870 Express Rant

OK, this is a pretty minor rant.

But I picked up my new Remington 870 Express 12 gauge yesterday and took it out to the trap range today.

It was late in the day so I only got to go thru 25 rounds - but that was pretty much enough.

Four cartridges out of five, after the gun fired, I couldn't get the slide "Fore-End" to slide back and eject the spent cartridge. The rangemaster "tapped" the but of the shotgun on the ground with authority to release it - and that's what I ended up doing most of the time I was there. He was pretty baffled - said he'd had to do that like 3 times in his life on other 870s - and here I had to pretty much every time.

From the manual:

Uh yeah. Ain't happenin'.

Everyone says these things are stupid reliable. I guess I'm just unlucky.

He suggested I give the shotgun a thorough cleaning - and if the prob doesn't go away send it back to Remington for repair. That is my plan, but this is where you experts come in - anything in particular I oughta be looking for/paying attention to on the 870 mechanism while I have it apart for a "normal" cleaning? Anyone seen dirt/contamination/lack of lube in key location/ cause this particular prob? I'm pretty much resigned to having to send it in... PITA.

I'm certainly no expert, but I've handled, fired, and cleaned various other guns. No shotguns until now though.

RESOLVED. The gun was repaired at a factory authorized gunsmith and now works fine. Read the entire thread for details.

 

sounds like it might be ammo related? Did you try different kinds? Maybe a bad batch of whatever kind you were shooting or the gun doesn't agree with that brand....
Every 870 ive seen would spit out whatever you fed it. If it kept it up i would ship it back.

 

^^ good advice. as they others have said, 870's are awesome. . i wouldn't quite give up on it yet. that wear in time and a good cleaning will probably fix your problem. kind of like when you get a new key cut and you can barely get it in the lock. takes some time for it to get worn down a little bit before it slides in an out with ease.

that's just the theory i came up with while reading your post. it might be entirely stupid advice, but pump shotguns do slide and eject smoother after shooting them a few months. RemOil her up and send another 100 rounds through it and then go from there.

 

Damn, I've been researching this gun and heard great things about them. I'm between buying a Remington 870 Express and a Mossberg 500 at the moment. I hope you get this resolved!

 

did it have any lube on it at all? moving parts need lube

 

Did you clean the cosmaline out before you shot it? When that shit heats up it gets nasty and will make a gun not run correctly. All new guns should be thoroughly cleaned before you shoot them.

 

My brother in law had the exact same issue with his new 870. I recommended a good cleaning but he hasn't shot it since so I can't confirm that it's working properly now. I don't think it's the ammo because my Benelli worked flawlessly with the same shells (taken from the same box).

 

Ya I would say clean then oil oil oil

 

I have a bum 22lr from Remington. Never worked right from day 1 regardless of ammo used. Sadly I never returned it like I should have and now I'm stuck with it.

That's my first/last Remington for sure.

 

Ammo should not be an issue as its a pump and not an auto.

OP clean the white packing grease out and lube her up nice and I bet that your issue will be resolved.

Let us know the result

 

870s are wonderful shotguns. You'll get it resolved.

 

I fired countless rounds through an 870 and never had a failure. I would suspect the ammo first.

 

that's strange, my 870 worked day 1 out of the box, I put 50 rounds through it the same day I bought it without any cleaning without so much of a hiccup. I would send it back for them to check it out for sure.

 

^^!

 

how is it an ammo issue when we are talking about a pump shotgun?

you guys are thinking the shell expanded to a point the action cant be recycled? i have an old 870, and it is super smooth..was this 870 cleaned first before the range?

 

My 870 Magnum gets hung up sometimes when I am shooting 2 3/4 shells.

 

I was going to buy an 870 when i first got my license a few years ago. I know people love them, and the old ones were great.. but I read a shit ton of reviews on the new ones being hit and miss (lots of people having problems with them). I went with a Mossberg and had 0 problems. Bought a Remington 700 rifle, and the scope mounting holes were out of allignment. Id send it back to Remington and see what happens.

 

I didn't pre clean it -- it went straight out of the box to the case to the range.

Yeah, I know cleaning first is "best practice" But I also know that like Beavis076 above more than a few folks skip that step as a practical matter.

I'll clean it this coming weekend and get another chance to shoot it the following weekend - if not before.

 

I am betting this is your problem, that packing grease is like syrup in your gun.

 

I had the same problem with an 870 express, and only with certain ammo (meaning cheap). Turns out the chamber was rough, had it polished and never a problem since. I think this is a relatively common problem unfortunately.