I have a 16 guage 870 Express that has recently gottne very sick. I have been having some problems with it not wanting to extract the spent shell when pumped. I originally thought it was a case of shells I bought for dove season, but when hunting pheasants last week it was doing the same thing and progressively getting worse. You can take out the new round to be fed and slam the pump action forward and it will typically pull the spent shell out, but not always. So, how hard is it to replace the extractor or will it be best to take it to the gunsmith?

Thanks for the help!!

First guess, rusty chamber or a chamber with a lot of tool marks. M870 extractors are hard enough that they rarely wear, they will break first. Also the extractor springs will wear on the sides, weakening the spring. I would concentrate on the chamber first. Bill

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:
You can take out the new round to be fed and slam the pump action forward and it will typically pull the spent shell out, but not always. So, how hard is it to replace the extractor or will it be best to take it to the gunsmith?

Thanks for the help!!

I agree with Bill. The 870 is probably the most trouble free pump shotgun made. I doesn't require "slamming" of any part to make it function. As reliable as these guns are, you would have to have a chamber so damaged that it won't release it's grip on the fired hull, a broken extractor hook, which is unlikely since you say it will at times extract the empty, or, the extractor, spring and plunger are mired in filth and in dire need of cleaning.

Pull and clean the barrel. Use a strong light to inspect the chamber for signs of heavy pitting as was suggested above. If you need to, run your finger around the mouth of the chamber and feel for any burrs that may be present.

Inspect your fired hulls for signs of heavy drag marks that might indicate a burr or worse. Use that same finger to move the extractor back and forth making sure there is enough spring tension to return and hold it firmly at it's "closed" position. Watch the extractor plunger as you work the extractor, it should move freely. It doesn't hurt to apply a drop of oil on the extractor and plunger as you work them back and forth.

Depending on how much use the gun has had, and how long it has been since it has been fully disassemble and cleaned, it might be time. I mean right down to hand scrubbing the individual pieces and their seats. As reliable as these guns are, they still need a good thorough cleaning from time to time. Good luck!

I'll check the barrel in regards to a bit of rust. I cleaned the gun just prior to the hunt last week, including taking it completely apart. I haven't looked at it since then because I've been chasing elk. I'll take it apart today and inspect a bit more throughly.

I haven't noticed any signs of scares on the spent shells but then again I never really inspected any of the shells.

I would guess that on average I run about 3-4 cases of shells through this gun each year and I've owned it for about 7-8 years now, which is why I thought the ejector might be getting a bit worn.

Thanks for the suggestions/comments!

Ok riddle me this?

I took the gun apart and cleaned it throughly. It appeared when cleaning there might have been a slight build up of plastic, assuming from the fired shells, where the shell is seated. I cleaned the barrel until there were no signs of the 'plastic' or whatever it was.

I took it this weekend for a quail hunt. I shot it about 10 times without any problems with extracting. So, I took it out this morning for a pheasant hunt and every shell shot jammed (about 10 shots as well); thereby, leaving me with a single shot.

The difference between the shells were the following:
quail ammo was Estate heavy loads in #8 shot in what I would classify as a high brass load.

pheasant ammo was Fiocchi heavy loads in #6 shot in a high brass.

No noticable scaring on any of the shells that jammed this morning. Basically, the only differences were ammo manufacturer and shot size.

So what are the next steps I should take?

Thanks in advance!!

You might try checking under the extractor for a build up of dirt. If it builds up under there it won't grip well enough to pull the shell.

If it works perfectly with one brand of shells and doesn't work with another brand, it may not be the gun. If you can find a problem to fix that makes it work with the problem shells, all is well and good. If not, use the shells that function in that gun.

I had what sounds like a similar problem. I sent my 870 into remington and they polished the chamber at no cost to me. The chamber was apparently too rough or tight and that was causing the spent hulls to stick. The gun is now operates flawlessly.

Several years ago I had a similiar problem with some 12ga 2 3/4" Fiocchi shells in my o/u. They would not always extract or eject. It would continue to work just fine with other ammunition. I took the shells back to my dealer who said something about a batch that there were difficulties with. He swapped the remaining boxes from the case. I had gone through the cleaning, looking for rough spots in the chamber, everything I could think of without any success. Except with those particular shells everything worked and continues to work flawlessly. Lots of 3" and 3 1/2" goose loads.
Nothing against Fiocchi shells, in fact they are the my favorate for my 16's (2 1/2")