I have a remington 870 express magnum that i just got from a guy and it has a tube extender on it to make it 7+1. I was loading the shotgun like normal and then when i turned it over and held it at an upward angle to chamber the first round i could hear all the rest of the shells fall towards me. After that i could not get any of them to chamber. Does anyone know how i can fix this or what the problem is? This is my first shotgun and i am very new to shotguns so my knowledge is very limited.
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Remington 870 Problem
- Thread starter GForce89
- Start date
Sounds like the magazine follower is getting hung up somewhere in the magazine tube. I'd take the shotgun apart and thoroughly clean the magazine tube and the inside of the extension. While you've got it apart, look down the magazine tube to see if there are any obvious burrs. Newer Remington 870's have small dimples in the ends of their magazine tubes which must be drilled/ground out in order to add an aftermarket extension. If the previous owner didn't get the dimples completely out, the follower could get hung up on them. If this is the case, a few minutes with a dremel tool should be able to rectify the problem.
When you loaded the magazine tube, you pressed shells against the shell follower. The mag spring fits against it and supplies necesssary force to feed shells.
In this case, the spring and or the follower binded inside the tube, stuck in one place, and thus failed to maintain pressure on the shells, which were then free to slide back and forth.
My guess is that the tube is an after-market item. If so, I suggest that you put the gun back in its original state and proceed from there. Remington non-law enforcement pumps have dimples at front of mag tube. These must be drilled out to make an extension tube fit.
Currently made home security expresses are factory equipped with the extension and should work fine. Of course, your 870 can be made to work. Disassemble the extension and investigate.
nogo
In this case, the spring and or the follower binded inside the tube, stuck in one place, and thus failed to maintain pressure on the shells, which were then free to slide back and forth.
My guess is that the tube is an after-market item. If so, I suggest that you put the gun back in its original state and proceed from there. Remington non-law enforcement pumps have dimples at front of mag tube. These must be drilled out to make an extension tube fit.
Currently made home security expresses are factory equipped with the extension and should work fine. Of course, your 870 can be made to work. Disassemble the extension and investigate.
nogo
rantingredneck
New member
Agree with the two gentlemen above.
Sounds like a magazine follower issue, likely caused by improper installation of the extension. A little tweaking should fix your issue.
Sounds like a magazine follower issue, likely caused by improper installation of the extension. A little tweaking should fix your issue.
rantingredneck
New member
It's not necessarily the extension itself (though if it's a cheapo aftermarket it may be). It's likely the presence of dimples, or remnants of dimples, at the end of the standard 4 round magazine tube. Take it apart and run your finger around the inside of the end of the standard magazine and see what you feel.
If you convert it back to 4+1 capacity the problem will likely go away, but you will need a standard length spring and retainer along with magazine cap to make that happen.
If you convert it back to 4+1 capacity the problem will likely go away, but you will need a standard length spring and retainer along with magazine cap to make that happen.
The extension should simply unscrew off the end of the magazine tube (if you have a barrel clamp you may also have to remove that). Once the extension and barrel are removed, the dimples or remnants thereof, if present, should be plainly visible from the outside of the magazine tube. Run your finger around the inside of the magazine tube where the dimples or their remnants are and see if you can feel any obvious burrs or roughness there. If you do, smooth it out with a dremel tool.
Older Remington 870's used a different setup in which there was a ball detent on the front of the barrel ring which mated up to gear-like teeth in the magazine cap or magazine extension. The purpose of this was to keep the magazine cap/extension from unscrewing under use/recoil. Newer 870's have a plastic retainer cap with gear-like teeth that fits over the end of the magazine spring inside the magazine tube. This retainer cap's teeth mate up with the teeth of the magazine cap to serve the same purpose as the old ball detent setup. The purpose of the dimples is to keep the retainer cap from simply turning with the magazine cap and thusly defeating its whole purpose.
