy another express , but rather save my money for the Deluxe Version ...870 WingMaster and no problemo again.
Cheers,
Rob
 
Arcaner, are you oiling the chamber after you clean (I would guess you are)? If so, do you wipe it dry before you take it out shooting? An oily chamber can make the hulls stick. This might explain why only the first few rounds stick on you each time. A poorly machined chamber, or cheap shells would most likely stick every shot, or randomly like 1st, 5th or 23rd round, not first 2 or 3 after every cleaning.

For what its worth my dad has an 870 super mag, and has had no issues with it other than being a bit stiff to cycle till he had about 2 boxes through it. This is using cheap Winchester and Federal shells. I still like my Mossberg 500's better though.;)

Jim

Thanks for the anwser, in fact, no, i did not put any oil in the barel or chamber. (or action) In fact, i never cleaned or touched anything else than the barel.

For the ammo, I used the winchester AA (6$ per box of 25) 2 3/4. Just so you guys know the pump is jammed only for about 2 or 3 second, then it work like a charm. I just want to know if its the same jam that other people experienced ??


(because as far as i know, the empty shell is not stuck, only the pump is stuck) aka I never see an empty round stuck in the chamber with the action open. Is that normal ?? or is that when the pump jam its because the round is jam in the chamber ??
 
The shell head is expanding into a burr in the chamber. As the shell cools a little and springs back some it will release. Some burrs are so bad the shells never lets go of the burr. The steel wool and oil on brass brush on a drill fix will solve your problems. You will find that better quality ammo will work better because of the brass case heads vs the aluminium or whatever metals are used on the cheap stuff. The brass head don't seem to grab the buurs as hard. Don't use sandpaper. You want to polish the chamber not remove material.

regards, Darryl
 
Back
Top Bottom