Failure to Eject

[mrnj]

All - I've got a 12 gauge 870 super mag, it is about 18 months old. It is in perfect shape, I use it for clays and am very careful to clean it after each use.

After firing, I have issues where the spent shell does not eject (it is stuck in the end of the barrel). Racking the action a second time usually clears it, but, if I have a 2nd shell in the magazine, it causes issues. I've had this issue on and off since I've owned the gun. I was trying to work my way through different brands of shells to see if one is worse than another.

I noticed that a number of people online have mentioned this as an issue with the 870, and, I bought a 12 gauge hone (800 grit) and honing oil to try and clean it up. No luck, same issues.

I shoot a mix of shells, have only ever used 2 3/4" #8. Remington shells work fine, Herter cause issues sometimes, and Estates cause me the most issues. Last time out, it caused me a lot of grief and I ended up using my brother-in-law's Mossberg 500 for the afternoon. It was the first time I used a Mossberg and it didn't have a single issue all day - it worked fine with the same shells that caused issues in my 870.

I contacted Remington and they said that they will only test with Remington ammo (which works fine). It is actually at a gunsmith right now getting looked at, and it worked fine for him. I actually need to drop off the shells that were causing an issue. He did check it initially and said that the extractor looked fine.

Anyway - a few questions:
- Is this a common issue?
- What is the fix? Is it a bad barrel?

I've gotten differing opinions on this one:
- Should I be able to shoot any brand ammo? I've been told that I should really stick with Remington only. But, after shooting the Mossberg and not having any issues with any brand of ammo, I'm not sure if that is correct. Are 870s picky? I've got a 20-gauge 870 that my son uses, and, we've never had an issue with that gun at all, usually shooting a mix of Winchester and Herter.

I travel for work, and, if I pass by Cabela's, I pick up a case when the shells are on sale. I've never used any generic, no-name ammo, and, no home reloads.

Any thoughts/suggestions? I appreciate the help.

Mark

[Synchronizor]

So, the action is opening (fore-end & bolt coming back), but the shell's staying in the chamber? Or is the shell sticking in the chamber, and that's locking the action closed as well?

[mrnj]

Yes, action opens but the empty shell is stuck at the front of the chamber (still in the end of the barrel). A second pump on the action usually frees it.

I took it to a local gunsmith, he fired a few rounds and it happened to him too. He said it could be the spring, could be the extractor, would cost at least $200. So, I actually sent it back to Remington for repair yesterday, I should still be under warranty. Hopefully, they'll see something wrong and fix it for me.

Mark

[Synchronizor]

He said it could be the spring, could be the extractor, would cost at least $200.

Wow, what? Really? A new extractor & extractor spring cost about $15 - $22 (depending on which extractor you pick), and you can pull out the old extractor & spring and pop in new ones in about 30 seconds with just a small screwdriver, a knife blade, or even a thumbnail (if you drink your milk). Either that gunsmith was completely clueless about how the 870 works, or he was scamming you.

[mrnj]

I ended up sending it back to Remington for repair since it was still under warranty. They received it on Monday, I had it back on Thursday, very surprised at the quick turnaround.

Anyway, the internals checked out, however, they did replace the barrel. Maybe that was the problem all along. I haven't tried it yet, hoping to give it a try tomorrow and see if the problem went away.

Mark

[Synchronizor]

The barrel can cause extraction problems. Hopefully the new one will fix things. If not though, I would look at the extractor next.

[mrnj]

I had the opportunity to try the new barrel on Saturday. Didn't have a lot of time, but, I was careful to keep track of what did and didn't work. Granted, it's a small sample size, but, here is what happened with the new barrel (all shells were #8 target):
- Remington - fired 6, 0 FTEs
- Estate (beige box) - fired 6, 0 FTEs
- Estate (white box) - fired 6, 4 FTEs
- Herter - fired 6, 1 FTE

So, I had issues with 5/24 shells which is unacceptable. A few required 3 racks of the action to clear. May sound strange, but, when they were ejected, I noticed that the Remington shells were the furthest from where I was standing, most of the others were right at my feet.

A few of us were at the range two weeks ago - a 25-year old 870, a brand new never-fired Mossberg 500, and, a Ruger over/under. We all shared these same shells, and, my 870 was the only one that had any issues with the shells - so many in fact that I put it aside and used the Mossberg for the rest of the day (which worked perfectly and didn't complain about any of the shells).

Very frustrating, but, maybe I just ended up with a lemon. I know it happens from time to time, but, I'm still disappointed.

Anyway, I've contacted Remington again. It's under warranty, so, I'm going to push for a replacement, and, we'll see how they handle it.

Thanks for all the suggestions,
Mark

[Synchronizor]

Since you're still shooting with a new barrel, some extraction issues with really cheap ammo are to be expected before the gun breaks in. Still could be a bad extractor, if Remington only replaced the barrel. I've also seen those white-box Estate target loads cause problems; seems their rims are sometimes undersized, and that could be helping the extractor slip off.

[mrnj]

How many rounds would you say have to go through the gun until it is broken in? I have noticed that the action has loosed up a bit (or become a bit smoother) as I've used it. I've probably shot somewhere between 1000 and 1500 rounds on the original barrel. Frustrating thing is that among a group of friends shooting the same common ammo, I was the only one having issues. So, I don't know if I can blame it entirely on the ammo.

I sent it back to Remington again, hoping to get it replaced under warranty. If so, I'll be fine with it, if not, I'll be looking for a different brand.

I've also got a 20-gauge 870 that my son uses and that has worked just fine with a variety of ammo. I'd love to keep the two 870s, but, I do need them to work.

Thanks,
Mark

[Synchronizor]

I'd say a couple hundred rounds is good for the initial break-in. More shooting will make the gun even smoother, of course, but if you're still seeing frequent cycling problems after a thousand rounds, something's probably up.

I agree the ammo probably isn't entirely to blame, but poor-quality ammo can certainly bring out minor problems in a gun that don't show up when you shoot quality stuff. If your 870 wasn't a Super Mag, I would have suggested swapping parts around with your friend's 870, to see if you can pinpoint the exact part or parts that are causing the problem. My best guess is still either a defective extractor, or out-of-tolerance machining where the extractor sits in the bolt.

Now that I mention it, extractors are interchangeable between all 870s (except 28ga & .410 models, I believe), so that's something you could have tried switching with your friend.