870 Failure! Shocking, and strange...

C

Coronach

New member
OK, I can't post digital photos (no digital camera), and my nomenclature skills on shotgun internals are not the best, but I'll give it a, er, shot (as it were):

I was using dummy rounds to polish up my moves with my new Speedfeed III PG-equipped tactical ubergun. When my PD moved to PG-equipped SGs I had a little trouble adapting readily, so I modified my HD SG to the specs I use on-duty. Anyway, I was working away, and suddenly the gun failed to go into battery when I pushed the forearm forward. I paused, looked through the ejection port and, seeing no cause for the bind, pulled back and pushed forward again, more forcefully. No dice.

I pull back again, roll the gun over, dropping out the dummy rounds, and clear the tube. This is what I see:

Looking through the ejection port, on the far wall of the reveiver, there is a slot running fore and aft. In that slot is a piece of springy steel, anchored in front with a pin and free to push outwards at the rear. The bolt has travelled behind the end of this piece of steel, which has popped out in front of it. Thanks to my initial and secondary (more forceful) attempts to get the gun to go into battery, the bolt pushed forward and bent this piece completely out of whack.

Yes, I can and will probably just haul this SG to my department gunsmith, who will be able to fix it quickly, and likely for free. I'm just curious exactly what happened and why. Was the bolt travelling too far aft, or is the springy steel bit to blame (and what exactly is its name? :P)

Also, is this common? I've never heard of this happeneing before, so I'm guessing 'no.'

Thanks,
Mike
 
This did not happen. I've read on TFL that guns do not break, especially "brand x" and KSFreeman's constant harping about having backup or multiple copies of the same weapon is silly and misguided.:D

This malfunction/jam is only common if you really need the weapon.
 
Ejector assembly

Sounds like one or both of the rivets securing the ejector (small steel rail) or ejector spring ("springy steel") gave way. Happens sometimes but not a common event.
 
I bet it would be a "common failure" if it hadn't happened to the sacred 870. Post something similar about a Mossy or a Winny and the thread will be flooded with 870 worshippers pointing out your stupidity for not toeing the line and buying the 870. Just one more example that proves that ALL weapons are subject to failures. I'm a Winchester 1300 fan, and I'll be the first to tell you that the ejector on them is pathetically weak...just like the 870.

Edit: Spellcheck
 
Last edited:
Now now now...I'm an 870 supporter, and I don't think anyone has ever claimed that either 1. 870s are infallible or 2. that mossies or Winnies suck.

Ejector spring, eh? Thanks for the terminology. This will deprive my PD armorer of the laugh he would otherwise have had if I walked in and said "My steel springy thingy is jammed in front of my bolt doohicky."

Mike :D

PS is there a fix I can do here at home? I'm a DIY kinda guy, and it never hurts to learn how to fix things...
 
Are you SURE that the gun is an 870? Positively?

Now if it was one of those POS Mossies or Winnies the whole gun would have disassembled itself had you tried the same thing.:D

Must have been sabotaged by a jealous mossberg gunsmith. Yeah! Thats the ticket! :D


Fix, watch your back here man! :cool:
 
Mike,

Yes , you probably can fix your 870 at home ; it may be more of a pain and the results may be as esthetic as you like but the repair will be done , sorta , as follows .

Inspect again : the ejector spring is in a "housing" that is held
to the receiver by two rivets that are inserted from the outside
of the receiver . Is the housing damaged ? If damaged , it may
be best to replace it .

Get parts : as the other contributor said , you need the two
rivets and at least the spring and maybe the housing.

Remove the ejector spring and housing : by grinding off the
heads of the rivets from the inside of the receiver . pull out
the spring and the housing .

Check the parts fit : Most rivets have a"head" that is made a bit
thick so that it (the head) can be finished flush with the receiver
That may mean a bigger spot re-blue of the rivets and the area
of the receiver that your grinding and polishing affects . If you
are really patient , you can achieve excellent results by repeat-
ed grind/check/grind some more/ check/ polish/blue the rivets.

Install : If the rivets don't have a chamfer on the shank , put a
fairly generous one on both rivets to ease assembly .put the
rivets through the receiver and slip the housing over the rivets
and against the receiver and then slip on the ejector spring .

You have to peen the expopsed shank of each rivet into a head
that will be strong enough to take the pounding that the shell
heads will deliver upon extraction.

All this may not be worth the expense of a gunsmith , but , if you crave independence , it will be worth everything you put into the
project .

