870 Mag Tube Trouble

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OttoJara

New member
A friend of mine (seriously its not me) has a 870 Express Mag. and we can't get it to take rounds in the tube. Every time it stops at the brass end both 2 3/4 and 3" rounds. I took the gun apart for him and removed the mag tube spring, but nothing looks out of place except its dirty as hell. I yelled at him for the way he let it go. We are hunting and I don't have any Rem oil. All I brought is a cleaning rag. Does this just need to be cleaned very well or have a gunsmith look at it?
 
Clean the tube out well, wipe off the spring and plunger. Pull the dip stick out of you vehicle's engine and run your fingers down the stick. :D Use that oil on the spring and plunger and put it back together. If it works... when you get home clean it and put some fresh oil on it.
 
The engine oil trick is a great idea. Thanks Jerry. We will try that tomorrow. The good thing is that he has a 3006 with him too. The bad thing is, it's a Remington also.
 
I love Remingtons. Have two (old) 870s, an (old) 700 BDL in 30-06 and a (new) custom 308 on 700 action. They have all preformed flawlessly. Keep talking bad about Remmies and I'll take my advice back. ;)
 
Easy Jerry, I love my old 870 Wingmaster, I've never really had any trouble with any Remmie. I really think that this was a cleanliness problem. Thanks for the advice.
 
Clean and wire brush the inside of the tube. Oil it and then wipe almost all of the oil out. You'll get a lot of black stuff on the rag. Repeat until the rag comes out clean. You only want a very thin coat of oil. Leave too much in the tube and it can kill your ammo over time and the oil will pick up and hold grit in the tube. Look closely at the follower for dings and rough spots. If you can tilt it even a little and make it jam in the tube toss it and buy a new aftermarket follower from Wilson or Choate. Avoid any type of metal follower as they can damage the shell stop over time (Remington will tell you this). You want any damage to be to the plastic follower, not the metal shell stop.
 
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If different length shells suffer the same problem, then, more than likely, the mag spring is compressing.
Are the cartridges getting caught by the rim?
If so,
Check the shell latches, the long springy things that control cartridge feed.
There's two, right and left, with small hooked ends right at the end of the mag tube, inside the receiver.
One could be bent some and catching the cartridge rim.
 
Ding ding ding!!! And the prize goes to... G Willikers! I just checked the clips and one was sticking out a little. Rounds cycle good, he's going to use it tomorrow since he missed two does today with his 30-06. Now, if anyone is looking for a hunting buddy, I'm available. This guy scares me.

Thanks everyone for your help. I told him he needs to join TFL just in case he has another problem.
 
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