If you wish to change your shotgun back to its standard 4-shot magazine, assuming it is of the newer type, you will need to obtain a shorter standard-length magazine spring, a retainer cap, and a magazine cap. With the dimples removed, the retainer cap will simply turn with the magazine cap but it will still be needed to prevent the end of the spring from binding. I had a magazine extension on my 870 at one time, but decided to go back to standard configuration. I found that tightening the magazine cap with a strap wrench gave me sufficient torque to keep if from unscrewing under use.
If you would prefer to keep the extension and there are no obvious burrs or roughness in the magazine tube, I'd thoroughly clean it to make sure that the follower wasn't simply binding on dirt or some other sort of fouling. If the problem still persists, I would guess that the issue lies in the magazine extension or barrel clamp. Some of the cheaper plastic extensions like those from ATI have enough flex in them that they can be distorted to the point of impaired feeding if the barrel clamp is too tight. If you want to use a magazine extension, I'd suggest a high-quality metal one like those available from Choate Machine and Tool.
Older Remington 870's used a different setup in which there was a ball detent on the front of the barrel ring which mated up to gear-like teeth in the magazine cap or magazine extension. The purpose of this was to keep the magazine cap/extension from unscrewing under use/recoil. Newer 870's have a plastic retainer cap with gear-like teeth that fits over the end of the magazine spring inside the magazine tube. This retainer cap's teeth mate up with the teeth of the magazine cap to serve the same purpose as the old ball detent setup. The purpose of the dimples is to keep the retainer cap from simply turning with the magazine cap and thusly defeating its whole purpose.
If you wish to change your shotgun back to its standard 4-shot magazine, assuming it is of the newer type, you will need to obtain a shorter standard-length magazine spring, a retainer cap, and a magazine cap. With the dimples removed, the retainer cap will simply turn with the magazine cap but it will still be needed to prevent the end of the spring from binding. I had a magazine extension on my 870 at one time, but decided to go back to standard configuration. I found that tightening the magazine cap with a strap wrench gave me sufficient torque to keep if from unscrewing under use.
If you would prefer to keep the extension and there are no obvious burrs or roughness in the magazine tube, I'd thoroughly clean it to make sure that the follower wasn't simply binding on dirt or some other sort of fouling. If the problem still persists, I would guess that the issue lies in the magazine extension or barrel clamp. Some of the cheaper plastic extensions like those from ATI have enough flex in them that they can be distorted to the point of impaired feeding if the barrel clamp is too tight. If you want to use a magazine extension, I'd suggest a high-quality metal one like those available from Choate Machine and Tool.
It's not necessarily the extension itself (though if it's a cheapo aftermarket it may be). It's likely the presence of dimples, or remnants of dimples, at the end of the standard 4 round magazine tube. Take it apart and run your finger around the inside of the end of the standard magazine and see what you feel.
Ding-Ding... we have a winner here.
I just de-dimpled four 870 Expresses and you have to really get them out, as in all the way out, or the follower will hang occasionally.
'Dimples' are the stamped-in detents in the end of the magazine tube, which exist to facilitate the (cheep-cheep) plastic combination mag spring and cap retainer, used on these guns.
They have to be removed to allow the shells and follower to pass into and more importantly out of, the magazine extension.
If the dimples hadn't been at least partly removed, your shells wouldn't go into the extension at all. Probably a few passes with the drum sander attachment on a Dremel tool will make them disappear.
The interior of the mag tube should be utterly smooth to the touch, when you're done.
rantingredneck
New member
Thank You very much. I am just going to replace the whole thing cuz the guy just told me its an ATI.
Ah ha..........another issue. Aren't ATI extensions plastic? I know they used to be at least.
Yes, a better extension is in order. Plastic extension tubes flex and compress when the clamp is tightened down on them causing feed problems.
Choate is very good. Remington factory is very good but spendy. I've also heard good things about Nordic and Wilson, though I've never used either.
In late 2008, a thread was started by Super-Dave on the topic of Removing dimples on remington 870 magazine tube. A method, using a 16mm socket, was discussed that seems much easier than attacking the tube with a Dremel.
