Rem 870 Jam

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TwoNiner

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So I just picked up my new Rem 870 18.5" tactical today. This is my first shotgun and I was intending to use it as my home defense gun. Put two A-zoom (snap cap like shells, not real shells) to test it out. Racked the first two rounds fine. Reloaded with the fake shells again, attempted to rack a shell and the gun jams. Both shells unloaded into the receiver at the same time. *** BBQ?

Also, after a few more loads trying to get it to jam again, the fake shells are getting all burred up on the end of the cap (where the primer would be), leaving me to think that if I keep practicing with them I'm going to get aluminum metal shavings in the gun.

Anyone had either of these problems? Again this is my first shotty. I'm not sure if the guns have trouble racking when they are new.
 
Snap caps don't always function as well as actual 12 ga rounds do, especially the plastic snap caps.

Snap caps do take a beating, metal or plastic.

I would shoot it first. I don't think your experience is indicative of any problems.
 
The A-Zooms come in pairs because they're usually used in double guns to release spring tension for storage.

They may not feed perfectly.

But... when you say you loaded them both, did you stick both in the magazine? Are you sure that both were inserted all the way. I think I've seen my 870 do that when the top shell wasn't stuffed all the way into the magazine.
 
all shells get burred from continueous loading and cycling in a pump. and try cycling with factory live loads in your house be carefull of course.
 
and listen to armed bear i think i had that problem before to becase i didnt push teh shell in far enough to the shell stop
 
I have the A-Zoom snap caps. I would not use them to practice cycling. They would get beat up pretty bad and pretty quickly. I use them only if I want to put the hammer down on the snap cap instead of an empty chamber. Also, you'll notice that they're not the same size as normal shells. You can't really expect a damaged dummy cap that's a different size to cycle reliably. That's pushing the limits of what an 870 was meant to do. Practice cycling by shooting clays with real ammo.
 
DON'T use live ammo to check cycling in the house, or anywhere else you might not want a big hole in something. There are "action proving dummies" for checking a repeating shotgun action that are the same length and weight as live rounds. Snap caps are to protect firing pins, not to check proper action function.

Live ammo is for safe places to shoot...

lpl

http://www.unholstered.com/webstore/product.php?productid=16635&cat=438&page=1
 
Ah shoot, I just bought some A-zoom snap caps. I don't intend to use them to validate proper cycling, I just want to practice loading and cycling at home before I go out to the range since I never really handled shotguns much up till now. I looked at those dummy rounds but figured they were too expensive - doh!
 
Great advice as always everyone. Thank you. I don't intend to use live rounds to practice cycling. I will take the gun to the range, fire a few hundred rounds, and then make a determination on the jamming. I have practiced cycling those two dummy rounds a dozen or so more times without a problem, but they are pretty beat up so I'll leave this were it is.

I'd like to get 6+1 of those dummies, but at $7 a pop thats pretty pricey. Of course, I paid $5/ea for my A-zooms. I don't want to buy those other ones if they're going to start releasing aluminum shrapnel in my guns. Will those hold up?

To answer Armed Bear's question, I'm not absolutely positive they were both inserted the entire way, perhaps I could have missed that. This is my first shotgun so I'm no expert. I'll pay much closer attention in the future and report back if I have any problems.
 
I find one of the best ways to break in a new HD/tactical (or really any) shotgun is with a few rounds of skeet.

Go prove your action with live fire. You can play around with the empty hulls when you're done.
 
No need to pay for the action proving dummies.Take some regular shells and drill through the plastic hull right above the brass and shake the powder out and spray some WD40 into the hole and let soak to deaden the primer.Make sure you have a safe backstop the first time you drop the hammer on them,but I have never had a primer survive the WD40 when sprayed into the shell.
 
C'mon, guys. We can do better than that...

-from the link:

Weight: 0.25 lbs
Price: $7.62
Quantity
Add to cart
Inert, Factory Spec Dummies Give Safe Function Testing . 12 GAUGE ROUNDS
Package of 5

lpl
 
I use solid aluminum proving rounds... they're red. Don't know the brand. They've held up pretty well over the years. I used to use a handful of shells reloaded without powder or new primer. That method balances better than the solid aluminum dummy.
 
I'm sorry, really. But I've been drinking you see.

I've been holding back from posting, because I know this forum is very polite and everything.

But christ.


Go shoot the thing.

A thousand times. Literally.

You may get SOME idea of how the gun works :)
 
A pump will kick back if you aren't holding the pump forward

No 870 in proper working condition will fire with the breech unlocked. Neither will it unlock the breech prematurely in such a fashion. There are mechanical failsafes in place to prevent that. An mechanically sound 870 can be fired without so much as a hand on the forearm without the action opening, and the bolt must be closed and locked before it will fire.

lpl
 
Slight clarification - if you fire an 870 without a hand on the fore end, odds are that after the round fires and the gun recoils and you stop it, the bolt will come back, possibly far enough to eject the shell. No worries, as Lee said, it had to be locked shut in order to fire. You see, Benelli didn't invent inertia after all.
The initial issue here was that some snap caps, including A-Zooms, are not the correct dimensions to do function tests. All the ones I have, except a couple of outrageously expensive chrome plated brass 28 gauge ones I bought ages ago, have greatly undersized rims, so the shell stops on repeaters frequently don't catch them correctly.
 
Twoniner:

It may be your carrier! Whenever I buy a new 870, that's the first thing I check is the carrier. You can tell if its out of adjustment by racking a shell VERY slowly into your chamber, if the top of the shell hits the top of the chamber, its out of adjustment. I adjust the carrier so that the shell slides right into the chamber dead center. I adjust my carrier by sticking a leather belt on the bottom of the receiver and then slightly "pry" up on the carrier with a regular screw driver. But remember, it doesn't take much so a little at a time is key!! After you get the carrier adjusted, you will notice a huge difference as to how smooth each shell goes into the chamber while racking.:D

-Good luck
 
Dummy rounds beat live rounds at home. Personally I always make adjustments to my shotgun with a hammer. :scrutiny:
 
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