Odd 870 Jam

[Guyon]

Was patterning a new 870 for turkey yesterday. After the first round--a 3" Hevi-Shot load--I tried to pump the action to eject the spent hull and got nothing. Wouldn't budge a bit.

I thought it was just a stuck shell, so I removed the barrel along with the forearm assembly and eased the two apart. Tapped the shell out from the muzzle end with a long wooden dowel. Problem solved, I thought.

Put the gun back together, and the action still wouldn't budge. Tried several things, but to make a long story shorter, I finally noticed that the locking block assembly that rides in the breech bolt was stuck. I've broken down enough 870s to notice that this locking block has some vertical play in it by design (it rides up and down inside the breech bolt). But mine had wedged somehow. I tapped it lightly from underneath using a dowel and it freed up.

On the next shot the action stuck at first, but then I was able to cycle it. On the next two shots, the action cycled just fine.

Wondering if anyone here has had this same problem with the breech bolt/locking block. Also, would you chalk it up to "new gun, still a little tight", or do you think that the part needs to be replaced? My first inclination is to just shoot the dickens out of the thing and see if there's another hiccup.

FWIW, the gun patterned great at 40 yards on the last shot (after the last sight adjustment).

 

[marklbucla]

"new gun, still a little tight",

That's my vote because it happened to me on the first two or three trips with my 870. Just clean and lube it good and it'll go away in a trip or two.

 

[Robert Hairless]

My own admittedly limited experience with brand new 870s is that they've all been a little balky in extracting spent shells from time to time. They seem to need a short break-in period as marklbucla said. At least that's been my experience.

 

[Fred Fuller]

"Was patterning a new 870..."
=======================

I'd chalk it up to a new gun still full of sticky factory gunk, as a first guess. Clean and lube, clean and lube and if that doesn't work clean and lube some more. IOW, get a spray can of RemOil etc. and wet the bolt assy/locking lug down (but keep the chamber dry). I like to use a bit of grease on the locking lug/recess and bolt slide also, but lighter lube should work OK in the short term.

Then think about other possibilities if it still doesn't work.

lpl/nc

 

[Flatfender]

Does your new 870 only have a 2-3/4" chamber?

 

[mp510]

I have a 870 .410, and it has had very few rounds through it. It also has a lot more malfunctions than the other 870's with more rounds through them.

 

[ArmedBear]

Certain rounds don't eject well.

Cheap Winchester rounds are the worst. Some cheap rounds don't even eject from my single-barrel break-action trap gun. Nothing should stick in that, but they do. It's not my 870's fault, I can say that much.

Remington rounds and smooth Winchesters feed flawlessly in my 870 and always have.

I'd guess that a clean and oiled 870 will be fine.

 

[only1asterisk]

Lee is right, this is the "new gun" jam. It happens almost everytime a person shoots an out-of-the-box 870 without scrubbing the chamber. There must be 10 threads about it here and I've seen it myself at the range. Nothing 5 minutes of cleaning will not cure.


David

 

[Geno]

My Last 870 Did the Same

About 2 years ago, I bought one of the extended tube (7-shot, home-defense type) 870. At first, the locking block was quite sticky. After a box of rounds was put through it, it worked fine.

Doc2005

 

[tangodown]

Yeah shells stick in my 870 too... or at least they did. Havent had that problem for a while now, and was really worried for a time.

 

[ArmedBear]

It's a good idea to wipe the whole 870 down with Break-Free, Bullfrog, or some such lube/anti-rust spray when you get it. Remington doesn't clean off the chemicals very well so you can get rust if you don't do it.

That's my only complaint after thousands of rounds through my 870 Express, though. Cheap, durable, reliable. Just comes dirty from the factory.

 

[Guyon]

All my guns get cleaned before I shoot them. This one was no exception.

It wasn't a stuck shell. It was definitely the locking block assembly sticking in the bolt. Even with no shell in the chamber, it wouldn't move until I bumped it loose.

The shell, however, was a 3" Remington Hevi-Shot in #5.

 

[only1asterisk]

Sorry Guyon,

I assumed, you know what happens then!

David

 

[Guyon]

Hey, it's quite possible that I didn't get the bolt assembly good enough, but when I eyeballed it, it didn't appear to have any gunk on it. So it just got a quick wipe down with CLP.

Odd in that it only jammed after firing. Never when trying to cycle the action before a shot.

 

[bgold]

I have seen that problem, and polishing the forcing cone took care of it. The Express (I assume yours is) has a bit of a rough cast and can make ejecting spent shells very hard. Some guns are fine (all mine have been) but I took care of several others in this manner. PM me if you would like to know how to do it.

 

[surplus]

I had the exact same thing happen a year ago with my old 870 express. Fired a 3" turkey load and the thing jammed up. Hitting the stock butt on the ground and shucking the action got the shell out. I think the massive recoil was something that 870 didn't like.