870 jamming

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Beretta686

New member
I was out bird hunting this weekend and in the middle of my ranch sounding like Sadr City, my 870 started locking up to the point where I had to slam the butt on the ground to cycle it.

I've had this 870 for about 20 years of hard field use and have never had this happen before. It didn't happen every time, but rather about every third shot.

I couldn't find anything mechanically wrong with the gun, but the gun was getting pretty hot as I was blasting with it.

Does anyone have any advice on what could be going on here?
 
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As above, people are having trouble with cheaper ammo these days.
The case heads are swelling and sticking in the chamber.
Winchester bulk pack ammo is especially notorious.

Another possible cause is a fouled chamber. Buy a bronze shotgun chamber brush from Brownell's and scrub the chamber with the brush and solvent.

After using the chamber brush, inspect the chamber. If you see any corrosion or stubborn fouling, you can wrap some 0000 steel wool around a used bore brush, chuck the rod in a drill and running the drill at medium speeds, polish the chamber.
You can also polish the bore too, but make sure you have a choke screwed in and don't polish the choke much at all.
Put oil on the steel wool.
 
It was shooting cheapo Walmart ammo. Both Federal and Winchester.

I may have to actually clean it out. Though I spray it down for corrosion and such after each hunt, I've never bothered to actually "clean" it as it's a total field gun that is banged to hell.

The last time I actually properly cleaned it was about 14 years ago after it went swimming in the water on a duck hunt. So that could indeed be the culprit.
 
Steel cases expand but do not contract as easily as brass ones do resulting in stuck or hard to extract cases. If your chamber is a little rough, that will do it also - that is easily corrected with some oil, 0000 steel wool and a wooden dowel chucked in a cordless drill.

You might try shooting some better ammo first to see if it still does it (STS or AA)
 
I had the issue a few times with my tactical express 870. It only happened with the Winchester bulk. I use Federal bulk now and have not had the issue. I worry about this problem because it seems like a great way to break your extractor claw.
 
I don't care if its a part time boat paddle gun, a field gun or a $5,000 target gun......they all have to be cleaned, and lubed properly, if you expect them to operate reliably !!

If you choose to run those cheap promo shells thru it ...especially with steel bases...you may have an ammo problem as well.
 
Clean like they said, but don't feel bad about your gun. The new 870 expresses do that with the WalMart ammunition until their chambers are polished with some steel wool. Not so much with the Federal as the Winchester from WM.
 
The 870's chamber may be 10% of the problems, but the steel-based shells now being sold as "bargain" are all the rest.
Click to expand...

I shoot quite a bit of these cheapo shells through everything from my O/U to my 12-inch Saiga 12 and have never had an issue before. So it could indeed be an 870 specific issue.

I don't care if its a part time boat paddle gun, a field gun or a $5,000 target gun......they all have to be cleaned, and lubed properly, if you expect them to operate reliably !!
Click to expand...

lol. I've probably taken my 870 to any extreme, but I've never really bought into the need to clean everything too often, especially if it's a range gun or field gun. I'll usually just break them down and wipe the big pieces off, spray them down and go back to shooting. The only ones I do a detail cleaning on, are the ones I use for self-defense.

Aside from now, I've never had a gun quite working and it may not even be due it being dirty. But either way, I'll finally properly clean the 870 this time.
 
I have personally seen Mossbergs, Novas, Expresses, Pardners, and even a BPS being beat on the ground with the Winchester Universals, so if you have no issues, good for you, but that is not a 100% sample of any of them. 10 minutes with a drum brake wheel cylinder hone will likely solve the problem. Works on Mossbergs and Expresses I know.
 
Beretta686 you did not mention which model of 870 you have. There seems to be more posts about jamming with the Express model vs the Wingmaster.

First the Winchester steel headed shells expand and do not contract like a brass headed shell.
Second as everyone has said rough/dirty chambers add to the sticky shells.
The plastic shells nicer than the old paper do not have the wax that the paper had. That wax in the paper and usually sealing the crimp was/is a lubricant and rust preventer for the chamber.

Third the barrel extension on the Express models have very rough tooling marks and the shell rims will drag and cause jams.

Best cure is to use better shells.
 
Fourteen years of not cleaning and shooting cheap shells to boot???


That's just its way of beggin for a bath and a steak. ;)

Bein' a field gun, there's probably enough sticks and cottonseed down in that action to choke my X. :eek:
 
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