We are seeing a lot of 20 gauge Remington 870s with actions jammed. There are two major culprits.

1. Bad forend tube assy. The stop notches on the action bars are usually misshaped. The edges are rounded or the stamping process has distorted the notch. This causes the bolt stop latch and/or the left shell latch stop to ride over or under the bar resulting in a seized action. We occasionally are able to square the notches with a file and cure it, but most often we just replace the whole assembly. The action bars themselves can also be bent. Make sure they are straight, parallel, and not torqued.

2. Bolt latch in trigger group. If this is loose it can wiggle on either side of the stop notch and result in the same fault. Re-stake the rivet to tighten, but not too much. Also sometimes the stop arm is bent in or out. Bend the arm straight and observe it's action so that it strikes the notch square. If the end of the arm is buggered reshape to remove burrs and flatten contact point. Sometimes you will have to replace it.

Occasionally The left shell latch has a blunted or buggered contact where the left action bar stop notch impacts it. This can cause a jam or more commonly the entire forend assy can be pulled out of an unbarreled receiver. Take a Dremel with a small round bit and square it's contact point. If you are careful you can do this through the ejection port. Sometimes you just have to replace the latch.

If all fails take a square and check the mag tube. Make sure it is close to 90 degrees to the front of the receiver. This will cause the tube assembly and action bars to jam in the guideways. Only fix is to re-silver solder the tube and straighten it. This means a re-blue.

If your recently purchased 870 is exhibiting these symptoms contact Remington. If under warranty they can give you a SR# and a call tag to send it in to a service center for free repair.

Bob
www.rustblue.com

Solved that problem long ago; when someone brings me a shotgun (or 22), I say, no.

I wish I could too, but we are a repair center and have to do it! I hate to see them come in. We don't have issues with the old ones.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Solved that problem long ago; when someone brings me a shotgun (or 22), I say, no.

Are those problems happening on Remington's made after the takeover?

These are all guns made in the last 5 years. It appears the metal stamping dies may have been wearing out and were distorting the parts.

quote:

Originally posted by boliep:
Are those problems happening on Remington's made after the takeover?

Has anyone noted this issue with 870s in 12-ga? I have one on order (may arrive in the next century) and was wondering if anyone had noticed this problem carrying over to those shotguns.

Thanks for the heads-up, Bob!

No not so much as the 20 ga. 12's often suffer from an inadequate heading cut. This can be remedied by a tool from Brownells that re-cuts the rim recess. 870's have a bad habit of moving metal from around the breechface into the rim recess. This will cause hard extraction as the brass is mechanically locked by the burr. Also causes broken extractors. Another thing to look for is a bright streak at 12 o'clock on the inside of the barrel extension just aft of the rim recess. This indicates interference from the bolt nose or case rim. It will also cause hard extraction. To remedy gang up 3-4 Dremel cutoff wheels and work it lightly testing with Dykem as you go until there is no more drag.

quote:

Originally posted by SSI01:
Has anyone noted this issue with 870s in 12-ga? I have one on order (may arrive in the next century) and was wondering if anyone had noticed this problem carrying over to those shotguns.