Hello,
I am having a weird feed problem with a Remington 870. If I leave the chamber empty and load shells into the magazine, press the action bar lock, and rack the slide back it will usually feed two shells out of the magazine and jam up. If I dry fire on the empty chamber instead of pressing the action bar lock it doesn't seem to double-feed.
Is there some modification to prevent this, or is this how the gun is supposed to function?
Remington 870 Double-Feed Issue
Re: Remington 870 Double-Feed Issue
There are two shell latches that are responsible for holding and releasing the shell from the magazine tube. The left shell latch is slightly further to the rear, and the right is slightly more to the front. The left shell latch is responsible for releasing a single shell from the magazine tube, and the right latch is supposed to stop the next round from coming out of the magazine tube.
As to what is causing the issue and how to remedy it: When we teach Armorer courses, the first thing we recommend is always start with a thorough cleaning. This includes cleaning the magazine tube (Use a magazine tube brush, Brownells has them available), this helps make sure it is free of debris and while you are there check the spring a follower as well.
I would then suggest looking at the front end tips of the shell latches to see if they are broken off in anyway, or sticking in anyway. If you field strip the gun, which means remove the barrel, bolt, slide, action bar assembly, then remove the trigger group (I would recommend doing it in that order, as if you cycle the action bars with no trigger group in you could run the risk of misaligning the shell latches, as they are held in place by the front trigger plate pin). With the trigger group out, you should notice that both shell latches protrude inward, they are a leaf spring of sorts. Push the front tip of the shell latch outward against the receiver, and then release, both tips of the shell latches should freely compress against the receiver wall, and when released they should spring inward.
Next I would check the alignment of the forend (Front stock) with the action bars, specifically to see if the front of the action bar where they are soldered against the action bar tube, what you want is a small gap that is even within the front stock so it is not favoring one side (left or right) more than the other. If there is a gap on either side, you are trying to see if the gap is equal on both sides to start, if it is off center where it is touching on one side and a large gap on the other, this could be the issue as it will cause the action bars to twist when cycled to the rear, as the forend (front stock) will rub against the barrel where it goes into the receiver (where the barrel is widest), causing the action bars to twist and will result in feeding issues. So taking this into account, if you are have two shell release, my guess without seeing the gun, I would suspect it would be on the right side.
CY6
Greg Sullivan "Sully"
WeaponsArmorer
SLR15 Rifles
Defensive Edge Training
(763) 712-0123
As to what is causing the issue and how to remedy it: When we teach Armorer courses, the first thing we recommend is always start with a thorough cleaning. This includes cleaning the magazine tube (Use a magazine tube brush, Brownells has them available), this helps make sure it is free of debris and while you are there check the spring a follower as well.
I would then suggest looking at the front end tips of the shell latches to see if they are broken off in anyway, or sticking in anyway. If you field strip the gun, which means remove the barrel, bolt, slide, action bar assembly, then remove the trigger group (I would recommend doing it in that order, as if you cycle the action bars with no trigger group in you could run the risk of misaligning the shell latches, as they are held in place by the front trigger plate pin). With the trigger group out, you should notice that both shell latches protrude inward, they are a leaf spring of sorts. Push the front tip of the shell latch outward against the receiver, and then release, both tips of the shell latches should freely compress against the receiver wall, and when released they should spring inward.
Next I would check the alignment of the forend (Front stock) with the action bars, specifically to see if the front of the action bar where they are soldered against the action bar tube, what you want is a small gap that is even within the front stock so it is not favoring one side (left or right) more than the other. If there is a gap on either side, you are trying to see if the gap is equal on both sides to start, if it is off center where it is touching on one side and a large gap on the other, this could be the issue as it will cause the action bars to twist when cycled to the rear, as the forend (front stock) will rub against the barrel where it goes into the receiver (where the barrel is widest), causing the action bars to twist and will result in feeding issues. So taking this into account, if you are have two shell release, my guess without seeing the gun, I would suspect it would be on the right side.
CY6
Greg Sullivan "Sully"
WeaponsArmorer
SLR15 Rifles
Defensive Edge Training
(763) 712-0123