Trouble with 870 opening after shot?

Buzzballer

Buzzballer

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Hey guys, Im having problems with my 870. When ever I fire a round from it I keep finding that the extractor and pump cycle back and open up. I realize that with some heavy loads this can typically happen and some times is viewed as a good thing. But I'm finding even with light loads such as 12ga #4 shot that this is happening. Now of course it may be my technique is at fault. But to keep it from happening I would have to actively push the for end furniture forward. And I have not seen this happen in other guns Iv shot.

Is there a part that can wear or break in an 870 and have this happen?

Any help would be great.

Thanks
 
Buzzballer said:
Hey guys, Im having problems with my 870. When ever I fire a round from it I keep finding that the extractor and pump cycle back and open up. I realize that with some heavy loads this can typically happen and some times is viewed as a good thing. But I'm finding even with light loads such as 12ga #4 shot that this is happening. Now of course it may be my technique is at fault. But to keep it from happening I would have to actively push the for end furniture forward. And I have not seen this happen in other guns Iv shot.

Is there a part that can wear or break in an 870 and have this happen?

Any help would be great.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I would say yes. Mine will do it with heavy loads if I do not put a controlling grip on the fore grip.
 
I do have my hand on the forgrip while firing. Perhaps it's my mistake but I would imagine the gun is designed to stay closed until you pull on the grip and release the lock? It just seems way to easy. If I put magnum 3" rounds through it, it causes a lot of short strokes. (Which obviously is me not fully pulling it back on rabid fire)

Can their be wear on the locking mechanism that holds the bolt carrier shut?
 
The 870s I've owned and currently own are designed for speed, they unlock and the remaining gasses/inertia help push the action open to facilitate a rapid rechambering.
 
Sorry I guess I should fill in the blanks, the gun is an 870 express about 5 years old, and has around 1000-1200 rounds through it. It currently is wearing a 12.5" barrel (not sure that would make a difference) and is sporting the OEM black plastic furniture.

Iv shot most of my life but this is the only pump I personally own, and don't have that extensive experiance around shot guns though (typically its bolt action rifles, pistols and black gas guns).

But it sounds like this is generally how they seem to be? Iv shot a few mossberg 500's that seemed to require more force to cycle the action.

Thank you very much for all your thoughts.
 
when you pull the trigger, this will allow the action to cycle. You are saying that when you fire a heavy load; the recoil of the round opens the action? like its starts the ejection process?

That's completely normal in any pump shotgun.
I pull back on the fore grip to get it right snug in my shoulder, and this is how I normally fire and cycle the gun.
Doesn't matter the type Browning, Mossberg, Fabarm, Remington...hand me a shotgun and I'll teach you how to cycle a round right stinkin fast using the recoil to your advantage.
 
Alright thanks for the input every one, I will assume it's my technique that needs to improve not an issue with the gun. That's good to know!

And yes hoochie, exactly as you said, once the trigger is pulled the round goes off and it seems like the recoil of the round starts the action in its cycle.
 
Buzzballer said:
Alright thanks for the input every one, I will assume it's my technique that needs to improve not an issue with the gun. That's good to know!

And yes hoochie, exactly as you said, once the trigger is pulled the round goes off and it seems like the recoil of the round starts the action in its cycle.
Click to expand...

You dont want to shoot then think about pumping. Its one sequence, so that the gun is ready to go for a another shot. Dont think about shooting, then cycling. Make it one action. Subconscious, as soon as you touch the trigger.
 
blasted_saber said:
You dont want to shoot then think about pumping. Its one sequence, so that the gun is ready to go for a another shot. Dont think about shooting, then cycling. Make it one action. Subconscious, as soon as you touch the trigger.
Click to expand...

Iv never heard it explained that way but it makes perfect sense! I'll try it next time I'm out with the gun and see if that makes the difference! Thanks!
 
Your forehand should be pushing the pump forward when firing, and your rear hand pulls the stock into your shoulder. The force you impart on the shotgun should be like this...<____>. Then cycle. If you're shooting/ holding the pump like a rifle ( either <_____ or <_____<), when the recoil occurs, your forehand will partially cycle the action.

{another tip if your new to a shotgun: Unless it's set with rifle sights (slug gun), shoot with both eyes open. Don't "aim" the shotgun as you would with your rifles, rather point it. (you'll instinctively know when to fire) Try it, I guarantee you'll hit more birds.}
 
plinker 777 said:
Your forehand should be pushing the pump forward when firing, and your rear hand pulls the stock into your shoulder. The force you impart on the shotgun should be like this...<____>. Then cycle. If you're shooting/ holding the pump like a rifle ( either <_____ or <_____<), when the recoil occurs, your forehand will partially cycle the action.

{another tip if your new to a shotgun: Unless it's set with rifle sights (slug gun), shoot with both eyes open. Don't "aim" the shotgun as you would with your rifles, rather point it. (you'll instinctively know when to fire) Try it, I guarantee you'll hit more birds.}
Click to expand...

An excellent post, a wise shooter would follow this advice....and seek training.

Tdc
 
plinker 777 said:
Your forehand should be pushing the pump forward when firing, and your rear hand pulls the stock into your shoulder. The force you impart on the shotgun should be like this...<____>. Then cycle.
Click to expand...

There are 2 techniques. The one you describe, "push/pull" and the one I spoke of "pull/pull".
I have to say that the smoothest cycling of the shotgun I have ever seen is from "pull/pull" and recoil seems to be managed much better by smaller people with the "pull/pull" technique. Neither is right, nor wrong; but people using the "push/pull" seem to be awkward and have a harder time managing recoil.
 
Well I hate for you to take all the noob shame, so I'll throw my story into the mix too:

As a kid, I got my first shotgun (winchester 1300) with a rifled barrel. All I knew was rifles, so I grabbed some magnum slugs and headed to the gravel pit. I put 2 in the tube, chambered 1, and put a third in the tube. I knew that once I pulled the trigger, it would unlock the action, and I'd read that a portion of the gasses are used to help push the action back (I think winchester calls it "PumpAssist".

So I aimed at an old soup can and pulled the trigger. The recoil was profoundly more than I'd expected. When I gathered myself, I tried to pump in the next round but the action was still locked. "Oh great. So much for buying a maintenance free new gun." So I hit the release, ejected the empty shell, and pumped in a new shell. I fired again, and sure enough, the action was locked again. "Damn"

So again, I hit the release to eject the shell and pulled the pump back. To my surprise, nothing came out. Not only was there nothing in the chamber, but my third round wasn't even in the tube anymore. I wish I'd had a picture of what my face looked like at that moment, standing there alone in a gravel pit wondering how the heck I'd managed to do that.

As I pondered my sanity, I bent down to paw through the long grass and retrieve the one spent shell. Well lo and behold I found 2 spent shells and a live one! Then it clicked and I figured out what had happened:

Amidst the jarring recoil on my first shot, my slick leather gloved hands didn't feel the pump action release and get forced back so hard that the action bounced off he rearward limit of travel and slammed closed again with a fresh round in the chamber. When I thought I had ejected my first spent round, I was actually ejecting my second live round out and into the grass, and clambering my third round. The same thing happened with my second shot but this time there was nothing left for it to chamber.

That's when I learned the importance of a proper grip!! :)



For what it's worth, the gun only does this with magnum slugs. Shooting regular slugs with my hand completely off the pump will eject the shell. Shooting bird shot will just unlock the action and move back about an inch and a half. But if I keep my hand off while shooting magnums, it shoots just like a semi. I doubt it's very good for the gun though, so I haven't done it since that first experimentation day.

Cheers and happy shooting,

KJ
 
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