870 feeding problem....

[Big D]

Hey yall. I recently put a Choate mag ext. on my 870, and took it out today to field test it. The mag extension worked fine, but the clamp fell off, so I had to torque it down more. Anyways, the shotgun has had a problem feeding for a while now....even before I put the Choate ext. on it. Until now, I really didnt have an idea of what was causing the problem. Today, I believe I identified it. The shell lifter will fail to bring the shell up enough to go straight into the chamber; the edge of the shell will be just enough below the mouth of chamber that it will butt up against the chamber mouth and will not go in. It does this sporadically....and I do not know what causes this. I do not believe short stroking would cause this, but I am not 100% certain. Its a good thing I have my Mossberg 500A Mariner, or I'd be without a reliable shotgun. Anyway replies are appreciated.

 

[KBintheSLC]

Your post caught my eye... my 870 has always been 100%, but I assume there could be a bad apple in any batch. If you shell feeder is not pushing the shells to the right angle, that could definitely cause a problem.

Is the spring old? Is the shell feeder bent?

The short stroke thing might be it... I stroke mine fast and hard (no pun intended) and thats how it likes it.

 

[Big D]

Well, I thought I was short strokin' at first, but made sure when I took it out this time to notice that, and I don't believe I did. The gun is about 22 years old. See I have an '06 870 20ga Youth that I bought new, and have never had a single jam with it. This gun was used before my brother bought it back in the early 90's, and he used the snot out of it deer huntin', and then I got it from him. I am just tryin to figure out what exactly is wrong with it....

 

[dfariswheel]

You might try replacing the carrier dog spring and plunger.
These are the parts that give the carrier (lifter) power.

Parts number 9 and 10:
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/sc...ngton®&model=870+Standard+Weight-+12,+16,+20+

They fit into the trigger group under the carrier dog, part number 8.

 

[mnrivrat]

Bent lifter - I've fixed more than a few of these over the years and it doesn't take much time. If you look at the front of your lifter in relationship to the receiver and compare it to another 870, you will see the front of the lifter sets lower than it should on your gun.

The fix is to remove the trigger housing assy, then remove the lifter from the assy.
Lay the lifter on a flat surface in the same position it sits in the gun, and smack it at the high part of the arch with a hammer to take a bit of the arch out of it. This will raise the front of the lifter when placed back into the gun.

OK - I know - that sounds a little crude. Don't get carried away with the hammer . You can also set the part up in the vise sideways and clamp it with the vise jaws until it straightens the lifter out a little bit, but a smack with the hammer is quicker !