1987 870 Express - Carrier not lifting shell to chamber.

[conneryc]

I recently picked up an 870 Express made August of 1987 and I'm having some issues with it. It will fire and eject the shell normally, but when you stroke the fore-end forward to load the next shell, the carrier doesn't lift the next shell up to the chamber.

I have disassembled it and the trigger group all looks good, the carrier isn't bent and everything functions as it should. I have found that if I re-assemble with just the slide in place, the action cycles normally and loads the shell. IF I re-assemble it with the bolt in it as well, it does NOT cycle properly.

Any ideas why it works properly without the bolt, but doesn't work with the bolt?

Thanks
Connery

[conneryc]

I "think" I might have found the issue, but would like some experts to verify.

The 870 I have is a "Magnum" as indicated by the "M" at the end of the serial number on the receiver, which means 2 3/4" and 3" shells, but NOT the 3.5" shells.

Looking at the parts on the Remington web site. The slide that is in the gun looks like this:


Which according to the Remington site is a "870 12 Gauge Super Magnum Slide Assembly, Police (F401024)" which FITS: 870 Super Mag, 12 - 3.5".

The bolt appears to be a standard bolt, so I think all I need to do is replace this slide with the standard slide.

[Synchronizor]

If a SuperMag slide assembly ended up in your gun, that could cause problems. My guess would be that with the bolt in place, the SuperMag slide assembly can't travel back far enough to properly engage the carrier dog. Here are some images of old- and new-style standard 12ga slide assemblies (click for a bigger image). These are the designs used in all magnum (3") and non-magnum (2.75" only) 12ga 870s.



Your best bet would be to get a new-style slide assembly, since that will work in both older & newer 870s and give more reliable function. You might be able to save a little money on a used one, but brand new ones are just $17 - $23 (depending on the finish), and can be ordered directly from Remington by calling their customer service department. If you need further help, we can answer questions about slide assembly part numbers or used part listings, or help you identify possible issues with other components.

[conneryc]

My replacement slide came in today. The one on the left is the one that was in the gun when I bought it. It's the one that the Remington site shows to be for a 3.5" Super Magnum. The one on the left is my replacement and as you can see is very different. Once reassembled with the slide on the right, the gun cycles perfectly.