Remington 870 Express Assembly/Disassembly

M

mrschmitt

Inactive
I just bought my first gun(shotgun or rifle) today. Although I have shot guns extensively in the past, I have never owned my own, and have never taken down guns. The assembly and disassembly of the 870 looks pretty simple, but being a beginner, I want to make sure that I don't do something that could damage the gun. The owner's manual has pretty good instructions on how to do everything, but my question to you guys and girls is: Are there any things that I should be careful of.... Are there any tricks to putting it together and taking it apart.... Am I just being too paranoid?
Any help or suggestions from other 870 owners would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
Matt
 
It's gonna be tough to break anything on your 870. These are rugged guns will take some abuse. Field stripping them is just like the manual...just follow it.

Just remember, just like any gun you'll dissassemble, to make sure it is unloaded. Check once, check twice, then you'll never have a problem.

Congrats on a great choice!
 
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you.:rolleyes:


There isn't much you can do to hurt your 870. Just follow the instructions. The only thing I can think of that might cause some damage is to pull the trigger with the bolt forward and the barrel removed. On some guns the hammer can slip behind the ejector. If you don't notice it, you might bend or break the ejector when you try to pull the slide back.
 
I appreciate the comments so far, and I don't really want to change the topic from what I originally posted, but I have one other brief question. I realize that cleaning the barrel is important.... I can do that quite easily(very easily), but cleaning stuff such as the action, the trigger assembly, etc, kind of scares me a bit. How important is it for me to actually drop out the trigger assembly once in a while to clean it. The Remington manaul makes taking the barrel off look very easy, but I can't seem to find any detailed simple information about taking the action apart, and removing the trigger assembly.
Thanks again,
Matt
 
I've never cleaned the trigger assembly on my 870, This is not part of my normal field stripping.

I assume to drop the trigger assembly, there are two pins that hold the assembly in place, you need a thin screw driver or punch to push them out...it should come out. The resident 870 expert, Dave will be around soon and he'll give the definitive word.

Now removing the action is not bad at all and is part of normal field stripping. Takes a bit of practice but once you got...you got it. Its on page 12 of the manual. But I'll describe it, remove the magazine cap, remove the barrel

Now be sure to have the slide the fore-end about halfway forward. Now reach in from the bottom of receiver and push the carrier up. Now inside the forward end of the receiver, on the left side, with your finger depress the left shell latch...its a little raised strip of metal that you can hold down. Then slide the fore-end off and bingo the action along with the for-end should come right off.

Reassembly is a little different, slide the action bars into the receiver till it stops. In the receiver on the right side more towards the forward end, you'll feel around for the right shell latch, depress it and slide the fore-end back till you hit the left shell latch...find the left one just like in disassembly and bring the fore-end back home. Bingo easy stuff.
 
Resident 870 Guru here....

Congrats on your new shotgun,Matt.

First, get a bottle of Break Free CLP or SLIP 2000, two of the best cleaners, lubes and corrosion resisters around. A can of spray gun scrubber helps also.

Grab some clean rags or paper towels, a golf tee or chopstick, an old toothbrush, and cover your table with old newspapers. Remove the bbl as told above. Follow with the bolt and action bars. Wipe them down with a rag or towel with a little CLP or SLIP on it, set them aside.

Now, use the chopstick or tee like a push pin to take out the two pins holding the trigger group in place. Being the tee and chopstick are not metal, they won't scratch up the finish.

Next, remove the TG. Spray with gun scrubber or use the toothbrush with some Hoppe's to scour all the exposed surfaces. Wipe down and set it aside. Now the receiver is empty, so wipe down all the inside surfaces until clean and then use a little SLIP or CLP on a rag to cover all the surfaces. Then use a clean rag or paper towel to go over the surfaces, leaving only the thinnest of films.

Relube the TG and reinstall, then do standard cleaning on the rest of the shotgun and reassemble. Last thing,put one single drop of CLP,etc, on each action bar right where it enters the receiver. Work it a few times and note how slick it's getting.

The touchy parts are during reinstallation. But, I've taught total idiots to do it so you will not have a problem.

How do I know?

You bought an 870(G)!!

HTH....
 
Dropping the trigger assembly isn't that tough if you follow the directions in the manual. I don't use a screwdriver on the pins. I'm much too anal to risk scratching my 870 and I don't have a punch set. I find that a golf tee does the job nicely and there is no risk of the soft wood scratching the metal.

RJ
 
I almost always check the trigger assembly, but then I'm a bit anal about the possibility of rust. Plus, it never hurts to know your gun.

About the only tedious procedure I can think of is if you decide to put on an old style safety. That little spring above the safety can go flying--which requires an extensive spring hunt down on your hands and knees.

If you're happy with the PC locking safety, then no worries.
 
Remington 870 Express Disassembly/Assembly

I just did it per the instructions in the Owner's Manual.

If I can do it....

:)
 
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