Yours as well, Zippy. I wanted to post a link to the basic procedure but just didn't have time to hunt it up. Thanks for doing that.
I tried that socket thing and never did find one that fit the mag tubes well enough to suit me. A scavenger hunt in an old machine shop produced about 6" of 1" bar stock which had been turned down to 0.872" on one end. The smaller diameter will work for driving down the tube to knock the detents down. I then shimmed the bar for a tight fit in the mag tube, drove it in again and started to work hammering out the detent opposite the shim. I use a flat punch a little bigger than the detent itself. Don't get in a hurry. You'll see the dent raise as you work.
Once the dent appears to be fully raised, reverse the shim and raise the other detent in the same manner. When both are finished, feel around inside the tube... if you can feel the slightest bump in there, it is enough to inhibit free passage of the follower. Here's where the sanding drum comes in. Cork the mag tube with a paper towel, etc. so your grindings remain in the end where the detents were. Sand until you can feel absolutely nothing where the detents were. Poke the paper towel out from the receiver end to get rid if the grindings, apply a little cold blue and scrub the tube again. Finish with a coat of oil and you're done, except field testing.
I'm going to turn the bigger end of my home made 'dent tool' to an exact fit for 870 mag tubes, less 0.005", to get around using the shims. I worry a little about getting the tube out-of-round and a closer fit for the mandrel should all but eliminate that possibility.
I tried that socket thing and never did find one that fit the mag tubes well enough to suit me. A scavenger hunt in an old machine shop produced about 6" of 1" bar stock which had been turned down to 0.872" on one end. The smaller diameter will work for driving down the tube to knock the detents down. I then shimmed the bar for a tight fit in the mag tube, drove it in again and started to work hammering out the detent opposite the shim. I use a flat punch a little bigger than the detent itself. Don't get in a hurry. You'll see the dent raise as you work.
Once the dent appears to be fully raised, reverse the shim and raise the other detent in the same manner. When both are finished, feel around inside the tube... if you can feel the slightest bump in there, it is enough to inhibit free passage of the follower. Here's where the sanding drum comes in. Cork the mag tube with a paper towel, etc. so your grindings remain in the end where the detents were. Sand until you can feel absolutely nothing where the detents were. Poke the paper towel out from the receiver end to get rid if the grindings, apply a little cold blue and scrub the tube again. Finish with a coat of oil and you're done, except field testing.
I'm going to turn the bigger end of my home made 'dent tool' to an exact fit for 870 mag tubes, less 0.005", to get around using the shims. I worry a little about getting the tube out-of-round and a closer fit for the mandrel should all but eliminate that possibility.
rantingredneck
New member
Zippy and Sarge,
Yeah there is a method using a socket. It's hard to nail down an exact size because while the interior of the socket's dimensions are standard, the exterior of the socket body is not. It's dependent on the socket wall thickness.
There are dent raising tools sold by various companies, or like Sarge you can build your own.
The trouble with this method is that some folks who are less "experienced" with tools can knock their mag tubes out of round in the process and then have to send their gun back to Remington for repair.
The most fool proof method is likely drilling out the dimples, with the dremel being a close second.
Yeah there is a method using a socket. It's hard to nail down an exact size because while the interior of the socket's dimensions are standard, the exterior of the socket body is not. It's dependent on the socket wall thickness.
There are dent raising tools sold by various companies, or like Sarge you can build your own.
The trouble with this method is that some folks who are less "experienced" with tools can knock their mag tubes out of round in the process and then have to send their gun back to Remington for repair.
The most fool proof method is likely drilling out the dimples, with the dremel being a close second.
bamaranger
New member
follower w/ a stem
I have followers with a "stem" on them, that cost me a round, but stack the spring as it compresses and help alleviate hung followers and tangled springs. I believe Choate makes them for less than 10 bucks.
I have followers with a "stem" on them, that cost me a round, but stack the spring as it compresses and help alleviate hung followers and tangled springs. I believe Choate makes them for less than 10 bucks.