870 Tips & Tricks #5: Much Ado About Shell Carriers

[ponycarman]

Are you looking for a chrome bolt, or a polished blued one? I have a couple parts I regularly cruise auction sites looking for, so I can keep an eye out.

I currently have a chrome bolt and would like to stay with the chrome. I'm watching a couple now but most of the ones I'm seeing for sale is the older version that I already have. Thanks

[Synchronizor]

If i cant keep my finger off the trigger and the gun pointed in a safe direction at all times then i shouldnt be holding it at all. Wether theres a round forced under the bolt or not means nothing. To say some times its safe to use live ammo at home and some times its not is giving off the vibe that if the gun goes off in those situations that its less dangerous. If ghost loading required you to be very drunk to perform id agree with you.

Proper muzzle discipline should be followed at all times. However, practice drills regularly involve chambering and dry-firing of the gun, and extra precautions should be taken when trying out an unfamiliar technique.

The bottom line is that there's no reason to chamber live ammunition to practice your technique, unless that practice involves actually firing the gun.

[Kentactic]

If i cant keep my finger off the trigger and the gun pointed in a safe direction at all times then i shouldnt be holding it at all. Wether theres a round forced under the bolt or not means nothing. To say some times its safe to use live ammo at home and some times its not is giving off the vibe that if the gun goes off in those situations that its less dangerous. If ghost loading required you to be very drunk to perform id agree with you.

Proper muzzle discipline should be followed at all times. However, practice drills regularly involve chambering and dry-firing of the gun, and extra precautions should be taken when trying out an unfamiliar technique.

The bottom line is that there's no reason to chamber live ammunition to practice your technique, unless that practice involves actually firing the gun.

What about normal practice of handling live ammunition? Ive performed port loading with live ammunition for others in my home for demonstration purposes. Theres no reason not to use live ammo unless your going to pull the trigger. There is zero chance of a ND unless you pull the trigger. That is because i am comfortable but not complacent with firearms. If you turn live ammunition into some scary mystical creature its an accident waiting to happen. Respect for the firearm is important. But theres no reason to fear an inanimate object.

[Synchronizor]

Well, I guess I'm going to have to disagree with you there.

I'm not timid about guns or ammunition; I work with them every day, and have no qualms about sleeping with fully loaded firearms within arm's reach, or handling them safely in the same condition. I regularly chamber ammo to check headspace, and I have no problem checking feeding by carefully cycling a magazine of new rounds through one of my pistols if it seems the manufacturer changed the bullet design since I last purchased them. Every time I leave my apartment, I have a hot gun on my person (unless my destination is the university next door, which has a policy against civilian carry).

Firearm safety practices are about removing risk. A gun can't shoot anything it's not pointed at. A gun cannot be triggered if the safety is on. A gun won't go off if the trigger is not pulled. Above these measures, which are fallible, a gun will absolutely not go off if there's no round in the chamber; which is why gun ranges, shops, and other businesses generally prefer you to keep the action open whenever possible, to demonstrate that the chamber is empty.

These steps are all components of proper gun handling; unless you have reason to, you shouldn't consider it safe to ignore some of them just because you follow others. I never use live ammo for practice, demonstrations, function checks, or at any other time when there isn't a specific need for it. Snap caps are cheap, and empty hulls are cheaper. There's really no good reason to chamber live ammo when you don't need to, especially when running drills or learning new techniques, activities that are more likely to result in an accidental trigger pull.

[Synchronizor]

Posting the full comparison images and thumbnails so I can link to them.

TN_Carrier_Text.JPG (7.44 KiB) Viewed 6139 times

TN_Bolt_circles_Text.JPG (9.08 KiB) Viewed 6139 times

TN_slide_both.JPG (19.71 KiB) Viewed 6139 times

Carrier_Text.PNG (811.89 KiB) Viewed 6139 times

Bolt_circles_Text.PNG (1.3 MiB) Viewed 6139 times

slide_both_large.PNG (2.39 MiB) Viewed 6139 times

[mercman]

Good video. I installed the upgrade on two of my 870's several years ago. At that time the upgrade was gratis for LEO's from Remington but now they want full price for the kit. Personally I've never had that malfunction, but it's still a worthwhile upgrade.

Was the outdoor portion of the video shot out by Greenwater?

[Synchronizor]

Was the outdoor portion of the video shot out by Greenwater?

Greenwater, Washington?

No, that was shot next to the Spring Valley Reservoir in Idaho, on the edge of the forest surrounding Moscow Mountain. It's the go-to place around here for fishing, camping, wheeling, and shooting.

[DaSkip]

Thanks for taking the time to make the video. I learned a lot about the operation of an 870.