Hawkaaa53
 
Mike, see if you can get a copy of Kuhnhausen's manual. They cover this well.

Fix, as the resident 870 guru, I guess that flame was directed at me. Never have I said that 870s were perfect and immortal, they just go longer betwen glitches than other shotguns. Proof? Name one major agency or dept that uses either Mossies or Winchesters. It's not because the 870s is cheaper, because it's not.

As to why this happened, well past my diagnostic abilities. I'd haul it to an armorer...
 
Who said the 870's were perfect? It's just that they're not cheap pieces of junk. You know, like those Mossy's and 1300's! ;) LOL
Mike
 
Why on earth would you assume that? You hadn't even posted to this thread yet...

You 870 guys always have that chip on your shoulder.:D :D :D
 
Mossbergs and Winchesters SUCK!!!:barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf:

Truth be told, I can't recall a single department I've encountered that uses either of them. That's really strange as much as Mossberg touts their gun as being "Tougher" than the 870.

Funny, Ithacas have been used for years by many police departments. Most notable is the LAPD where they gained a reputation for being "Cop Killers." Stupid LA cops would keep their finger on the trigger and shuck a round in the chamber while pointing it at their buddies!!! The Ithaca is the slickest gun out there. Watch the movies... Terminator, Aliens, L.A. Confidential... all packed with hard-core Ithaca ACTION!!!

My HD gun is still a Remington.

Went shooting with a Friend. He had a Winchester and shot it side by side with my Remington Express... He asked me to sell his Winney so he could get the Remington!

Yes, the Ejectors are the weakest part of the gun and are known to break. Thankfully, the Ithaca has an ejector integral to the receiver! :D
 
Um, pardon me, but I believe the shotgun used in Terminator was a Winchester Model 1887, a lever-action shotgun.


My bases are covered. I have both. A Win 1300 and a Remmie 870. I have to admit, though, I like my 870 better.
 
Picking-up uh-ohs

Mike ,

Gotta start editing - - -

If the housing is undamaged , you probably can remove just the front rivet and replace it and the ejector spring .

When installing both parts , fit both rivets but install the rear first
and the front last ; the spring has only the front hole to allow the
spring to move to the rear as it is depressed by the bolt . The rivets used to be different .

The primary function of the spring is to prevent short-shucking
because it (the spring) requires the shooter to apply enough force
to (try) cause the operator to not be able to stop the stroke short.

Sorry for any confusion , Hawkaaa53
 
I own several Remingtons, and I can tell you an 870 can fail. I bought one brand new, one of the fancy ones and the dammed thing was a jammer. It would not eject reliably. I sent it back twice and they did not get if fixed. Their repair service is not worth a darn.

However, I guess I would still pick one over a Mossberg 835 anyway. I have seen plenty of lemmons in that model.
 
Proof that Guns follow the Third Law of Thermodynamics! :D

"The universe tends twoard Entropy"

Aka everything eventually breaks down, as will eventually the whole Universe.
 
Ah ha!

Funny how you never notice the obvious at first.

I was busy tinkering with my hi-tech, flashlight-equipped club prior to going to work. I didn't want to either 1. dig the other 870 out of the safe or 2. take down the broken one to fully examine the action. The former would involve altering the intricate and delicate arrangement of guns inside the safe and the latter would probably involve gun oil and/or grit on my clean pressed white uniform shirt.

But...

Once I got to work I was able to examine the mechanism of a fully functional 870 as I cruiser-readied it. Doh!

The aft end of the ejector spring didn't work its way loose- the ejector spring broke cleanly in the middle. The front half of it popped out enough to be caught by the bolt on its next pass forward, and from there was bent horribly awry by me practicing the 'if it jams, force it' rule (which, BTW, I wholeheartedly endorse).

OK. I'll take this thing to the armorer. As he works for beer, it will be a cheap fix. And if I throw in more beer, I bet he'll show me how to fix it. ;)

Thanks all,
Mike
 
Forgot a very important Ithaca appearance in a movie: Coming to America! The burglar at the McDougals Restaurant brandished one. Eddie Murphy disarmed him and Arsenio Hall picked up the gun and held the guy for the police. Interestingly enough, he held the gun with the thumb of his very large hand over the top of the receiver and his fingers wrapped around the trigger guard. Not gonna kill nobody that way. He should stick to talk shows.

And I've still got fantasies about Linda Hamilton. That one scene when she empties a Remington 870 into the T1000... WOW. She has a twin sister, you know! That was a Remington 870, right?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top