1953 Wing - First Failure Ever

Remington 870 Repair and Gunsmithing.
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waterrat
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1953 Wing - First Failure Ever

Post by waterrat » Tue Nov 29, 2016 2:38 pm

Need to pick some brains.

I was on the river last night, shooting geese. Went to reload, felt stiff going in the tube. thought nothing of it, I was wearing gloves. Went to check the tube, worked action, ejected fine, fresh shell would not release from tube. Fiddled with it a few minutes, and took the gun apart.
THAT WAS WHEN DUMB HAPPENED. As I took off the mag cap and remove the barrel, my compressed spring - SPRUNG - and yes, I watched my plug, retaining ring and spring sail into the drink. "Insert teasing now".

I will be ordering new parts, but in the interim, I don't think the issue was in the tube/spring. I did not look at it last night, it was late and I had geese to clean. What may have cause this failure. I was thinking shell stop, but what acts on the shell stop to operate it?? Trigger mech???

I do have another 870 to compare it with, but I am bored at the office today.

On the upside, I did kill 2 snows and 4 Canada's with a single shot Wing master.

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Synchronizor
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Re: 1953 Wing - First Failure Ever

Post by Synchronizor » Thu Dec 01, 2016 5:16 am

The shell latches are actuated by the angled surfaces on the undersides of the action bars. If you have a fore-end that doesn't cover them up, you should be able to see where the shell latches have rubbed off the finish.

What you describe sounds like it could be a broken mag spring, or a plug that worked itself outside the spring coils. Maybe a broken magazine follower, but those seem to be pretty rare (I've never seen a broken factory follower), and while a broken follower can increase drag and make feeding sluggish, it's unlikely to completely halt feeding.

It could also be a shell latch that got bent outward for some reason, but if the slide still cycles without unusual resistance, I would look at the magazine's internal components first - though it sounds like you only have your follower left. I wouldn't feel too dumb about that; the 870 is designed for quick barrel changes, and the spring retainer is intended to keep the spring, plug, and follower contained in the magazine when the cap is removed - even if there are still shells in there. What you experienced should only have occurred if the retainer was broken or severely worn.

Anyway, if the follower looks good, I would make sure the interior of the mag tube is clean, replace the spring & spring retainer (though I would suggest an analogous Benelli retainer over the stock Remington one), and see if the problem still persists.

waterrat
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Re: 1953 Wing - First Failure Ever

Post by waterrat » Thu Dec 01, 2016 1:05 pm

Thanks Sync:

I tore it apart the other night. Found the action bars were lose in the fore stock, my fault, I had change it out a few weeks ago.

I swapped out the fore stock and action bars with another spring and retainer from my second Wing, and all works well. It may have been a combination of a few things, but fixable. As my spring/retainer and plug went for swim, I may try to up grade the works anyway. The follower was the only piece I found and it is the original al steel one, it may go in the other Wing.

Now the challenge is trying to find parts in Canada for a decent price. Shipping to here is nuts.

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Synchronizor
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Re: 1953 Wing - First Failure Ever

Post by Synchronizor » Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:20 pm

The wood or plastic fore-end can come loose, but the fore-end tube & action bars - which are the important mechanical bits - are brazed together to form a single unit. Unless it's physically interfering with slide movement, a loose fore-end shouldn't cause any cycling issues. I still think there was something in your magazine causing the problem, though it'll probably have to remain an unsolved case, thanks to the "lost evidence".

S&J Hardware is a Canadian company that makes a variety of shotgun parts and accessories - including mag springs and what I consider to be the best aftermarket followers available for the 870. Getting their stuff down here to the U.S. has been kind of a pain (though they did finally get a proper state-side distributor recently), but they should hopefully be able to strap it to a dogsled or polar bear or whatever it is y'all use up there, and get it to you for a reasonable price. They offer a couple different follower designs; I'd recommend the Type 2 if you're going to be using a magazine plug.

As for that, magazine plugs are very easy to make. Get a 1/2" or 7/16" rod (hardwood works, though I prefer an acetal polymer), cut it to the right length, round the corners on the ends slightly, and install.

The spring retainer is not necessary for the gun to function, though as you found out, not having one (or having one that doesn't work) can cause headaches. If you're having trouble getting a replacement part shipped in, I would suggest checking with local gunsmiths. Lots of folks have their spring retainers taken out so that they can install magazine extensions, and if they had a smith do the installing, the retainer likely got left in the shop, and they may be willing to sell you one for a few loonies. I've had good luck finding similar "non-tactical" parts with that approach.

waterrat
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Re: 1953 Wing - First Failure Ever

Post by waterrat » Thu Dec 01, 2016 9:23 pm

True enough. There was alot of play when I checked the fore stock. But will never know,

For parts, I am not worried. I am heading Staetside for two weeks, will source while I am away, if not, not an issue. Season is almost over, and I way too may spares guns.

I always use wood dowels for plugs. But I will check SJ for sure, may even order enough parts to do both of the old Wings. Might even do the left/right shell latches. They seem soft.

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Synchronizor
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Re: 1953 Wing - First Failure Ever

Post by Synchronizor » Fri Dec 02, 2016 4:45 am

Remington did beef up the shell latches at some point, making them stiffer, and adding more staking recesses. If your guns are from the 1950s and still have their original latches, some new latches would be an upgrade.

waterrat
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Re: 1953 Wing - First Failure Ever

Post by waterrat » Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:05 pm

The Wing is a 53, it's latches are soft. The other is a 86 Sportsman 12, latches are much stiffer.

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