Stuck Bolt on 870 Express

[RSG]

Hey guys!

I hope I didn't post this to the wrong section or duplicate another thread, but I couldn't seem to find an answer to my question anywhere.

I bought a Remington 870 Express a few months ago and just took it out for the first time the other day. I fired less than 20 shells through it, set it down and didn't touch it again before leaving the range. Upon taking the barrel off of the gun to out it back in the box, the pump and the bolt fell out of the shotgun. I have no idea how this happened, but it did. I proceeded to put the bolt back in the gun. I think I did this correctly, as everything seemed to go until its proper place and seat properly. When I got home I attempted to but the pump back on the rifle as well.

In order to see well, I pressed the bolt back into the cocked position. I then attached the pump mostly, as I realized the rails connected by the pump were being blocked from moving backwards by the cocked bolt. Now I am entirely stuck.

I can't release the bolt by uncocking the gun, and I cannot get the bolt to move forward at all! I've tried to get my fingers in there and pull it forward, but it's stuck pretty well.

Has anyone experienced this, or is there a better way to get the pump back in the gun?

Thank you very much!

[Mb1500]

If I understand correctly, you have the bolt assembly crammed into the rear of the receiver, and the rails are not installed?

If so, I would punch out the two pins that hold the trigger group in the gun and then try to remove the bolt somehow. Look at YouTube videos or the owners manual on how to install.

[SoCal_Rem870]

Fellow n00b here, so take this with a grain of salt! You may have put the bolt in backwards, which will cause it to jam up in the receiver (one finds these things out when messing about with disassembly/reassembly for the first time ). Try looking here for some detailed visuals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vceDJd7KrMw

Pay particular attention to the sections on bolt/slide/forend disassembly at 8:32 and bolt/side/forend reassembly at 15:43 of the video.

Otherwise, try what mb1500 recommended. Removing the trigger group (see the above video at 1:23 and 13:57) should allow you good access from beneath the receiver to get a flat head screwdriver in behind the bolt, and hopefully you will be able to gently ease it out.

[Synchronizor]

Yeah, you jammed the bolt in on its own, when it's supposed to go in along with the fore-end assembly. You really need to either read the owner's manual, or check out some other how-to guide like my video that SoCal_Rem870 linked, before you try messing around with your gun.

I would agree with what's already been said. Take out your trigger plate assembly to take force off the jammed-in bolt, and then it should slide out the front easily enough. You may want to have the gun checked out to make sure you didn't mess up your shell latches trying to jam things together the wrong way, but odds are your gun will be fine once it's assembled correctly.

[RSG]

Thank you both very much for the replies.

I will be looking at that video and possibly attempting to do some breaking-down of the gun whenever I have some time. I'll be sure to let you guys know how it goes.

Again, thanks a lot!