So the 870 has an internal lock....

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So the "almighty" Remington 870 has an internal lock much like the S&W revolvers.

If you've been around the revolver guys, you know how much fuss a lot of them make out of this internal lock system.

So why aren't you guys making a fuss about the lock system on the 870? Just curious.
 
I'm not crazy about the 870 lock, but at least it doesn't disfigure the appearance of the gun like the revolver lock does.
 
So why aren't you guys making a fuss about the lock system on the 870?
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Probably because it has already been discontinued and was easy enough to swap out on guns made during the short time it was produced.
 
So why aren't you guys making a fuss about the lock system on the 870? Just curious.
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Some of us did make a fuss. Unlike S&W, Remington listened and got rid of the lock.

I never owned an 870 with a lock, since most of my 870s are about as old as I am, but I still complained to them about the locks because my customers complained to me about the locks.
 
Ooooooh.


I lucked out big time.

How long did they make the 870 with the lock?
 
I've had my safety unlocked since I got it, and haven't had it lock up on me. It's not even there as far as I'm concerned. A tiny j shaped line in a safety doesn't bother me enough to go and install a regular one.
 
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FWIW - I just swapped my safety from RH - LH and got rid of the key at the same time. $26 and if it took me 5 minutes I'd be really surprised . . .probably more like 2 minutes.

Have a good one,
Dave
 
pdowg - less to go wrong. Also, if its not there you can't accidentally leave it locked, leave home without the J key, get out to the hunting blind and find out you're gun is nothing but an expensive club until you get back home.

The J lock on the safety was just a replacement for an external trigger lock. Which are fairly useless anyway, unless you have children running around and nothing else to secure the gun.

My new 870 came with a regular cross bolt safety and an external trigger lock. The trigger lock now sits in the bottom of a drawer.
 
As for how long - good question. Couple years?
I couldn't find much on the issue.
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This is a very good question because if it was only a few months, there could be major problems down the road. They haven't had years (like S&W) to implement this internal lock into the 870s. And there won't be enough 870 guns with the internal lock out in circulation to know if there are major problems. All current S&W wheel guns have the lock, so any design failure and most would know.
 
... or it might be a collector's item, if few enough were made.

I had one on a model 700. It seemed less likely to misbehave than the S&W and accounts of the S&W adopting poltergeists are out there but exceedingly rare.

Anything's possible but major problems down the road strike me has improbable based on what I've seen. Remington's lawyers are as nervous as any and they've been silent. They're still running the bolt-lock manual safety recall though (different issue).
 
what's all involved in removing the j-lock (and making sure the safety is still, well, "safe")?

i've thought about removing mine since i never lock it. i have two barrels for mine, and when at home i keep the 18" one on but still keep the gun in a bag unlocked but accessible, in case i need it for home protection (main go-to is a .357 gp100, but if i have time i'll spend the extra 30 seconds to get the 870). the presence of the j-lock is sort of a concern, since i've heard stories of people accidentally locking them and if in a home defense situation, that could be absolutely disasterous. i guess i haven't really been completely concerned that it will randomly lock itself, but i also really don't want to chance it. plus, like i said, i have never used the j-lock and really wouldn't miss it at all.
 
I can't resist...Nah nah!! Boo boo!!! :neener:

Not all new Remington 870s have the internal lock...only some do. :evil: And no, I haven't modified anything. I don't do internal locks. I shop until I find a new one without it, or I buy the models that don't have a lock. :cool: Psych!!!
 
I have an 870 Express with the lock. It has over 10,000 rounds through it.

Never had a single problem with the lock. I've locked it once or twice, for some reason I can't remember. Maybe I was leaving it in my Jeep for a little bit.

I might take the lock out, but it's a hunting gun and I do throw the key in my bag when I take it out, in case I might want to lock it for some reason. (Locked is more "idiot proof", if I might be in the company of idiots.) Either way, unless I convert it to HD use at some point, nobody's gonna die if it's locked.:)
 
If you search the term "J-lock" I think you'll find plenty negative comments about it.

I have disassembled an 870 to unlock the J-lock in a hunt camp because a fellow duck hunter forgot his little green key and had to loan my gun to a clay shooter because he did the same.

I won't have one on a gun that I own. They get swapped out immediately.
 
I locked my Steyr S9 while leaving it in the car to go into the post office. 2 days later I discovered that I had forgotten to unlock it. That was the last time I ever used the lock.
 
Why don't you just unlock it and forget about it? Obviously if it is locked than there is the possibility of losing or not having the key, but unlocked it functions like the regular safety.
 
Why don't you just unlock it and forget about it? Obviously if it is locked than there is the possibility of losing or not having the key, but unlocked it functions like the regular safety.
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Exactly.

The few times I've ever locked it, I locked it in the field, when I had the key with me, again, just as an added bit of insurance against stupid gun handling by others. I didn't lock it at home.
 
Why don't you just unlock it and forget about it? Obviously if it is locked than there is the possibility of losing or not having the key, but unlocked it functions like the regular safety.
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I think the concern is that there have a been a few reports of it engaging without the key.
 
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